PMS 2.0 1538 - LIVE from the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, Peter Schrager, Kendrick Perkins, Adam Schefter, Nick Saban

Summary

The Pat McAfee Show 2.0 #1538 – Live from the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh

Date: April 22, 2026
Theme: The NFL Draft takes over Pittsburgh—Pat McAfee and crew dish insider stories, draft analysis with experts, and wild Pittsburgh tales, blending signature humor and candid football convos.

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Main Theme & Purpose

Broadcasting live from the heart of NFL Draft festivities in Pittsburgh, Pat McAfee gathers the full crew and a star-studded guest lineup (Peter Schrager, Kendrick Perkins, Adam Schefter, Nick Saban, Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane) to break down this year’s draft class, NFL team maneuvering, Pittsburgh nostalgia, and the intersection of old-school football wisdom with today’s draft process. The episode mixes behind-the-scenes war room talk with classic Pat McAfee Show wit and storytelling.

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Show Kickoff & Pittsburgh Vibes

00:00–13:00

• Pat’s Pittsburgh Love Letter: Kickoff opens with infectious energy as Pat waxes poetic about his hometown, the “glorious” weather, tailgating, and nutty Gold Lot stories—including an ex-almost-chug-to-death and fishing net beer catches.
• Anticipation for NFL Draft: Pat hypes the city’s readiness: “Tomorrow night, the gold lot is home to dreams coming true. I do believe because the weather is so awesome that the city is gonna show up.” (01:25)
• Classic Pittsburgh Grousing: Old-school yinzers grumble about traffic, but the city buzzes with positivity and celebration.

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The Crew's Kennywood Adventure

13:00–37:00

• School Picnic Tradition: Entire crew enjoys a private Kennywood day (Pittsburgh’s famous amusement park) in pure local tradition.
• Roller Coaster Shenanigans:
  • Connor Rogers: Initially skeptical about old wooden coasters, is won over. Confesses to passing out on the Steel Curtain ride:

    “On the ride itself, I think debut. My anxiety might have got to debut a bit. I actually passed out here on the Steel Curtain.” (05:39)

  • Multiple stories of crew members not fitting on rides, adding self-deprecating fun.
• Local Pride:
  • Crew relishes on the maintenance workers’ pride—a testament to Pittsburgh’s blue collar, union spirit:

    “Pittsburgh is a blue collar union labor city. The amount of pride that the maintenance people have... it was like we got a chance to talk to all the maintenance people because they had to open their rides for us...” (09:41)

• Potato Patch Needs Fixing: Ongoing joke about the park’s legendary fries and signs.
• Memorable Quote:

  “Once I felt that jackrabbit, I was like, yeah, feels like the boys are throwing their fastball today, you know, because the maintenance crew matters.” – Pat McAfee (09:16)

• Transition: Gratitude to Kennywood (“Thank you, Kennywood. Bring Italian Day back!”) segues to serious draft talk.

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Pittsburgh Sports & Playoff Banter

37:00–55:00

• Penguins vs. Flyers Riff:
  • Penguins (Pat’s team) lost to Flyers—Pat and crew marvel at the Flyers’ size, speed, and skill:

    “There’s a guy named 74 on the Flyers. He’s as orange as the fucking jersey. He’s everywhere…and he’s massive.” (14:12)

  • Pat admits, “Flyers gonna win the Cup?”—unflinching Pittsburgh realism!
• Light NBA/MLB chatter: Quick asides about city events (Bret Michaels concert), city pride, and the playoff atmosphere.

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Draft Insiders: Peter Schrager Drops Mock Draft Knowledge

55:00–1:36:00

• Positional Value Upended:

  “There are not the blue chip players at our traditional positions…So when you look at a Caleb Downs, a Sonny Styles, a Jeremiah Love…those guys will go in the top 10.” (17:09)

• Trade Dynamics:
  • Cardinals at #3 could shake everything up—possibly for a running back (Jeremiah Love) or if someone wants a QB.
  • “There is an opportunity to move up to three. And if they don’t trade out, we might see a running back go as high as third overall.” – Schrager (18:15)
• First Round Quality Drop-off:

  “This draft is a little different…after 20 [picks], it kind of falls off a cliff.” (18:39)

• Jets Draft Mystery:
  • Enigma about why David Bailey’s visit was canceled, suggesting they already know everything they need (27:21).
• Mock Draft Surprises:
  • Giants’ strategy at 5 & 10 gets deep analysis, especially the Jordan Tyson health debate and John Harbaugh’s influence.
  • Schrager reveals behind-the-scenes dinner meetings and dinner spot tips (“Uchi in Arizona”).
• Draft as “31 Flavors”:
  • Multiple equally-rated prospects, huge variation in tastes.
  • Notable quote:

    “This draft is like Baskin Robbins. Like, you like this guy. You got this guy. Pick one of them.” (27:07)

• Trade-Back Trends: Many teams see more value in accumulating picks than fighting for late first-rounders.
• Pat’s Draft Memory:
  • Peter Schrager tells story of Colts war room debate:

    “Their plan all along was to draft both Pat McAfee and [future Patriots legend] Julian Edelman…punter/kicker won the argument.” (31:50)

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General Manager’s Seat: Brandon Beane, Buffalo Bills

1:36:00–1:48:38

• Draft Strategy from a GM View:
  • “You’re just…measuring risk. The risk of the talent of the player versus the risk of what the medical concerns are.” (42:27)
• Class Assessment:
  • Not as “top heavy”—more depth at certain positions, but fewer elite can’t-miss prospects.
  • Describes GM process for trading up: deals often laid out well before draft day.
• Rule of Risk on Injuries:
  • Weighs potential longevity and position value against medical red flags.
• Speedier Draft Clocks:
  • Explains teams must prep trades and contingencies in advance—no time to stall with fewer minutes per pick.

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NBA Check-In with Kendrick Perkins

1:50:00–1:56:00

• Lakers, LeBron, and the GOAT Debate:
  • Perk highlights LeBron’s age-defying play:

    “Can you explain to me how a 41 year old…still looks like a top five player in the NBA?” (53:01)

  • Rocky Houston Rockets performance dissected; Celtics’ loss to 76ers doesn’t worry him.
  • Perk’s take:

    “The one thing I would not do is question the Joe Missoula system.” (55:17)

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Deep Draft Trends & Insider Reporting – Adam Schefter Segment

1:59:00–2:15:00

• What’s the Draft’s “Big Twist?”
  • “Every year there are events that happen that you’re not expecting. ... We just don’t know exactly what is going to turn into the story of that draft…” (60:57)
  • Trade buzz: Cowboys moving up for defensive players? Chiefs maybe moving up or down with two first-rounders?
• Team Storylines:
  • If Dallas takes Arvell Reese, will Kayvon Thibodeaux be on the trade block?
  • Veteran trade rumors involving George Pickens—you heard it here first!
• Draft “Echo Chamber:”

  “I just feel like people are gonna talk to you, and the things that they want to hold close…they just won’t share. They’re just not gonna tell you sometimes, but they’re not going to lie.” (69:36)

• Insider Ethics:
  • Schefter discusses restraint in leaking negative player info, giving players a fair start:

    “I would say almost always I don’t use the majority of it. ... If the team didn’t find that out, why are you, ESPN Insider, being the one doing the research reveal?” (70:10–71:25)

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Nick Saban: Wisdom from a Coaching Legend

2:16:00–2:33:00

• QB Development Philosophies:
  • “I think the biggest failure rate in the NFL is because quarterbacks play before they should.” (85:09)
  • Touches on Ty Simpson’s rawness and Fernando Mendoza’s fit/comparison to recent top picks.
• Trends from NIL & Draft Age:
  • “This is one of the older drafts because guys stay in college longer. There’s less juniors that come out because they’re making money.” (99:08)
• Team-Building & Evaluation:
  • Adopts Belichick traits:

    “Character, intelligence, size, speed, and what are the critical factors to play that position in our system.” (100:20)

  • Compares evaluation differences between college (vertical board) and NFL (horizontal integration).
• Player Bust Rates & Motivation:

  “They don’t just bust because of their athletic ability. They bust because they don’t have the right psychological disposition…They lose their motivation because they just wanted to play in the NFL rather than being great in the NFL.” (97:19–98:06)

• Light moments: Talks about picking up golf, his inability to skate (“You’ve been to West Virginia, man. Where would you skate?”), and shooting his age on the golf course.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Pittsburgh Pride:

  “There was a lot of negative early from a lot of the old head yinzers. Also a lot of positivity, obviously. But...with this weather being the way it’s been...It’s going to be a special weekend here in Pittsburgh.”
  – Pat McAfee (02:57)

• On Mock Draft Fluidity:

  “If one team does something in the third overall pick that you don’t expect, it all trickle down effect. It makes it very difficult to be accurate.”
  – Peter Schrager (17:09)

• On LeBron James:

  “He is still going and I’m in the next chapter of my life and doing it at the highest level.”
  – Kendrick Perkins (53:01)

• On Draft Secrecy:

  “You have to really monitor that, don’t you? ... We’re talking about, like, careers and public stories.”
  – Pat McAfee (69:32)

• On Team Draft Dynamics:

  “If the GM wants this kind of player and the coach wants this kind of player, it’s not going to fit systematically and somebody’s going to get fired. Most of the time it’s the coach…”
  – Nick Saban (103:33)

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• Pittsburgh Opener/Gold Lot Stories: 00:00–03:44
• Kennywood Recap: 03:44–13:53
• Pittsburgh Sports Banter: 13:53–21:00
• Mock Draft Analysis with Peter Schrager: 55:00–1:36:00
• Bills GM Brandon Beane: 1:36:00–1:48:38
• Kendrick Perkins NBA Scoop: 1:50:00–1:56:00
• Adam Schefter Insider Section: 1:59:00–2:15:00
• Nick Saban on NFL Draft: 2:16:00–2:33:00
• Wrap Up & Chess Piece/Queen in Defense Talk: 2:33:00–2:45:00
• Miscellaneous Football News (Brandon Aubrey, Daniel Jones, Alec Pierce, etc.): 2:45:00–end

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Tone & Language

• Unscripted, sincere, hyper-local and inside-football, punctuated with quick wit and group laughter.
• Straight-shooting football insight balanced with “guy at the bar” relatability.
• Guests blend into the crew’s banter, creating a rolling, conversational feel.

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Summary for Listeners

If you missed this show, you missed a slice-of-life Pittsburgh moment; killer draft insights from Schrager, Schefter, and Saban; crew tales that double as Steelers lore, and priceless commentary from an actual NFL war room guest (Beane). If you want to sound like a draft room insider at your own draft party—with the laughs and the “did you know...” stories to match—this episode is a must-catch.

Don’t miss:

• Peter Schrager’s behind-the-scenes of team priorities and a trade-centric draft.
• Adam Schefter’s real talk on leaks, teams, and what to watch as the draft unfolds.
• Nick Saban’s coaching wisdom, NIL/draft impact, and no-holds-barred position breakdowns.
• Crew’s Kennywood tales—and Connor’s on-air fainting spell.
• Kendrick Perkins relishing LeBron’s greatness, cementing the NBA/GOAT debate.

For draft fans, sports nerds, and anyone who’s ever loved a hometown—this is Pat McAfee at his best.

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Transcript

[Pat McAfee]

Hello, beautiful people, and welcome to beautiful, I mean absolutely glorious, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the home of tomorrow night's draft. And our show is live right now.

[Connor Rogers]

Football.

[Pat McAfee]

It's magical. Football is celebrating its next generation of greatness tomorrow night in this beautiful city. And I was very fortunate and lucky to grow up in these hills of Pittsburgh. And I'll tell you, the weather that has been forecasted not only since yesterday, where we had a full Kennywood day, we will certainly talk about that in a matter of moments. Today, tomorrow, Friday, into the weekend is superb. The vibes are immaculate. And what's about to happen tomorrow night is Roger Goodell is going to list off names that will potentially be launching themselves into a hall of fame, like conversation or career. Obviously, NFL careers are very difficult. There's going to be a lot of guys who are assigned that are drafted tomorrow night in the NFL. Then there's going to be a couple guys that are going to surprise some people. And then there's going to be a story that's going to come from tomorrow night from this parking lot right here, the gold lot outside of Acreshire Stadium. If you're a yinzer, you understand that obviously this parking lot is home to a lot of festivities before Steelers games, before Pirates games, after Pirates games, after Steelers game. I had a friend that was pronounced dead in his parking lot after chugging a bottle of vodka. Then he was taken to a hospital promptly here in Pittsburgh and was resuscitated. I watched a guy ask a lady, very intoxicated if she was pregnant when she was actually just a fat. So right here, right here in this parking lot right back here, I've seen a guy with a fishing net that he was taking into PNC park, catch a natty light from 75 yards away, nice boom. Problem goes right through net, explodes off ground, hits car. Okay, I've seen this happen. The gold lot is home to great times. The gold lot is home to a lot of chaos. And tomorrow night, the gold lot is home to dreams coming true. I do believe because the weather is so awesome that the city is gonna show up. There had been a lot of talk about yinzers maybe saying it's too much work. Ah, we supposed to get down 10 fucking two lanes in, two lanes out, 700,000 people. Yeah, right. Can't get down there for a Pirates game. They're. There's 13,000 people in PNC Park. Why would we ever go A lot of negativity early from a lot of the old head yinzers. Also a lot of positivity, obviously a Lot of people want to celebrate ball. They want to celebrate the city of Pittsburgh. But it felt like it was getting a little bit loud because of the inconvenience that it's going to be to get down here with this weather being the way it's been, with the way it's being covered, the people that are showing up. We got a wiz and Bret Michaels concert coming on Friday night. Tomorrow night, we got everything popping. It's going to be. It's going to be a special weekend here in Pittsburgh. We're very thankful to be here. Not just me, obviously. The boys are here as well. The toxic table at Boston, Connor and at Ty Schmidt. You guys got a chance to experience a little Pittsburgh heaven yesterday. And I don't know which one of you wants to start. Connor, you're the bigger hater. So I think you could maybe mention what happened yesterday. But in Pittsburgh, every school, like we had five elementary schools, I think whatever, right? Is that how many we had? That's one half of the hammer, dad. Cowboys.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

AP Town. We had five elementary schools. I think there's. Now there's two junior highs and a high school. Each school has like a Kennywood picnic day where everybody goes to Kennywood. They charge you for it. Okay. So you certainly had to pay for it. There was a couple times where maybe earlier get your tickets. The McAfee's decided not to pay. It was literally ghost town. Everybody in plum picks up and goes to Kennywood and every town has one of those. Yesterday, the program had our own Kennywood picnic day. And I want to let the people at Kennywood know. Lindsay. Ricky.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, yeah, Ricky.

[Nick Saban]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Ricky. Ricky the GM in there. Kenny the kangaroo. Brand new, by the way. Doesn't look like a puppet. That has been maybe, you know, that's true. Kennywood swinging a hot bat.

[Ty Schmidt]

Gino and the maintenance crew.

[Pat McAfee]

Geno and the maintenance crew. I can't thank you boys enough. Tony the Paul Tanner, the entire crew took care of us. Yesterday. We had Kennywood to ourselves. Not normally open during the weekdays at this stage of the spring because you don't know what the weather is. So opening it all up would be crazy. Even though the weather is awesome. Got a chance to experience Kennywood yesterday. You said a lot of things, con man.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I would just like to kind of get your thoughts on what Kennywood was and Pittsburgh being a host site for this draft with perfect weather seemingly.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, Pittsburgh's been amazing. Walked around a little bit yesterday in the city after Kennywood and it is just beautiful. It's clean. It looks fantastic. It's all Mr. Rogers little neighborhood thing. Also very cool. Kennywood as a whole, I mean, look, I did say a lot of things. I thought the Whoopty Woos were not going to be Whoopty Woos. I thought the roller coasters themselves were going to be crap and shite and made out of wood. They were made out of wood, but it was still solid. I'm just going to say that now. Six Flags I've always held in high regard. I'm going to put Kennywood right up there with it. I mean, not to mention the racer and the Phantom's revenge. The Phantom, they had some coasters that deliver Phantom. We were going what, 95, 200 miles an hour coming around there. The Steel Curtain, I think had nine or eight or ten Whoopty Woos, which was very, very good. I was scared going up there for a little bit and typically I, you know, I don't love roller coasters. Don't hate roller coasters. Yeah. In this moment I, I was very nervous. You're going up this, I don't know, 150, 200 foot kind of climb.

[Ty Tone]

229ft. 229.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah. And they're playing oh Mama. I'm in fear for the life, for my life. And I was like, there was a lot of this that I wasn't completely ready actually.

[AJ Hawk]

Unfortunately.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

On the ride itself, I think debut. My anxiety might have got to debut a bit. I actually passed out here on the Steel Curtain. I was not ready for it. My entire body just kind of gave out. My hair was going everywhere. This is actually our second run. The first run I damn near lost my glasses. So I took them off for a run too. I'm glad I did because as soon as I go out, I would have completely lost my shades. I wouldn't be able to see anything.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh my God. You actually went out right there.

[Connor Rogers]

See you guys. See you guys later.

[Pat McAfee]

Wake them up. This is my first time seeing it. Oh my God. Are you all right?

[Connor Rogers]

I'm okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh my God. It's my first.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah. And we came back.

[Darius J. Butler]

We came back still out.

[Peter Schrager]

So boom.

[Nick Saban]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Back alive.

[Connor Rogers]

So look to say Kennywood.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, I'm happy you're out.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, I'm good. To say that it delivered would be an understatement. It did. There's a few things we should address though. One, I think it motivated a lot of us to make sure we fit in the coasters.

[Darius J. Butler]

You don't have to do that.

[Pat McAfee]

Nine year NFL vet Darius J. Butler is here. D Butt was right next to Connor there as Connor left, I guess, civilization for a little bit as he was on a steel cur. Nine whoopty woos, which is the most in North America. Highest whoopty woo in North America as well. Steel Curtain. And I believe Phantom's Revenge is voted the number one coaster in America or something like that. It gets up to, like they say, 85, 86 miles an hour, but the maintenance guys say they got that dialed in pretty good.

[Kendrick Perkins]

Right now.

[Pat McAfee]

We'd say that's probably close to 90. Close to 90. No pull. That's all gravity. The steel. Phantom's Revenge is just gravity. And it gets you to like 90 miles an hour is what they were saying. It doesn't have any whoopty woos, but it's just speed and twisty woos. And I'll tell you, they brought their fat. I talked a lot of shit for Kennywood on this show.

[Darius J. Butler]

Sure, dude.

[Pat McAfee]

And then night before Kennywood day for us, which came together late shout out to Nick. Steve Littleman, by the way, kid from Plum, worked at Kennywood our entire lives. Was the connection for this entire thing. Everybody that works at Kennywood's been there for 25, 30 years. New ownership, same workers. Okay? And they love that place. Night before, we have our Kennywood picnic day because Deebot was like, hey, I'm telling the truth. When we get on air about this Kennywood, I'm doing journalism. I actually thought to myself, like, maybe Kennywood, last of its kind. This particular coaster is called a fly coaster. It's the last one operating in the United States of America. There's like three different coasters that are over 100 years old there. I mean, they all still work, but I was very worried that it was going to suck. Okay. I was like, man, I haven't been there in 20 years. I mean, who knows what this thing actually is? Maybe Mandela effect about how nice it was, Especially because I was a kid, the amount of things that happened in there. We walked by the old mill. So many moments of my life happened at Kennywood. It was a big day. So I started getting a little bit worried that maybe I was gonna get crucified.

[Adam Schefter]

Nope.

[Pat McAfee]

Now, granted, it was just us there.

[Ty Tone]

That helps for sure.

[Connor Rogers]

Does help.

[Pat McAfee]

Much better.

[Ty Schmidt]

But it delivered much better.

[Pat McAfee]

I had some yinzers respond to a couple respond to my picture of the old mill. And they go, let me guess, you're getting a VIP treatment, Kennywood. Yeah. Very relatable. It's like, I'd like Let you know, not relatable at all. We hit all of these things in two and a half hours. Even stopped by the potato patch. Well, we had the greatest.

[Connor Rogers]

Hold on.

[Pat McAfee]

It's called the potato patch. They take that fucking sign.

[Darius J. Butler]

It's called the patch.

[Pat McAfee]

No, it is not. The patch is a nicotine thing.

[Ty Schmidt]

There was signage for both.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, but they covered the potato patch. Ricky made a mistake.

[Ty Schmidt]

He know he's going to fix it

[Ty Tone]

and he is going to rectify it.

[Pat McAfee]

He knows that he's going to. He's going to fix that. But I would say I was worried going in. And then once I felt that jackrabbit, I was like, yeah, feels like the boys are throwing their fastball today, you know, because the maintenance crew matters. And I think what I remembered is 100-year-old coasters, wooden coasters. So if you zoom in on the wood, there's a chance. It looks shitty.

[Ty Schmidt]

Sure.

[Connor Rogers]

Well moldy.

[Pat McAfee]

It's old wood.

[Ty Tone]

Yeah, very old.

[Pat McAfee]

Pittsburgh is a blue collar union labor city. The amount of pride that the maintenance people have in the Thunderbolt, in the jackrabbit, in the fucking kangaroo, the racer in the racer, in the Phantom's Revenge, in the Steel Curtain, it was like we got a chance to talk to all the maintenance people because they had to open their rides for us. Sure thought they were gonna hit our guts. We weren't the first people to ever have this happen to. We were told that. Which was good. Cause I did feel terrible that these guys had to come in on their off day and open these things. But the amount of pride they all had in all their rides. And then once we get on there, I'm like, kennywood does have its fastball. I was very excited about that. I was worried you were gonna have to kill it. You know what? I remember exactly what it was.

[Darius J. Butler]

The expectations were very, very low coming in. You guys. You Pittsburgh guys have defended it. I'm from Florida, so that's where Disney World is. That's where I got to compare it to. And they say comparison is the thief of joy. But comparing these things, apples to apples, I mean, it's right here. It's right here. And we had the Phantom's Revenge, Steel Curtain, now you guys did. It's some pros and cons to having a partner yourself, because I don. If the human body is built to just go from Phantom's Revenge twice, Steel Curtain, Jack Rabbit, back to back to back to back, but it was unbelievable. And then to top it off, finish it off with the. What is it? The patch. Now, right? That's what we're calling it. The patch. Okay. The patch.

[Nick Saban]

That was.

[Darius J. Butler]

That was fun. It's the potato patch, fries, pulled pork. They had the Larry Gravy magic.

[Kendrick Perkins]

Yeah, it was.

[Darius J. Butler]

It was top notch. A1.

[Pat McAfee]

A1 Pittsburgh's been delivering, we will say, and they'll do it for the draft. Now let's go to a man who's a college football national champion, super bowl champion, Ryder cup winner. The AJ Hawk is here. Hawker. Good to see you. Hawker. You know, your discipline is the reason why you've been so good at everything. Connor was about to mention it there. The bone couldn't fit on two of the coasters.

[AJ Hawk]

Yep. So I did hear about that.

[Darius J. Butler]

Is.

[AJ Hawk]

Is that really true or are we just doing a thing where we mess with the bone?

[Pat McAfee]

It was not going to get into hate.

[AJ Hawk]

Let me try to get this thing over my lap. Oh, I cannot do it.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's like a scenic workers trying to shove him in.

[AJ Hawk]

Come on now.

[Darius J. Butler]

I was trying to get out his way.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, that's true.

[Pat McAfee]

This is actual. We're telling the truth. I didn't want to get into this.

[AJ Hawk]

Is there weight limits or is there size lim up the ramp?

[Darius J. Butler]

That's me next to him up front in the first.

[AJ Hawk]

Could he. What if he rode by himself? Could he just take a cart?

[Ty Schmidt]

Little parts, there's dividers and we're trying

[Darius J. Butler]

to put more weight. This was the racer right here. So it was the blue. The blue ride versus the red ride. So trying to get, you know, King

[AJ Hawk]

Z has a racer too.

[Connor Rogers]

Mullen said he was motivated, though. He said this actually genuinely now gives

[AJ Hawk]

me this, the kickstart.

[Pat McAfee]

He needed two roller coasters.

[AJ Hawk]

What do you do? Did he stand there and wave at you guys as you went by?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it was more uncomfortable than anything.

[Connor Rogers]

He had his hands in his. In his face because he was crying after he couldn't ride.

[AJ Hawk]

I didn't know it was that serious.

[Pat McAfee]

Serious.

[Darius J. Butler]

It started off funny towards sad.

[Pat McAfee]

Real sad.

[AJ Hawk]

No one thought of did anything. All right, I'll stay with you.

[Pat McAfee]

It's okay. Well, they have a sign at the beginning that says like, well, Gumpy wasn't riding a lot of these rides because he, he. He took two drives.

[Ty Schmidt]

He's awarded.

[Pat McAfee]

Only it wasn't enough. Bailey, Bailey on the ride that has the most whoopty woos in the United States of America.

[Peter Schrager]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

As it's going, looks over at Evan Fox and goes. I hate roller coaster. He goes through it. He gets up and gets off of it. It was There was a lot of. There was a lot of observers. And Debone, I don't think he wanted to be one, but the Coasters kind of said, not today to him. And I'll tell you what. You saw what happened to Connor.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

If that would happen to Debone, we're having a memorial right now because he would have been falling out of that thing there. Nowhere close to getting that.

[Darius J. Butler]

He stayed off.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, let's move off. Kennywood. Thank you, Kenny Wood. Thank you, Kenny Wood. Bring Italian Day back. Kenny Wood. The fact that Ital at Kennywood is pretty crazy. Spacuzzi was walking us around. Napolitano is one of the head maintenance guys. Digiulio was there. Moraldo was there. Gino was there. I mean, what'd I say? What?

[Ty Schmidt]

Every day, Kennywood's Italian Day. We don't need our own day there.

[Connor Rogers]

There's a guy three times the size of Bones, and his name was Tony something that ends in I or O, and the guy couldn't fit on the rise. He said, that's it. We're pulling Italian Day. We ain't doing Italian Day. And Kenny would anymore. If I can't fit in that.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, let's move to the draft, shall we? Thank you, Pittsburgh. The Pens. Thank you so much for the hospitality at the playoff game on Monday night.

[Darius J. Butler]

I don't know if they'll be back in that building.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, that's probably all she wrote there,

[Pat McAfee]

I'll tell you what. Did we know the Flyers were as big, strong, and as talented as they. They're bigger, faster, stronger, and more talented

[Ty Schmidt]

than us that's ever good.

[Pat McAfee]

There's a guy named 74 on. On the Flyers. What was his name?

[Connor Rogers]

He's Russian.

[Pat McAfee]

Owen Tippett. Stu is our goalie.

[Ty Schmidt]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, Tippett. This guy, 74, he's as orange as the fucking jersey. He's everywhere. This guy is everywhere, and he's massive. Okay. And what was that other guy? Sannheim.

[Adam Schefter]

Mm.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, you're lucky that glass was there, Sandheim. I bet you're lucky that glass was there, Sandheim. I almost climbed it, but I didn't want the LA Kings thing to happen.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

With my neck brace. I was actually told just moments before, or I guess a day before, the LA Kings glass shattered into the bench. I was told many times, stop banging on a glass. Because it was hard not to just make some noise. It's the best way to make noise.

[Ty Schmidt]

I mean, players can touch it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I think the Flyers did see this tweet, and they have heard what we said. There was a lot of waving after the game to me. Hey, hey. See a bum. They cooked us.

[Connor Rogers]

They're a good team. You got backup goalie, too. How many times is a backup goalie going to come in and pitch a shutout?

[Pat McAfee]

Guy was standing on his head.

[Connor Rogers]

On his head.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm seeing what goals are going in for the Boston Bruins last night against Buffalo. We couldn't buy one of those things.

[Connor Rogers]

What happens when you're an original six team? Okay. The hockey gods look fondly upon you.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, let's get away from this series because the Flyers are going to win, it feels like. So I don't want to talk about it ever again. Hockey had a hell of a year.

[Kendrick Perkins]

Good job.

[Pat McAfee]

Hockey.

[Connor Rogers]

Basketball's heating up.

[Pat McAfee]

Hockey had a hell of a year.

[AJ Hawk]

Right now.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And we're going back to Philly. And I'm going to tell you, I had eyes on the.

[Peter Schrager]

On.

[Pat McAfee]

On the guys. Yeah, they're bigger, stronger, faster and more talented than us.

[AJ Hawk]

It's tough to compete with it.

[Darius J. Butler]

It's a long series.

[Connor Rogers]

Sid plays.

[Pat McAfee]

Not really. It could be quick.

[Darius J. Butler]

It's a long series. I still got faith in Sid.

[Pat McAfee]

I love Sid. Gino was everywhere. Yeah. Gino, I love you. Tanger was out there. We got a couple guys on the ice that I don't love. A couple guys. I could hear, this guy stinks. But on the other side, the Flyers, everybody was good.

[AJ Hawk]

So they're winning all that. Flyers gonna win the Cup?

[Ty Schmidt]

It feels like.

[Pat McAfee]

No. I think there's a chance they got talking over there as Penguin legend. There's a chance that they could do that. It was fun. We appreciate it. Great. See everybody. Let's move to the topic of discussion and why we were so fortunate to be here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Maybe the nicest weather I've ever seen in Pittsburgh, especially in April. Joining us now is the man who released his most recent mock draft. This mock. Some guy. Some guy attacked me for saying that you're the most accurate mock drafter. He has a website. I forget his name. I don't know if anybody's visited a website. But he told me it was documented. He might have outperformed you. He said, okay. I don't know if anybody saw it. Me, he. It wasn't Mitt. It was somebody with a website. I got him. I got better score than him or whatever. Because there is now a scoring process for these mock drafts. There is an actual score accountability that we're doing. Schrager, every time we followed along with you, we feel most informed. We appreciate you so much for joining us. It's Peter Schrager. Schrager and Tone Diggs will be live from the Football IQ Draft IQ trailer that I just saw. It's 45 degrees in there right now. The air conditioning is working, boys. Now, Shregs, you released your most recent mock draft. Let's talk about the storylines. I know a lot of things had to change after your first one. What did you kind of put into this one that you think is maybe most set, most real, and then maybe what are you still questioning?

[Peter Schrager]

The last 72 hours I've been on the phones with just about every NFL team and have someone in at least every building. And I'm trying to piece this thing together. And remember, it's very hard to do it because if one team does something in the third overall pick that you don't expect, it all trickle down effect. It makes it very difficult to be accurate. I will say this, this draft, three things to keep in mind. One, positional value does not matter this year. There are not the blue chip players at our traditional positions of offensive tackle, wide receiver, quarterback, and at defensive end that there usually are. So when you look at a Caleb Downs, a Sonny Styles, a Jeremiah Love, three positions that you don't typically see go in the top 10, those guys will go in the top 10. That's one part that is worth noting. The other part that I think is really significant here, Pat, is that at number three, the Arizona Cardinals are sitting there and there are teams that have been calling and there are teams that have been listening and there is an opportunity to move up to three. And if they don't trade out, we might see a running back go as high as third overall. Jeremiah Love, the running back in Notre Dame could go third overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so you're saying there might be some moves at three that would be for a quarterback or you're saying positional value doesn't matter if somebody can get

[Peter Schrager]

to three for something for whoever the jets don't take.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so let's talk about. Oh, like Arvell Reese potentially instead of David Bailey.

[Peter Schrager]

David Bailey, yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so I know that. Did Jimmy Johnson create the trade points book?

[Peter Schrager]

Trade value book, yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Does this year's mean the same as other years in the past with the way everybody's talking about these particular drafts?

[Peter Schrager]

Great question. No, because also the other piece of this draft is 1 to 20. We have 20 first round picks in this draft and I'm not knocking the kids who are going to go from 21 to 32. But traditionally the players that you're seeing on this list from 21 to 32 for the most part might not be considered first round players. They could be considered second round players. This draft is a little different in that you've got your few blue chip players up top, you've got your next year that are first round guys, but it kind of falls off a cliff after 20. So the trade value of a first round pick at 28 or 29 is a lot less than it might have been in previous years. In this year's draft, the tackles are going to go, the wide receivers are going to go, but there's not your group of corners, there's not your group of defensive tackles and there's not your group of quarterbacks that you typically are.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, last question for me before Tone will definitely have some in the boys. Will, from my understanding, from my source says around the league everybody's trying to get back. Is that accurate?

[Peter Schrager]

Not everybody. Not everybody.

[Pat McAfee]

But there's a lot of people trying to move back.

[Peter Schrager]

I think there is a lot of value in trying to just collect as many picks as possible in this draft once that first wave of talent goes. When I tell you one corner, Mansoor Delaine is expected to go in the first round, that's the only one that's guaranteed to go. Debo, I'll tell you one corner that's shocking. There's other guys who and a half. Yeah, there's. But like this is the only sure fire one that is going to go and it's Mansour Delaine and that is usually a position where we see 6, 7, 8 maybe go. And then after the wide receivers you've got the big three. And then there's a bit of a question on Cooper, there's a bit of a question on Concepcion, bit of a question on Denzel Boston and you don't have your typical oh, these are six first round guys. They're definitely going in the top 15. Makes it a very interesting draft.

[Ty Schmidt]

Okay, Shakes, when I look at it, the first thing that popped out to me, Maui Noah from Miami has been the favorite to go first offensive lineman off the board for a while now. You do not have him go the first off the board. You have fo going. Is that because the Browns need a left tackle? Fano has played left tackle. Or do you think are you hearing that Fano is going to be the first offensive lineman off the board?

[Peter Schrager]

It'll be one of those two guys. And I would keep an eye on Kaden Proctor as a late rising prospect the 6 foot 7 mountain of a man out of Alabama. I have him the the Lions trading up to 13 to get him Maoa Fano is a conversation everyone's having in the league right now. Fano where a captain C on his chest at Utah can play right cam left tackle can also play inside. We know that Mao had the bigger games he's a right tackle I just

[Ty Schmidt]

saw the fos like he he did have the shortest arms I believe as an as as an offensive lineman at the combine but he said he doesn't give a like put him wherever you guys think I'm going to be the greatest I will play that position.

[Peter Schrager]

Took snaps at center at the combine said I'll do whatever just get me there. Can play all play all five positions Culture guy and everyone raves about him.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm thinking he doesn't have an Instagram. Is that a clear that's a great question.

[Connor Rogers]

Good question.

[Peter Schrager]

I wouldn't imagine there's a very vibrant Instagram. I don't think he's doing TikTok dances.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean if he started at all five positions or played at all five positions and willing to play at all five positions he said I'll play whatever. And he's got short arms too so maybe he can't even True. That's the type of guy we want on team that's the guy we want on Team D. But has a question for you.

[Darius J. Butler]

Speaking of guys on the team in that box draft with the Giants, I mean I'm sure every Giants fan probably hit you up in relation with Reese and then TYSON, you know, 5 and 10. What are you hearing about Tyson post pro day? Because I only saw a few clips but he looks phenomenal the way he's moving. As far as his health. I think Dr. Child came on and said a lot of teams won't even have a red mark next to him. What's your thoughts on Jordan Tyson? Ben, you have him obviously second after Tate. Wide receivers coming off the board. What's your thoughts what you're hearing on him?

[Peter Schrager]

He's the most fascinating prospect in this draft and John Harbaugh is the most fascinating person in this draft. The Giants have a new coach who is making estimated $100 million in their building right now and their decision making process will now be really funneled through Harbaugh's vision. The 5 and the 10. They like Jordan Tyson. A lot of people in the league like Jordan Tyson is 5 too rich to take a receiver who Pat we've talked about it. Missed all those games for three different injuries but is lights out and if healthy is viewed as the number one prospect, I believe he could go as early as as five to the Giants. I think he can go seven to the Commanders, eight to the Saints or nine to the Chiefs. In this mock draft I have the Giants just sitting pretty, holding the line and getting the guy at 10. I, I noted it. I broke the news that he went to dinner with Joe Shane last Thursday night. They went to a place called Oochie in Arizona. I don't know.

[Adam Schefter]

I've not been.

[Darius J. Butler]

It's a good spot.

[Peter Schrager]

Supposed to be delicious.

[Pat McAfee]

I've learned a lot of places in Arizona.

[Peter Schrager]

Yeah, UCHI is the spot. I've been to a Twin Peaks in Arizona. It was lovely. I've been to several places in Arizona

[Pat McAfee]

but you know, that's it. Are they still serving ice cold beer?

[Ty Schmidt]

They got ice cold.

[Darius J. Butler]

Uncanny invitation.

[Peter Schrager]

That said, there's a lot of love for Tyson in that Giants building. I'm not sure he is going to go at five, especially if Arvel Reese

[Pat McAfee]

is on the board. Let's talk about Harbaugh having two top 10 picks. So Hembo sent over some stats here about his highest drafted players under John Harbor. 6 Ronnie Stanley 14, 16, 17, 18. Obviously whenever you think about Harbaugh trying to build a new culture, isn't that a big deal here now with his draft picks and what he does with 5 and 10, isn't it sending a massive message? His brother drafted Joe Alt first draft pick. Remember there was a lot of conversation on who he's going to take and he said we're taking an offensive lineman. We are just going to let everybody know that we're taking an offensive lineman. Harbaugh going to do that with the Giants as well. I don't see wide receiver at 5 for Harbaugh.

[Peter Schrager]

That seems out of character, right? It does. And then yet you look at what this, what this team is built at. You have neighbors coming off the injury. You don't have Wanda Robinson anymore. Darius Slayton's the number two. Are you going to compete with the Cowboys, the Eagles and and the Commanders with what you have on offense or do you go and get the guy if he's the number one wide receiver at a value position? I I would add all those players that Harbaugh got with the exception of Flacco who was the 18th overall pick and went to Delaware. We're talking Alabama, Notre Dame. You're talking about big program guys who've produced. So all These Ohio State guys, whether it be Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, car take like that.

[Pat McAfee]

Feels like a hardball.

[Peter Schrager]

There is a body of work that they have done in big spots from big programs where when you're looking at a Jordan Tyson and saying, okay, well, Arizona State, he did play well in big games. Maybe that's not the feel at 5 overall.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And for Jordan Tyson, Dr. David Chow kind of talked me out of the hole. I'm never trusting that guy. In a 17 game season, him saying his hamstrings back. Hamstrings get healthy. The shoulder or what was it he said he plays. Yeah, collarbone. He plays football. Like that's going to happen. Hopefully it doesn't happen in the NFL again or whatever. Overlay Lance and then knee legging and stuff.

[Ty Schmidt]

His knee hit like the, the highlight hit the Internet again this week of his hit in Colorado. When he did, we all would have torn everything off.

[Ty Tone]

It was.

[Ty Schmidt]

It was a submarine safety right to his knee.

[Nick Saban]

Just.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, it was, it was, it was tough football.

[Darius J. Butler]

It's a low tackle, straight. Okay, hey, but you know, it's 32 teams, so it may be 22 that say, hey, no issues, but 10 say, no way I'm taking them because 100% getting injured in college. The likelihood of you getting injured in college. It had been healthy on the NFL level. To some guys, you just take them off the board.

[Peter Schrager]

The other one that's interesting is Jermad McCoy out of Tennessee, who you're going to hear a lot about. He had the best film out of anybody in the 2024 season. January of 25, had a knee injury, missed the entire college football season. Everyone said he'll be back, he'll be fine. Combine okay. I'm not doing much. Fine. Pro day runs a 40. Looks good. Drills. They said not 100%. And you're hearing back from teams that like, whereas Tyson is well on his way, like McCoy still might need some time and they might need to do some more work. So you start. So I got him all the way down to 30. This is a guy who might be the best corner in this draft. And if you look at the 24 film, might be the best corner in the past two drafts. But that might be a value pick for the Dolphins over there at 30. If teams are just scared to say, okay, he might not be a contributor right away or we're only going to get this many years out of him. Outstanding kid, outstanding talent. But I have him going 30 in the second corner off the board.

[Pat McAfee]

Remember, all it takes is one person to like a player.

[Peter Schrager]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Owner, gm, owner's wife, owner's kid, owner's husband. I mean, Carly's husband might be really intrigued by draft night. Can change 100%. Owners can literally say, we like this guy. Right? No doubt. No, we kind of like the other.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, now we do.

[Pat McAfee]

I think we like this guy. Especially in this, where it seems like it's a lot of. Yeah, a lot of.

[Peter Schrager]

One of these, like, 31 flavors is what I was told. This draft is like Baskin Robbins. Like, you like this guy. You got this guy. Pick one of them. Like, they're both Reese and Bailey for the jets is a fascinating debate. And to their credit, the jets are lock and key right now. There's no leaks coming from their building.

[Ty Schmidt]

What about the jets canceling his top 30? Do you get any feeling from. They canceled David Bailey's top 30 visit. Is that a good thing for them? Bailey going to the Jets?

[Peter Schrager]

I have him going number two. I've had him going there for a month. And Pat, we talked about it. Everyone was on Reese. I was on Bailey, and then everyone went back on Reese. I've stayed on Bailey. Very unorthodox that they canceled a top 30 visit.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, that's jets football, baby.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes, it is.

[Peter Schrager]

The explanation you will get on that is. We met with him extensively at the combine. We met with him extensively at the pro day. We've done FaceTimes with him. Why are we wasting his time? We know the kid. He went from Stanford to Texas Tech, is as clean as a prospect off the field. As you can imagine. He's a wonderful young man. Had 14 and a half sacks. What are we getting from him touring our facility? That said Orville Reese went on the thing and did the same stuff and toured the facility. So you take what you want from it. I've got him going, Bailey. But like you just said, I have been wrong before. And things can also change from now until the draft on Thursday night.

[Pat McAfee]

Did you.

[Darius J. Butler]

A.J. did you have anything like that happen to you leading up to the draft? Because, Drew, you know, you're kind of

[Pat McAfee]

in the same shoes.

[Darius J. Butler]

Guys, the top five pick, you know, packers were kind of in on you.

[AJ Hawk]

I did not. I met with them at the combine and everything, but I took those. I think I took five or six visits around, and the packers didn't bring me in. They didn't cancel a visit. I didn't have something scheduled and canceled. They just had no communication. So I really had no clue until they called me. 30 seconds is that right. My name came on the TV.

[Pat McAfee]

Where'd you think you were going to go?

[AJ Hawk]

I was hoping to go to Green Bay because it was close. It's the packers, you know, everyone I feel like, at least in the Midwest, grew up a Packers fan. I was hoping to go there, but I don't, honestly, I was so young and naive and stupid, I didn't care.

[Pat McAfee]

Did anybody take into the old mill, though? A little bit more than everybody else, you know, talking about it. Kenny, would anybody really show you love? Maybe a little over the pants.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, I'm over the pants.

[Darius J. Butler]

Maybe.

[AJ Hawk]

But Mike Nolan was actually out in San Francisco. He was the head coach. He was awesome. He was a great dude. I think I said on this, on the show before he old school, wrote me a handwritten note and sent me 10 bucks back because he didn't have any cash when he was trying to tip the guy at the restaurant he took me to in San Fran. So he's like, oh, I'm sorry, you got any money? I got a 10. I gave him a 10. And then to my scrubby little college house, I got old school mail. And it was from coach Mike Nolan with a ten dollar bill and saying thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

I was like, hey, if he wants to take. This is a great guy.

[AJ Hawk]

If he wants to take me, I'll be very happy.

[Pat McAfee]

I'd love to play for that guy. Yeah, that's amazing. AJ Top five pick is crazy to think about. Draft week was obviously huge for. And I always ask you the corny sports media question, but, like, how does it feel to be this close to people getting new experience your life that you got to experience all those years ago? Draft week is special. It's a lot of dream. I mean, I was picked 222. I cried, you know, like, obviously I couldn't imagine at 5. And nowadays all the kids are rich, though, so I guess it kind of takes away from. I don't know. I still think it's a huge deal. It's still a huge deal.

[AJ Hawk]

It's definitely still a huge deal. But I mean, I don't know. I think there's something too. There's something about being young and naive to the process and not really sure what the whole future holds. What I always struggle struggle with is when people say, like, oh, I'm certified, I made it now, mama.

[Pat McAfee]

Like, no.

[AJ Hawk]

I'm like, no, this is just the start. Like, I agree it was a very. It's an emotional situation and it's a dream come true. But I was like, okay, now I have a chance. Like, now it's time to go to work. You didn't. You don't. If you're drafted, you're not. You have not arrived. You have, you got a chance to go live your dream now.

[Pat McAfee]

And that's who they're trying to draft, by the way.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

That is all we're trying to draft. That guy.

[Peter Schrager]

Can I share a story about Pat McAfee's drafted? I don't know if I've shared on the show, and I think I told you in person once. Tom Tesco is a friend of mine. He's with, he was with the Chargers and the Raiders. He worked for the Indianapolis Colts and he was a scout. Now, Pat, tell me the actual bowl game it was. You guys played North Carolina.

[Pat McAfee]

Meineke Car Turbo.

[Peter Schrager]

It was the Meineke Car Car Bowl. And Tom Tesco, who was a scout for the Indianapolis Colts, said before the game there was a guy booting 60 yard field goals, blasting punts, and he said, who is this guy? That is the number one punter slash kicker I've ever seen in, like a pregame workout. You were there for an hour beforehand, and Tesco was like, this guy is amazing. We have to get this guy. Goes back to the Colts organization and they're putting the boards together and he's like, that's my pick. McAFeet of West Virginia. That's my pick. They also thought they had a chance that they could also get this guy who was a receiver out of Akron, who was. Or Kent State, I'm sorry. A nice player who can do a couple things and was returning kicks, but was really a quarterback, and he was a quarterback that they had their eyes on. Their plan all along was to draft both Pat McAfee and Julian Edelman.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, that would have been great.

[Peter Schrager]

It comes up onto the clock and it was a debate in the war room. Do we take the punter kicker or the quarterback that we want to convert to wide receiver? The punter kicker won the argument.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow.

[Ty Tone]

Pat McAfee.

[Pat McAfee]

That's a mistake.

[Peter Schrager]

Is selected by the Indianapolis Colts and Edelman goes undrafted. And then he signs the Patriots as an undrafted free.

[Pat McAfee]

So even more so I was supposed to go to Kent State.

[Peter Schrager]

Is that right?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Yeah. So I was committed to Kent State, so I would have been teammates with Julian at that thing.

[Darius J. Butler]

Yeah, I, I, Y' all ended up being both one helmet guys, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. The whole time.

[Peter Schrager]

Wire to wire. And both media superstars.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Yep. Yeah, yep, yep. I'd say that's the case. Euphoria is Kind of the feeling that we both got, you know, in like. Ain't that right, aj?

[AJ Hawk]

That is.

[Nick Saban]

You're right.

[Pat McAfee]

Julian Edelman. I got a chance to see. I am a huge fan of Julian Edelman and Peyton. And Julian Edelman would have been outrageous.

[Nick Saban]

Oh, man.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know if Tom Telescope. He should have got off the table when he was first.

[Darius J. Butler]

Yeah. Austin Collie Young.

[Nick Saban]

Young.

[Pat McAfee]

Austin Collins, him in the fourth, I think, third round out of.

[AJ Hawk]

Why was he your comparison?

[Darius J. Butler]

He played in a slot.

[AJ Hawk]

Okay, got it.

[Pat McAfee]

There it is now. He didn't.

[AJ Hawk]

No other reason.

[Pat McAfee]

Austin was. He.

[AJ Hawk]

He was a he take the top.

[Pat McAfee]

He was going deep.

[Darius J. Butler]

Four, two, game. I was led up across Austin until they moved Reggie in there to brought me up. Yeah.

[Peter Schrager]

Who was the Ohio State guy? Gonzalez.

[Pat McAfee]

He was politician.

[Peter Schrager]

Politician now.

[Nick Saban]

Right.

[Pat McAfee]

He had a hell of a man. Anthony Julian Edin. Reggie way.

[Darius J. Butler]

Wow.

[Pat McAfee]

That would have been.

[Darius J. Butler]

Or you had Garon and Dallas Cork.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, my God. We would have scored. They would have scored. I would have been on a different team, hopefully. Actually, I probably would have been flipping

[Peter Schrager]

burn had you heard that story before.

[Pat McAfee]

No, I did not. They traded with the Eagles, I do believe to get up to pick 222 to make the pick. So I had no idea. I had no contact with the Eagles. So when I got a call, I was watching in my house. Cause I thought I was going to the Cowboys. I was told before draft by Joe decamilla. Special teams say, hey, you're going to be a Cowboy. You're going to be kicking for us down here. I was like, sick. I'm gonna be a fucking Dallas Cowboy. We partied hard. I mean, we had a great weekend. We had a lot of fun. Then when it came Sunday to get drafted or whatever, we're like, all right, let's settle in. They draft another guy, kid out of David out of usc.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, the lifter.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Cause he did. Yeah. Jerry loved him, I guess, because he did 225, like 20, sometimes 28 times or something. So Joe DeMillos actually told me, like, hey, man, I'm so sorry that happened. And I'm like, well, no other team, really.

[Ty Schmidt]

There's your example with the owner, by the way.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, no, yeah, exactly.

[Peter Schrager]

Special teams coach only has so much. So much of a voice.

[Pat McAfee]

Team was really that interested, though.

[AJ Hawk]

So it was like stood on the table for you.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know if I'm going. I. I think this might be back to school days. And then, yeah, I get the call from Bill Pullan. That was so cool. Hey, we think you can figure out punting is what he said. I'm like, yeah, man, absolutely. Of course. Can't wait to do that. Had to go to Plum High School's football field the next day with Tim McAfee and like, hey, we got to figure out. You ever hauled before? You got to learn how to punt. Yeah, absolutely. Hell, a hold all the time. I kicked four years there. I had never held in my life. But yeah, I lied to my ass off. Very lucky to get in there. They wish they would have taken Julian Edelman, and I think that would have been a smart decision long term. And it would have been nice to be teammates with Jules. But on that note, lucky, luckiest phone call I ever got. And I tried to fuck it up there too. Getting arrested, I tried my best. I was nowhere near good enough at kicking balls when I got arrested to get arrested. And I knew that sitting in that jail cell, this one's over, boys. You know, one of those moments because, you know, once Tom Telesco looked into West Virginia, I had a couple underages. Yeah, there was a couple of red flags. We'll say, hey, it was a Tuesday, it looks like.

[Peter Schrager]

Why?

[Pat McAfee]

Teammate's birthday. Teammate's birthday. I had to be there for the teammate. Okay, this next one. Wednesday night.

[Ty Schmidt]

Penny pitchers.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, penny pitcher. Have you ever been to Morgantown? I don't know, but my entire process was very nerve wracking and very scary. That's why, like, whenever people get drafted in the first round, like, super pumped for him. But I feel like AJ's draft experience is vastly different than mine. I thought I was going back to school, maybe going back to soccer for a little bit.

[Peter Schrager]

Really?

[Pat McAfee]

So getting drafted was like a huge anxiety relief, I would say. But to AJ's point, I didn't make the team then, you know, like, I'm not on the team at that point. They had four punters on.

[Peter Schrager]

Did they really?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I think so. Yeah. And the special teams coordinator had told me directly to my face that he did not want me. He wanted the other guy, which was Timothy the mastiff.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, Tim Mastad.

[Peter Schrager]

He's still playing the Lehman Green Packers.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah. He was in training camp with us, though. I had to compete with him. He was a part of helping teach me how to punt, like a month before training camp and then he's in there and we're competing with each other and it's like, I'm so sorry, Tim. I'm so sorry. And I was not good. I should not have made the team. But Bill Pulling had my back, and I'm very grateful for that, very thankful for that. But the draft is a special time. And, Triggs, we're very thankful that you're joining us legit. I can't wait.

[Peter Schrager]

I predicted four trades in my mock draft. I've got Detroit coming up. I got the Cowboys coming up. It's all fun. Enjoy it. Do what you want with it.

[Pat McAfee]

Again, just don't tip pics.

[Peter Schrager]

It's a guide. I do ask you, though, at home, choose your entertainment value wisely. Put the Twitter away. Watch us on all the channels. Watch the draft spectacular. We're gonna have an absolute blast tomorrow.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, you're right. I do like you taking your high horse stance. That Jack.

[Peter Schrager]

Can I explain the high horse.

[Pat McAfee]

Hold on, though.

[Peter Schrager]

It's more against reporters than.

[Pat McAfee]

No, I want to let you know, though, you've done this for the last few years. Toss. You've actually told me, like, I don't like when people tip picks. And I go, well, we definitely tip picks. Because that was kind of where the draft spectacular started. We were all wearing. I was in a Canadian tuxedo. Aaron joined us, and we were on the Internet. So any information that the Internet had, certainly. But we were, like, seven picks ahead of the NFL, and we started gaining some steam with this draft Spectacular. People actually, like, started watching our shit. So people started getting real mad. You know, these people down here still don't love us. Those people over there, the guy that sits on that stage up there. So then we started getting, like, messages like, hey, please don't be tipping picks. And then you gave me a full speech about it. Let me explain. And you're like, hey, this is not impressive.

[Peter Schrager]

There's no valor. Okay, let me explain. You're not winning a Pulitzer Prize for breaking tipping picks. If you have a pick on Thursday morning and you're like, I know the jets are taking David Bailey, or I know Alvaro, God bless you as a reporter. Go. The NFL gets the picks before you see them on TV. You have to submit them all. 32 teams get the pick. Every coach, every GM, every. So if you have one source in any building, at the league office, an agent, everyone gets it 90 seconds before the pick is announced. All it takes is to just be told, oh, they're taking this guy, and you're just spoiling it. So if you have the pick a day earlier or you're a reporter and you want to break it, great. But after the pick is submitted and the pick is submitted and in, there's no valor, there's no awesome honor.

[AJ Hawk]

Sorry, Strikes, but shouldn't you be talking to these coaches and people that are

[Pat McAfee]

snitching, letting these recorders know they're trying to crack down?

[Peter Schrager]

It's hard. There's 32.

[Pat McAfee]

There's too many people.

[Ty Schmidt]

Think about all the people and all the fans. See the drafters.

[Peter Schrager]

Listen, Mike Greenberg will know. Rich Eisenhow, everyone knows it goes through. It's a production. So I'm not trying to say. I'm not trying to say, like, hey, that, you know, protecting their shield. I don't give a crap about the ratings. I'm saying there's no cool. And then the reaction when you just see it on TV and Goodell's a name and you didn't expect it to be happening. That surprise is cool. That's one of the.

[Pat McAfee]

Did you see Ty or, sorry, did you see Mad Mel last year? Whenever Gold. How good was that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Peter Schrager]

That still exists.

[Pat McAfee]

We'll have that. And, and to be completely clear, I do think Commissioner Goodell loves the draft.

[AJ Hawk]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Like, he is very, very, very big fan of the draft. Future of the NFL, future generations. This is the baton passing of the NFL almost. And it's become a spectacle. I think he's very proud of what it's become. And I do think they like him being the one. Oh, yeah, we've gotten that message loud and clear. Okay, now we don't get the same emails that Rich Eisen and Greeny get.

[Peter Schrager]

I don't know.

[Pat McAfee]

No, it's not emails.

[Peter Schrager]

It's not emails. The production of it all, like right before the pick is up, they have to know because they have to have the B roll ready and all the stuff, and they have to get it going. And they do.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Your actual reaction, though, finding out who it is, is great, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I enjoy it.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's better that you don't know.

[Pat McAfee]

Joining us now, ladies and gent, Amanda's going to be picking at the end of the NFL draft tomorrow. Maybe. Maybe he trades up to two. He could maybe trades up the one.

[Ty Schmidt]

I don't know if they have the capital do that, but maybe.

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies and gentlemen, the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, Brandon Beano. How you doing, pal?

[Brandon Beane]

I'm good. Good to see you guys. Everybody good?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we're fantastic. How are you? Obviously, on this draft eve, you have a late pick, but on that note, are we already locked in at this point? Where do teams kind of sit whenever we're. The day before the NFL draft? Are you reading Schrager's Mock and go. That changes, like, legitimately. How do you guys operate this close to when the draft starts?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, after we see Peter's mock, we kind of rally back up as a group and see, like, where he ranks, how we rank him. And so we have a conversation. We don't necessarily take Peter's guy, but we at least want to talk about it before we. Before we dismiss it.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, congratulations. You're taking Peter woods out of. There you go.

[Ty Schmidt]

All right, Congrats.

[Pat McAfee]

Go ahead and get him on air. Get him up above. Okay, so what have you guys been doing, obviously, that late in the draft? So many things can happen, and obviously trades take place on draft night and surprise picks happen. Are you just running through all the different situations? How do you. Can you take me through late end of first round and kind of strategy at this point?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I mean, you kind of just use what you know, use what you hear. Obviously you study mocks, not like. Like the actual order, but, you know, out of enough mocks that Fernando Mendoza is going to be gone, Reese is going to be gone. You name them, you kind of just write down. All right, I'm just making up a number. These 12 guys are 100%. Barring, like I said, a. A gas mask or something, I don't even know if anybody care about that. But barring something like that happening, these guys are going to be gone before we pick. So after that, you're just then kind of looking at names. You're looking at positions, position value, and then you look around you, like, what do you think the teams, you know, three, four, five in front of you, what are they going to do? You know, do you want to move up with one of them? You know, where we have draft capital, we don't have a 2. We traded. We did a 2,5 swap for DJ Moore. So it's not like we're loaded with a lot of ammo to kind of jump way up the. You know, up the line.

[Pat McAfee]

You should think about it, though. That'd be cool for us.

[Darius J. Butler]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

You might as well just use your 27 picks. Everyone said that draft's gonna stink.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I think it should. Maybe the whole fleet of 20, 27 picks to move right up to 2 to 3 so we can get a little electricity, you know, to start this entire thing. D, Bud has a question for you. Bean.

[Darius J. Butler]

O. Yeah, Bean, I want to ask you about players with injuries. Now, not specific players in this draft, but how do you balance, I guess, the talent of certain players at certain positions and then the injuries, like if it's the same injury year, it's just random injuries over three years. How do you balance that as a front office?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, great question. You know, we do meet with our docs and our medical team and you know, you have their talent where they're out on the board, but if they're, if it's a longevity issue, you're going, all right, is this a one contract guy? Do I think he can even. Is this something. I'm concerned the guy can even play four to five years on and then you kind of make it. Am I taking them all the way off the board or am I moving them down saying, hey, you know what? I wouldn't. I had a first round grade on him as a his talent. But I'm very concerned if he can make it, you know, four or five years. But maybe I say, you know what a fourth round pick, he may not make it four or five years either. So you're just kind of measuring risk. The risk of the talent of the player versus the risk of what the medical concerns are. You look at past history. True as well. What players have come out in the draft at this position with something similar. How did they fare or you know, did it go well? Did it not? So you just, you're trying to put as much info as you can and put them in the spot that you're most comfortable taking them.

[Pat McAfee]

Tyson is obviously who we're referring to here because he's potential McCoy.

[Darius J. Butler]

It happens every corner, I guess.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, also there, McCoy. But Jordan Tyson is the big convo because he's potentially top 10 pick. Now, on that note, I haven't asked you this, you know, because I don't want you to be put in a spot, but I'm definitely going to do it. Now that people are watching him or the day before the draft, how do you feel about this draft class? What do you think is the read on this draft class here as a whole? You don't have to talk about just first round. You can do the entire. What do you think about. Because there's been a lot of shade thrown at this draft class. I think strictly because there isn't a bunch of quarterbacks. What are your thoughts on this particular draft class?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's not as top heavy you were alluding to it like at the top, whether it's quarterback edge, tackles, things like that. I don't think there's just as many sure fire, you know, top 10, top 15 guys, but they're still really good players. There's depth at various positions. And you're just trying to see, you know, as you look what positions have depth, what do not. Because if they don't have depth and you feel like that's a need, you're like, man, we better find a way to get that guy early or we're going to leave the draft, you know, without filling that position. But I think there's guys, Pat, that we can, you know, maybe they're not a starter, you know, for us, but a guy that can fill a depth role. I think there's. There's still plenty of players that will help, you know, all 32 teams, you

[Pat McAfee]

know, throughout the draft, I like to hear that there's been a lot of negativity about this draft. Con man, New England Patriot, Die Hard fan has a question for you.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, Bean, Shout out to your Buffalo Sabers. Good game last night. But back to football real quick.

[Pat McAfee]

Josh Allen's chugging beers. Maybe you need to look at Ty Simp Simpson, that guy. I don't know if that guy's fully committed. Yeah, that one's tough. Great beer chug, though. Fantastic. Josh Gray, beer chug. We love what you're doing for sport right there. And congrats on the kid.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah. And also, people were judging the drum. He nailed the drum. He just hitting it as hard. He was going for the beat, not power. That's something you need to look at, but hey, it's one.

[Brandon Beane]

It's one one, so don't get too ahead of yourself.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, we'll see. One team is bigger, tougher, more physical on his pod than the other team, but that's fine. B. When it comes to trades in the draft itself, Shrag's had four of them in his mock, one of them being, you know, the Cowboys switching picks with the Chiefs. But for you, you've traded up, you've traded back, you know, Kincaid, you went up and got him. At what point are you starting to talk to GMs, like, do you think these guys are talking now about, like, hey, can we move up here? Are you wait until the draft starts and if your guy starts to fall a bit, are you calling other teams? Like, what is kind of the strategy when it comes for some of these GMs trying to trade up and trade back?

[Brandon Beane]

Yeah, I mean, I think you kind of check with how far are you, realistically, wherever you're at in the first round, how far are you willing to go up knowing, you know, generally speaking, what that draft capital will cost you. And listen, if you're willing to go in the top 10. And you feel like you got the capital to do it. You're checking in saying, hey, what is your interest? Are you, you guys think there's, you would have any interest in moving back to our spot? Is this too far? You kind of want to get a feel. You may be it. I'm just making up. You may be at 20. Well, I know this the year we took Josh. Okay. We were at 21 and 22. And I was calling, knowing, you know, well ahead of time, hey, we, we were going to need to get into the top 10. I'm calling teams, teams. And no one was interested in falling all the way back to 21. So I traded a player with Cincinnati and went from 21 to 12. And now teams were interested in moving. You know, we ultimately went from 12 to 7. I don't think I could have got that deal on draft day going all the way from 21 to 7. So you kind of get a feel of if those teams up there, however far you want to go, are they willing to drop back as far as you are, whether it's three spots or whether it's 15 spots.

[Pat McAfee]

Guys are little deal makers out there. I like what we're doing in real time. Speaking of time, Shrags has the last question for you, by the way.

[Peter Schrager]

That Cordy Glenn deal, I think I broke that one. Let's, let's, let's ask about the change in the draft because Pat brings up a big point here. It used to be 15 minutes, then it was 10 minutes, but now it's 8 minutes for first round picks. Meaning you kind of got to be a little quicker and a little more nimble. What does that do to a GM and how does that affect you when you're on the clock?

[Brandon Beane]

I, I listen, at the end of the day, it's one round that you're doing it. We speed it up to the sec, you know, to seven minutes in, in the second round. You're prepared. We've been preparing for all this. So I don't, at the end of the day, I know it's a TV production and all that. I, I, I don't see any issue with it. I think you're going to kind of know ahead, like if you're, if you're wanting to trade up or, or if I'm sitting at 26 and I think I want to trade back, like I'm lining, you know, for the most part, those up. It doesn't mean when you get on the clock that you don't check with a Couple teams before you make a move. Either make a pick or take another move. You have to have your ducks in a row. You can't sit there for five minutes before you start that process of making a trade. But I don't. I don't see it impacting. It really Shrigs.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, you're going to win a Super bowl or not, dude. I'm sick of it.

[Brandon Beane]

That's the goal, buddy. That's the plan. That's the plan.

[Pat McAfee]

Too good at golf, guy. He might have to get worse at golf.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes, that would help.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know how it's going to go. I don't know how it's going to go. You're so good at golf. So good.

[Brandon Beane]

Not really. Not really.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, he is. Foxy. Will. Will you speak for the. The congregation here, Foxy?

[Kendrick Perkins]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Brandon Bean's incredible at golf. He will hit a four iron straight down the middle. Driver, straight down the middle. He will chip it on close, and he will make that putt. He is absolutely nails. Yeah, he's been doing it since he's like a kid. Just ride the bike to the golf course. Let me play like a 90 year old. And then he starts smoking the ball. He's a player. This guy's a real stick. And tomorrow night, we'll see if he can get one pick, maybe two picks closer to that. Lombardi, we appreciate the hell out of you. Bino. Good luck tomorrow.

[Darius J. Butler]

All right, buddy.

[Brandon Beane]

Thanks, guys.

[Pat McAfee]

See you Mano sp it away from the draft. Let's head to the playoffs, not the NHL. Because it's tough to talk about that without having to bring up that the Flyers are just dismantling the Pittsburgh Penguins. And I don't like it. Plenty of time we're on the glass watching that ass get kicked the other night. And I'll say it, the Flyers, bigger, stronger, faster, more talented. Yeah, that's normally a pretty good little recipe to win.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, stuff matters.

[Pat McAfee]

That's tough. Sid can't just play all five positions.

[Ty Schmidt]

I wish.

[Pat McAfee]

I wish he could.

[Connor Rogers]

People aren't happy with Tanger on the Internet.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, they're not.

[Pat McAfee]

They need to relax. Tanger's done a lot of good. He is the least of our worries. Nah, he is one of our worries, but he is not the least of our worries. He'll get it figured out. Let's go to the NBA. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is a dude who obviously we all love, 15 year NBA veteran NBA champ stud Kendrick. Parkins. Where are you? Where are you?

[Kendrick Perkins]

See it? Hey, I'm. I'm in the ny.

[Darius J. Butler]

Pat, how.

[Kendrick Perkins]

How's the neck doing, man? I see the neck brace off. How's the neck doing? Everything good?

[Pat McAfee]

I got my scans back. My C2, C3, C4 and C5, all 100% somehow. It might have been just in my mind that I maybe had a broken neck. But I'm happy that the doctors here in Pittsburgh UPMC took care of me. And thank you for checking in on me, Perk. I was in a bad spot out there.

[Kendrick Perkins]

Saw you. You was in the club with 50. You wasn't too bad. You weren't too bad. You weren't too bad.

[Pat McAfee]

50 Cameron, Tony, Yayo, Unk. Murder was in there. I mean, we were doing it. It was back. It was 2005 in there. I mean, it felt like I was 18 years old again. Anyways, let's talk about the NBA. We only got six minutes. It's on us. Thank you for joining us. Feels like the NBA had a big bounce back in game two. Of all the different series. Who caught your eye this weekend? What do we need to potentially change opinions on in your eyes?

[Kendrick Perkins]

Oh, you know what, man? I would say I gotta go towards the Lakers.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Ron's gonna win another one.

[Kendrick Perkins]

No, no, no. Nope. Will not go that far. It's more so is. It's more so an indictment on the Houston Rockets and how horrible they are when you think about the position that they're in now. You get back Kevin Durant and last night was a complete embarrassment. Marcus Smart showed up. Luke Canard is looking like the second coming of Larry Bird for some reason in this series. And you have Jackson Hayes who numbers didn't pop out box score wise is out outplayed Afro Shangu and when I say I'll play them, Jackson Hayes was. Was. He did a lot of little things that was like winning plays yesterday. And it raised a concern and put a big a bigger scope on the Houston Rockets and how disconnected and dysfunctional they really are.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so let's talk about your comment about LeBron at the beginning of this series. I know you're turning it on to the Houston Rockets being ass and everything like that, but at one point you said said if LeBron's able to do this at this stage of life, this first series against the Rockets, go conversations ever. We've had what seemingly is 15 guys who play in the NBA are all from Chicago. Okay. They've all come on our show and they just biased opinions. The goat conversation is over 41 years old doing what he's doing worthy of the respect that he's getting all across the board right now. It feels like people are finally feeling okay, giving him a little bit of love for what he's doing right, right now.

[Kendrick Perkins]

And rightfully so. Look, Braun and I Au battled in AAU. Played on the same team with the Oakland Soldiers. McDonald's all Americans together, drafted together. He is still going and I'm in the next chapter of my life. Okay? He is still going and I'm in the next chapter of my life and doing it at the highest level. Can you explain to me, see how 41 year old got. God, that's 20. His 23rd year in the NBA is still looking like a top five player in the NBA. That's what he looked like last night. Now I get it. My God, Q. Rich, he was on here a week ago and I, I know how Q wrist is.

[Nick Saban]

You.

[Kendrick Perkins]

You could just go look at his IG page and when he posts all his shipments of Jordans that he get in every month and he, you know he gonna stand 10 toes down with M. J. My guy shop was on here. He's from the shy. We know he gonna stand 10 toes. Although he won a championship with LeBron, which is kind of crazy to me. But listen, what Braun is doing right now, I. You just have to. I, I sat back in my hotel room last night and I was just like, man, this just is unreal. When he rejected that screen and roll and went down the lane, this play right here.

[Pat McAfee]

Here.

[Kendrick Perkins]

And rock the cradle. He didn't have to show off like that. But that was. He did that. He did that for the neighborhood. Yeah, he did that for the neighborhood.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. The Oakland soldiers, you know. Yeah. Back there doing it. Okay, we got like two minutes left on this. We have to hit something other than Braun. Go ahead, Debo.

[Darius J. Butler]

Yeah, Go to the east. We got the betting favorite. Celtics. They took an L to the Sixers yesterday. VJ Egg cone stepped up, Maxi stepped up. Are you concerned with the Celtics at all coming out of east now?

[Kendrick Perkins]

Absolutely not. Hell no. You know why? Because listen, The Celtics shot 13 for 50 from the three point line. They're not going to shoot that that poorly again. And look, VJ is. He cut them everywhere but loose. He had the game of his life. 30 points, 10 rebounds in the garden. That's a hard thing to do. The one thing I would not do is question the Joe Missoula system.

[AJ Hawk]

Amen.

[Kendrick Perkins]

Like, this is their offensive system. The one thing I would not question is, is that is Derrick White and. And Jalen Brown they will lock in and they will be better defenders in game three. So Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Paul George, they did their thing. They stole the game on the road. But I'm not concerned about the Celtics. They had the most championship experience in

[Pat McAfee]

the Huge day yesterday for the underdogs in the NBA, which has been abnormal this season. Maybe the playoffs, just like we thought, are heating up. Shout out to the NBA. Shout out to you, Perk. We wish you were here in Pittsburgh. Maybe next time. And thank you for everything, brother.

[Kendrick Perkins]

All you got to do is send the invite, Pat.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't want to hear that shit, Perk. Sick of that. I'm sick of you talking like that. Ladies and gentlemen, that's Kendrick Perkins. He should be here.

[Ty Schmidt]

He's a big NFL draft guy.

[Pat McAfee]

N just him, Orion. Good vibes now. He's a slow mover, though. He does not walk fast.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, he doesn't.

[Pat McAfee]

No.

[Connor Rogers]

Those old school basketball guys. Those knees.

[Pat McAfee]

We're slow talking. We're slow moving. But the vibes through the roof.

[Connor Rogers]

Immaculate.

[Pat McAfee]

Love Perk. Love that he's back. Shout out to the NBA. Shout out to you Shregs too, brother. I loved it.

[Peter Schrager]

Guys, cannot wait for tonight and tomorrow. Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Tonight's a big one.

[Peter Schrager]

Awesome night tonight.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, you're going to have to get through some adversity, get to the building,

[Connor Rogers]

but it's worth it big time.

[Peter Schrager]

I'm willing to navigate right over there.

[Pat McAfee]

We appreciate it's right there. Cayman Science center is on the other side. It's hard to get in here, though. They got everything shut down. Hosting an event there, you know, event. Event says people are coming. Turns out they want no people coming. We'll make it happen. It's football time. We're back on the other side. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. From the lights above the stadium to the jerseys athletes wear, sports run on energy, oil and natural gas help create thousands of everyday products. From the rubber and equipment to the synthetic fibers and uniforms.

[Adam Schefter]

And the fuel that gets teams and

[Pat McAfee]

fans to the game. Behind the scenes, energy transfer helps safely deliver the energy that keeps it all moving.

[Kendrick Perkins]

Moving.

[Pat McAfee]

Because from everyday life to game day, it takes energy. Visit ittakesenergy.com to learn more.

[Ty Tone]

Most protein drinks ask you to choose

[Pat McAfee]

between results and taste. Bucked Up Decided that's a ridiculous trade off.

[Ty Tone]

Bucked up makes lightly carbonated protein drinks.

[Pat McAfee]

25 grams of protein per can. Clear protein, not milky or thick. And they taste so good that 25 grams of protein almost feels like a bonus. Is bucked up is so confident you'll love their drinks. They're giving away an island vacation just to prove it.

[Ty Tone]

That's the kind of brand this is.

[Pat McAfee]

No purchase necessary. Giveaway ends May 30th. Enter and find your closest Bucked Up@buckedup energy.com. grab a Bucked up and feel like a million bucks. Football is spectacular. And obviously the four men on this stage that chanted this sport that has changed all of our lives and will change the trajectory of families. Tomorrow night here as Roger Goodell will announce 32 new NFL superstars. Football is the greatest sport on earth and this is a massive celebration of the city that embodies it as a whole. The football town, which is a NFL Films.

[Darius J. Butler]

You're right, Chef.

[Pat McAfee]

You good, Chef?

[Ty Schmidt]

He's got it sitting on the wire.

[Adam Schefter]

Yep. Don't mind me.

[Pat McAfee]

This guy's playing bongos on. Listen it.

[Ty Schmidt]

The wire's stuck on the microphone.

[Adam Schefter]

Carry on, Pat.

[Ty Schmidt]

There we go.

[Darius J. Butler]

There we go.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, good.

[Adam Schefter]

I think so.

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies and gentlemen, senior NFL Insider for espn.

[Adam Schefter]

Adam, that's an entrance. That's an entrance.

[Pat McAfee]

Will you break this news tomorrow, 7:00pm to start the Draft Spectacular, the seventh annual Draft Spectacular. We will be running the Football Town, which is the movie that NFL Films piece together alongside Lionsgate Film, I do believe. I think Skydance was probably involved. Pittsburgh Steelers were involved and I was the one that was chosen somehow to voice it over in honor of a lifetime. I've only seen the first five minutes of it.

[Adam Schefter]

Oh, that's it.

[Pat McAfee]

I'll be watching all of it tonight at the Rangos Giant theater that the Cayman Science center has. This movie was made for the Science center, literally for the theater that we're going to. It's massive screen. So we're having a little event tonight to watch it. It will be my first time seeing it. Pretty emotional. When I saw the first five minutes, they sent me over as a teaser. The fact that I'm a part of it was pretty emotional day for me, actually, because there's so many people from Pittsburgh that could obviously be the voice of this particular thing. Tells the story of Pittsburgh, tells the story of our people, tells the story of everything that these hills are about. And. And we'll be playing it live tomorrow to kick our Thursday to. Oh yeah, it is tomorrow, Jason. I know that'll be tomorrow to kick off the draft spectacular at 7pm so we're very thankful for the opportunity. We'll be watching it tonight and yeah, I think it'll be a good little precursor for what's about to come here in Pittsburgh as the next generation of draft picks get announced. Tone Diggs is here, Ty Schmidt is here, AJ Hawk is here. Darius J. Butler is here. Schefter, that's who you'll be speaking to on this particular stage. Let's talk about the draft. Let's talk about some moves that are potentially being made right now. What are you doing with your life? We just talked to Bino. Bino's going through some mocks, trying to figure out what he could potentially have to do. Schrager just launched his last mock into the sun this [e-mail] so he's getting a lot of follow up there. What are you doing on this day and what do you think we need to keep an eye out for?

[Adam Schefter]

You know, it was about this very time last year I got a call that the trade between the Browns and Jaguars was being discussed. It was like, literally at this time, somebody called me like, you free at about 12:30? I'm like, yeah, I'm free. And you don't forget these things. And every year there are events that happen that you're not expecting. It could be a video of a prospect that's unveiled with a gas mask. It could be a trade that comes down that you get wind of in the works 24 hours in advance. It could be that we're trying to figure out where a certain quarterback is going to. And lo and behold, he goes in the fifth round with the 144th overall selection. To the interest of everybody, you never know exactly what is going to turn into the story of that draft and that is waiting to be written in this particular draft. We just don't know what it's going to be yet. And so honestly, I've made some calls, calls coming in. We'll see where it goes. We're just waiting to see which is the issue that takes off where there. There won't be, say, you know, water under the bridge, like Connor likes to say, you know, live issue.

[Pat McAfee]

You could turn your, you could turn your mic on, Connor. I think you do have one over there. I don't know who is in control of that particular microphone, but only so many seats. One of the boys has to get up. Connor's over in the corner, has a headset on, can chirp in at any time. I do believe if they were to turn it on.

[Connor Rogers]

Shut up, Shefty.

[Pat McAfee]

There it is. Thank you. He passed out on Steel Curtain yesterday. We have it on camera. He's actually dead body on a roller coaster yesterday. We're happy he's okay. Actually, it's kind of a modern miracle that he's here, to be honest.

[Connor Rogers]

That's Kennywood, baby. They deliver.

[Pat McAfee]

That is Kennywood football. And always delivers just like you do Schefter. Okay, so you're saying the pen is yet to write the story of this particular draft.

[Adam Schefter]

Correct.

[Pat McAfee]

Is there any inklings on what it could be? Could be a team trading a player like AJ Brown? I know it's not until June 1st, but is there any other potential trades that are maybe being cooked that we could foresee? Are there any players that maybe will be on the move as somebody much like Bino just brought up? He was at 21. He had to move up to 12 to be able to move up to 7 to get Josh Allen. So he had to trade a player during the draft. A lot of people seemingly want to trade back.

[Adam Schefter]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Do we have any superstar trades potentially on the horizon on draft day or any big time announcements on draft day ahead?

[Adam Schefter]

Well, that, that's what we're waiting to see.

[Pat McAfee]

We have no idea right now.

[Adam Schefter]

You can't say there's some huge event that is waiting to unfold here.

[Pat McAfee]

No.

[Adam Schefter]

We had the draft.

[Nick Saban]

Draft.

[Adam Schefter]

We have the draft. And then they're all the things that come from that off that. I don't know what that's going to be. And I'm. I'm sure there's going to be trades this weekend. Like could Keisha Booty get traded? That could happen this weekend. Could Keon Coleman get traded this weekend? That could happen. There's always veterans that could be traded in a weekend like this. Always. But those wouldn't qualify as the storylines that steal the weekend. Right. It's going to be a certain player, it's going to be a certain team. It's going to be a move somebody makes. That's what I'm talking about. Now, I know we've talked a lot about the Dallas Cowboys coming up. I think they could wind up coming up, but it's cost prohibitive to come up to a spot like three. Say. Yeah, I just don't know. I don't know.

[AJ Hawk]

What are they coming up for?

[Adam Schefter]

I, I think there will be two guys that they come up for. Orville Reese, Sonny Styles. I think those would be the two guys that would interest that franchise. Are they going to be around those players long enough for them to be able to make a move, to come up high enough?

[Ty Schmidt]

Say it's six.

[Adam Schefter]

Say at six.

[Pat McAfee]

And, and Cowboys have done that. 2012, they trade from 14 to six to get DB Morris Claiborne out of LSU. So maybe the Cowboys make a similar move to tomorrow night. That would be the storyline if Jerry Jones was wheeling and dealing in that to happen.

[Adam Schefter]

For that to happen happen, you'd have to have Styles and Reese last till six. I don't know that that's going to happen.

[Pat McAfee]

How about Caleb Downs?

[Adam Schefter]

Caleb Downs, I think will be a top 10 pick. Does he go 5, as high as 5 to the Giants? Does he go as low as 10 to the Giants?

[Pat McAfee]

I could see that sounds like Caleb Giant. Okay.

[Ty Schmidt]

They want styles at 5. They want downs at 10, depending on

[Adam Schefter]

how the draft goes.

[Pat McAfee]

Right.

[Adam Schefter]

I think if Love goes three. If Arizona can't trade out. Yeah, if Arizona can't trade out and Arizona does go love at 3, then Tennessee sitting there. I think Styles is a logical pick there at four. So you see him go four and then Reese is there at five and then. That's interesting.

[Ty Schmidt]

I have a question off of that. So that's what Triggs had mocked this morning.

[Pat McAfee]

Yep.

[Ty Schmidt]

Does that mean Thibodeau is on the trade block then? If that happens?

[Adam Schefter]

I think if they get Reese in the draft, I think they'd be listening.

[Peter Schrager]

Okay.

[Adam Schefter]

I think they'd be listening.

[AJ Hawk]

Shefty. What about the Chiefs? I know we're not used to them selecting. They have two first rounders, their chance that they try to make a splash and jump up there for somebody.

[Adam Schefter]

I had that conversation with a few people yesterday. They have looked as much at going back in the draft as they have going up in the draft. Even though they right now have 9 and 29, they have made calls and gotten calls from teams behind them that have just checked in about coming up and they don't know how it's going to go yet.

[Pat McAfee]

Right.

[Adam Schefter]

Like, which team would it be that would come up? I think we're going to get a lot of activity in the second half of the draft. There are a lot of teams willing

[Pat McAfee]

to move out second half of the first round of the first.

[AJ Hawk]

There's 32 first rounders and everybody's got their own desire.

[Adam Schefter]

Everybody's got their own desire.

[Darius J. Butler]

All.

[Pat McAfee]

There's a text that could be the story of the weekend.

[AJ Hawk]

It was 80 rent.

[Adam Schefter]

No, I. I don't. I'm trying to see what this is. We got something going on here.

[Nick Saban]

Let's see.

[AJ Hawk]

It's just disgusting. Something terrible.

[Adam Schefter]

Okay.

[Connor Rogers]

Okay.

[Adam Schefter]

There's going to be a whole run of offensive linemen that come off the board tomorrow night. A whole run. What are you looking at? Me for like that. Pat.

[Pat McAfee]

I just looked over your shoulder. I was looking at your phone.

[Ty Schmidt]

Over. Under seven and a half.

[Pat McAfee]

I feel like I saw a lot of things.

[Adam Schefter]

Seven and a half. I take the over on offensive offensive line.

[Ty Schmidt]

I want his well over. There's seven tackles plus Vega from Penn State.

[Pat McAfee]

How about corners? What's it over? Under four and a half.

[Adam Schefter]

Four and a half. That's interesting.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's very. And it's.

[Pat McAfee]

Everybody thinks that's real high.

[Ty Schmidt]

The under is minus 700.

[Pat McAfee]

So why don't they move the line?

[Ty Schmidt]

I assume they think. I assume they think four's going to go. So they can't make it three and a half because then you. They would just have to make the over of three and a half. Minus.

[Pat McAfee]

Are we getting a crown there because

[Adam Schefter]

we're of age or Colton Hood? I think yes. I think he'll go. Manor Delane Mansur Delaney. No, I think that demand.

[Ty Schmidt]

McCoy Jermond. McCoy.

[Adam Schefter]

McCoy.

[Darius J. Butler]

Chris Johnson.

[Adam Schefter]

Chris Johnson has a chance. Who's the. Who would be the fifth? When they say four and a half, who's the fifth corner? Pounds Pawns. Ponds.

[Pat McAfee]

Ponds pawns. Does pound people like. Like if I saw pawns play,

[Ty Schmidt]

I'm blanking on it right now. Chris Johnson. Maybe on Terrell or something like that, but he's kind of falling back, I

[Pat McAfee]

think for a while. You figure you're the one that's supposed to be giving these answers.

[Adam Schefter]

I think. I think hope he goes Offensive line will be the most drafted position in the first run. That's a lot of cornerbacks. Four and a half.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's why it's. That's why unders -700.

[Adam Schefter]

That seems high to me. Me a little high. But it's such a coveted position.

[Pat McAfee]

It is. Coveted position. Quarterback. Coveted position as well. Everybody's telling me Ty Simpson's a Cardinal.

[Adam Schefter]

It wouldn't be a shock if that happened. I think going in that's the most likely scenario. But I will say this. Last year we would have thought that Shador Sanders going to the Pittsburgh Steelers was probably the most likely scenario. The New York Giants, it didn't happen that way. So, you know, teams aren't showing their full cards to you. You don't know exact. There's a lot of noise in the echo chamber that we're all hearing. People are hearing the same things. And, you know, and what I love is Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, the moment of truth. We get to see if the Cardinals really are into Ty Simpson. Like a lot of people think they would have some Level of interest.

[Pat McAfee]

You are the echo chamber, though, aren't you?

[Adam Schefter]

I I.

[Pat McAfee]

You and Shrags and Daniel, Jeremiah and Rapaport, teammate Rap Sheet Andro. You guys are kind of the echo chamber. We've asked you about this every single year. Like, how do you know you're not getting played just for draft week? And you go, I think I built up relationships with you people that they won't just lie to me. Isn't that kind of the case, though? Because everybody just assumes that the game of the draft now, because everybody kind of understands draft a little bit more, is that people are working, and the way they're working is getting messages and narratives out and everything like that. And that would be through you. You have to really monitor that, don't you? I mean, we're talking about, like, careers and public stories again.

[Adam Schefter]

I feel like you want to.

[Pat McAfee]

You say, I don't want to have to go ahead and tell you about my credibility.

[Adam Schefter]

No, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not. I just feel like people are going to talk to you, and the things that they want to hold close to the vest, they just won't share. They're just not going to tell you sometimes, but they're not going to lie. I. I don't think they're lying.

[Pat McAfee]

What about C.J. strout? What was that score? Yeah.

[Ty Tone]

S2.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes.

[Ty Schmidt]

Disappeared a bit.

[Pat McAfee]

It did. It has stopped kind of being talked about. But those things that are kind of leak, like the negative stuff.

[Nick Saban]

Stuff.

[Pat McAfee]

Do you, like, if it's coming to you and you picking and choosing on what you want to break, do you have to think like, well, this might be a ploy right here to potentially get something. Does that make sense? I don't know.

[Adam Schefter]

I know exactly what you're saying. Yeah. I think you have to be selective. There's a lot of stuff you hear all the time about players, and I would say almost always I don't use the majority of it. I just kind of hold on to it because I always feel like these players should go where they're going to go. And then after, like I remember as an example, Shaq Lawson. Rex was coach. I think Rex was coaching there. I knew he needed shoulder surgery. They drafted him. I popped on the camera. I'm like, hey, they drafted a guy. Great talent, has a chance for great. He's going to need shoulder surgery here at some point in the near future. And they asked Rex about it. He's like, you don't need no shoulder surgery. A week later, he had to show the Surgery. I mean, I mean, I want these young men who have worked so hard for this moment go where they are. So if you're hearing things, and there are a lot of things, you hear a lot of different people. I don't, I, generally speaking, don't use that stuff.

[Pat McAfee]

I appreciate that. I think as a former player, I appreciate that mightily. Because if the team didn't find that out, why are you, ESPN Insider being the one doing the research reveal? This is on you. Is it your job now, precedent every single year that you have to tell everybody about every. I mean, that would be a weird precedent. I like that you did that for him. Thank you for that. Now, did you do that for Alec Pierce on our free agent friends?

[Adam Schefter]

Yeah, I, I, I knew, I knew that he needed ankle surgery.

[Pat McAfee]

Did you really?

[Adam Schefter]

But I didn't want to do anything to damage his earning power with Indianapolis, of course. And so he left it alone.

[Pat McAfee]

You actually knew he needed that, that ankle surgery?

[Adam Schefter]

I might have known.

[Pat McAfee]

You let me do a full dance.

[Darius J. Butler]

Didn't I open the show?

[Pat McAfee]

I did a full song. He's gonna be fine.

[Adam Schefter]

Did you tell me, did you tell me, did you tell me that you were coming on to use that information right away with the contract?

[Pat McAfee]

I did.

[Adam Schefter]

Oh, you did. Okay. Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

And also, other times, other times I put the eyeballs out. I think, I think I make it very clear whenever I know something's happening. Okay, so maybe turn on the noties, pal. Okay. For those particular tweets as you potentially.

[Adam Schefter]

Oh, we have something here.

[Darius J. Butler]

Send it out. Send a tweet.

[Adam Schefter]

Oh, boy. Stephen Jones just announced that they will make George Pickens plans or the tag this year and that there'll be no long term deal.

[Ty Tone]

That's not good.

[Adam Schefter]

Oh, here, by the way. Here we go. There's one storyline for the week that's

[Pat McAfee]

a big one because if they're going to trade and move.

[AJ Hawk]

Did they trade him, though? Is he a trade candidate during the year?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, if they want to move up high. Right. If they.

[Adam Schefter]

No, hold on. You can't trade George Pickens without him. Sign the franchise tender. Yeah, and he's not going to sign it unless he agrees to go somewhere else that would potentially reward him.

[AJ Hawk]

So he could definitely get traded.

[Pat McAfee]

So they got eight minutes to figure that out somewhere.

[AJ Hawk]

Why wouldn't he sign if he's pissed at them for not giving an extension? He could easily sign that, say, yeah, me out of here. I want a long term deal from

[Pat McAfee]

someone else who's his agent. Is his agent. He'll Get a deal before he gets signed or traded, you know? Yep. George Pickens bank account is about to be gigantic. And this news right here just kind of certified that for me because now there's a opportunity for there to be a little competition for his thing. Congrats to George Pickens. Okay.

[Nick Saban]

Hell yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Maybe, huh? Maybe. I mean, that says you're playing under

[Pat McAfee]

the tag and Molot is his agent. Yeah. So I will tell you he is not playing under attack. Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's what I. That's kind of what I'm saying. He might not play football this year.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, he'll play football. He'll play football somewhere. And I think he's going to get paid somewhere. Probably if I had to guess. And I think Jerry, who says we have maa, he's one football player. We trade him, we're able to get more football players. You see, that's Jerry's go.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's how Jerry does.

[Pat McAfee]

They got maa. We don't. We tied. Yeah. Okay. I don't know how much more I got to say. He'll do that with George too.

[Adam Schefter]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, he'll do it with George. You don't want to play your franchise tag. That's a lot of money. You don't be a cowboy. They'll trade him, will they not?

[Adam Schefter]

I'm going to say this to you right now also.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Yeah. Your journalism here. We are punditry right now I feel like George getting traded to somewhere else. Mulligeth is the agent. There's no way he's going to play under a franchise tag. So there's no way he's going to take a year off.

[Adam Schefter]

So that sounds like they traded a third round pick from last year and there was not a lot of teams out there that were that were willing to compensate the Steelers. So what can you get back for a player that right now isn't going to be signed to a long term deal? Again, this just became the first interesting storyline of draft week right here as we're sitting here with Stephen Jones saying that. And so that brings back up the possibility if we go back to draft. About five years ago, Dallas Cowboys had other needs. CD Lamb was sitting there. They had at that time Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup playing wide receiver. And they took CD Lamb slam because he was the best player on the board. They'd love to go defensive players. But I will say this. I think they're like Jordan Tyson too. And if Jordan Tyson were to make it to 12, that would be an interesting decision for the Dallas Cowboys to have to make.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah. Especially because for top 30 visits, they brought in about every defensive player they could for that could potentially go in the first round.

[Pat McAfee]

George Pickens can get open, right?

[Darius J. Butler]

Oh, yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

George Pickens potentially on the move with the noose that he is going to be asked to play under the franchise to which we just assumed would not

[Adam Schefter]

happen, by the way. And I love. This is one of my favorite things about doing the show. NFL executive text me right now. Must be watching the show. I would bet my life savings on under four and a half quarterbacks.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Okay. All right. Okay.

[Ty Schmidt]

One of them. I thought trade and Stuke. So I know you are. You are a big fan of Shefty. Maybe he sneaks in the last one. But yeah, everyone's thinking under four.

[Pat McAfee]

I guess. President Bill Clinton showed up at the Cowboys pre draft press conference.

[Ty Schmidt]

Really?

[Pat McAfee]

I guess he just popped his head in as they were kind of doing their thing. From my understanding, this is what Ari Mirov has tweeted. Yep, there he is. The hell's he doing there?

[Ty Schmidt]

President Bush was at the Buckos game last night.

[Pat McAfee]

He was. Yeah, I saw that. The Rangers. Yeah, yeah, I believe I was watching that. President Clinton just walked into the Dallas Cowboys pre draft press conference. I wonder if he's making any decisions in here. Lot of news. A lot of news happening over there. Okay, let's. Let's ask some more information of the man who has all the information. D butt has question for you, chef.

[Darius J. Butler]

I just want to ask you, you talked about the, the Cleveland, Jacksonville trade kind of brewing up at this point in time. How much has it changed for you and how business, I mean, how the teams operate behind the scenes leading up to the draft as far as action, trades, information, all this. How much has it changed, let's say, in the last 20 years, in 2006 and now?

[Adam Schefter]

Well, I think that teams have begun to operate knowing that as soon as something's in place, they know that it's not going to be long before it's out there, there. And part of these discussions is figuring out how you're going to handle the fallout once it gets out and how it's going to get out and when it's going to get out. So I just think with all the attention, that may be the only change. But. And there are more trades than ever before, by the way. I think there have been so far this year since the start of the new league year when we were in Indianapolis, 23 trades, more trades this year from the start of the league till now than ever before. So I think teams are more willing to make trades. There's more people are used to making these trades. They're preparing for these trades and the fallout that comes along with them. It's just a much busier time.

[Pat McAfee]

How do you think Goodell's going to do tomorrow? Got any tidbits on how he's going to speak? Is he really flowing right now?

[AJ Hawk]

Chest bumps and good daps. You think with all the players?

[Adam Schefter]

You know, I'll say this. This morning I could not sleep. I was just kind of wired.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, of course.

[Darius J. Butler]

Same.

[Adam Schefter]

Went to the gym about 5:15 this morning.

[Pat McAfee]

No big deal. No big deal.

[Adam Schefter]

5:30. There's only one guy in there actually.

[AJ Hawk]

225. 27.

[Nick Saban]

I heard.

[Adam Schefter]

Roger Goodell.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[AJ Hawk]

Wow.

[Adam Schefter]

In there.

[AJ Hawk]

Did you. Oh, different spot him on the bench.

[Ty Schmidt]

AJ was in there at 4:30.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. They don't put us.

[Adam Schefter]

He was done. AJ was done. He come and gone.

[Pat McAfee]

They don't put us at your guys. Hotel. That's what I've learned over the last couple trips. Yeah, definitely. Let's keep them in it. Keep.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, Rogers. Let's put them in that one.

[Pat McAfee]

It sounds like. I think we're in the opposite hotel normally. Of where? Yeah, ESPN royalty. Yeah, there we go as well. Smart decision. Smart decision. By the way, I didn't know that the hotel that we're staying in existed. I should have been staying in that hotel since the day I left Pittsburgh.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's a good hotel.

[Pat McAfee]

I was staying in Super Eights and. Okay. I was staying in shitty hotels.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's kind of on you.

[Pat McAfee]

I mean there's a Weston down here. I stayed in once or twice. You know, there's a couple. This hotel. We're in history. We're. We're. We're in a place.

[Adam Schefter]

Yeah, I know where you.

[Nick Saban]

You are beautiful.

[Ty Schmidt]

My senior prom was there.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow.

[AJ Hawk]

How'd it go?

[Ty Schmidt]

Not great.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, building was immaculate. Yeah, it is. We. I like. I've learned a lot about Pittsburgh history that I didn't know before coming here for this draft week. And then also with the football town, which you're coming to today, right?

[Adam Schefter]

I am.

[Pat McAfee]

Can't wait to see you there. Hopefully by then you have a little more information.

[Adam Schefter]

Hopefully. Under four and a half cornerbacks looks good.

[Pat McAfee]

All right. Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Sheffield. Evan Cohen here. PayPal is now the official peer to peer payment sponsor of the NFL. Which means all the money moments that fandom creates, whether splitting tailgate costs or chipping in on tickets and game Day food between friends are covered wherever the game is played or watched. PayPal moves with fans. You can send money through text, email or directly to your friends with eligible accounts on vendors. Just download the PayPal app and share all the moments that matter. Account with PayPal is required. Not available in all regions where PayPal operates. I like things my way. My coffee, my schedule and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo pre filled syringe which contains fgartigamide alpha and hyaluronidase qvfc. It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit vivgardmyway.com that's V Y V G-A-R-T myway.com and talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hytrulo brought to you by Argenics. It was a crazy ride there looking over his shoulder.

[AJ Hawk]

Thanks, shifty.

[Pat McAfee]

You know what I mean?

[Darius J. Butler]

I bet.

[Ty Schmidt]

Thanks, Shafty.

[AJ Hawk]

What'd you see?

[Ty Schmidt]

So what is.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

What was just like before he opened. He's trying to open up another conversation right now. Just knock coach Saban's bottle out of

[Ty Tone]

his bonked heads almost.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he did. Absolutely. In this entire thing.

[Nick Saban]

He.

[Pat McAfee]

I looked the. The com votes before he went into the. So I can only see the first sentence of a lot of different combos. I'm like, wow, is that what it's like all.

[Brandon Beane]

Everything.

[Pat McAfee]

Just the amount of people that are just kind of getting.

[Darius J. Butler]

And he's gotta have name, affiliation, team. You know, he's got it because so

[Pat McAfee]

many in the first sentence. It felt like it was a lot of chefy out.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

It felt like there was a lot of lines in the water. You know, how we doing? How we doing a lot of those types of things. But he's definitely working big game hunt right now. Yeah. And right now he's asked coach say Tyson, you hearing anything about. Which is what we're about to do in a matter of seconds. Yeah. Connor's listening in. Literally right there next to him. Yep. Conor Boots on the ground in the conversation between Schefter and ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is a man who's considered the greatest of all time time in college football, when it's all said and done, he might be considered the greatest television personality of all time as well. He sells benzos. He sells lambos. Lambos, Benzos, Ferraris probably. He's maybe the most Sought after speaker. Not those in the entire United States of America. He owns the Nashville Predators.

[Ty Schmidt]

What?

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies and gentlemen, gentleman, an icon of a man. Somebody that we are lucky enough to call a friend of the program. He looks lean, he looks mean. He looks 10. He's the man on college game days. Draft coverage on abc. Shafter is relentless.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, yeah. This conversation.

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies, gentlemen, man. Nick Sa.

[Darius J. Butler]

There he is.

[Pat McAfee]

You're the man. Coach, you got some drunkos over here. Lads, lads, lads, lads, lads. Good to see you guys.

[Ty Schmidt]

They're ready. They're doing it already.

[Peter Schrager]

I love it.

[Pat McAfee]

It's a draft.

[Nick Saban]

God.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, you hear that?

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah. Chef D had the same issue.

[Darius J. Butler]

Boom.

[Nick Saban]

All right, all right, all right, all right.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, Chef, he was pretty relentless right there. Wait till you hear the intro I just gave you. I had to fill and fill and fill and fill because he was killing you over there. Was he asking about Ty Simpson? Because I want to ask about Ty Simpson. Ty Simpson, number two quarterback in draft. Everybody thinks. Everybody thinks he's going to Arizona, but they're saying he's not worth a high pick, so they think they're going to come in the tail end of the draft. How do you feel about Ty Simpson? How do you feel about kind of this entire draft process for him? And what do you think stands out for him to maybe says he is going to be a great Sunday guy?

[Nick Saban]

Well, I think Ty Simpson is a guy that didn't play as much in college as a lot of these quarterbacks as they develop. So he's only played, what, 15 games or whatever. And I think maturity would be the word that I would say is important in the development of his game. I think he. He can throw it well enough. I think he's athletic enough. Decision making, processing, drifting in the pocket. I mean, things that you can improve on with experience. Because maturity is nothing more than making the right decision at the right time. And that comes with experience and repetition. He doesn't have enough of that, but he will get it and I think be a very good player. But he needs to go someplace where he has a chance to develop and not play right away. That's just my opinion.

[Pat McAfee]

But let's talk about every quarterback maybe needing that and the greats in the past outside of Peyton. Peyton has the rookie interception record. But Tom was behind somebody. Aaron's behind somebody. Was Drew Brees, he.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, Phil was.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know. Whatever the case, there's a lot of case studies that say if you're able to watch somebody do it, you'll be Able to get better. But there's also conversation about he needs reps. He needs reps like Anthony Richards. Whenever he got drafted number four overall to the Indianapolis Colts, there was a lot of talk about him never playing football. Like, really never playing football before. We've seen the highlights. That's all he's played football. So they're talking about, well, he needs a mature. Maybe he needs to watch somebody. But then he also needed reps. It's kind of a. I don't know. I don't know what the right answer is. I genuinely don't know what the right answer is. You would know better than me. But I like somebody seeing it first before they get to go do it. Now that turns to Fernando Mendoza. Okay, tell me about him going to Las Vegas and seemingly going to start after Kirk Cousins gets in there. Do you think that is a sustainable style of play? The way Fernando plays? Everybody talks about the option shit that he did in RPO stuff in college. For some reason, it hasn't been like, hey, this guy is a guy convo. What are your thoughts on Fernando?

[Nick Saban]

Yeah, well, I'm big on making comparisons. So you go through the scenarios where quarterbacks got to sit behind somebody, and I think the biggest failure rate in the NFL is because quarterbacks play before they should. But if you look at the three guys two years ago, Caleb makes an impact in Chicago, Guy makes a big impact in Washington, guy makes a big impact. Drake makes a big impact in New England. So those guys played pretty much right away and improved dramatically, quickly. But a lot of failures in the NFL play before they're ready at the position, lose their confidence, and then over go to pot. It's over. So I do think if you were going to compare Fernando, you would say he fits more into comparing them to those three guys we just talked about than he does to some of these other guys. He would be in the conversation if he was in that draft. And I agree with you on the RPO and. But the guy is sneaky, athletic, doesn't look athletic, but probably better than he is. He's accurate throwing the ball, he's smart, he's a good decision maker, and he's accurate. So those things are really, really important, in my opinion. And I think he's got the right mindset, and he's improved a lot through his college career. So I'm not saying he won't have some bumps in the road. All right. But I also think that he could be pretty damn good.

[Pat McAfee]

He has beers with the boys, too. I think that's a big deal.

[Nick Saban]

No question.

[Pat McAfee]

I genuinely think that is a big deal. And I assume a Cali maybe wasn't doing that because he talked about how he had to grow as a leader and everything like that. Beers with the boys is a huge sign of success in my eyes, especially if you're able to perform on the field. And he's tough as shit. Feels like he is wildly tough. I like Fernando a lot. I like him a lot. But there seemingly hasn't been like a parade for him coming in here as the number one overall pick outside of the Raiders organization.

[Nick Saban]

Yeah, well. But. But I also think that that quarterback position is always going to get pushed up if there's a good one. So you could always kind of make an argument maybe for that. But I'm with you on the leadership part of it because I think quarterback is the. Is the position that's hardest to play if you don't have good players around you. So if you're not a quarterback that takes responsibility for being a leader to impact the other players on your team. Team, then I think you're hurting yourself.

[Pat McAfee]

You hear that?

[Nick Saban]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, they're gonna play that when they're on the clock, aren't they?

[Nick Saban]

Yeah, yeah, that's supposed to be the plan.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, so, you know, you. Oh, you probably got a little run through on how this draft's gonna. Are you excited for the game day draft? How prepped are you? You prep, you over prep for a. So whenever there is potentially. How many days are you doing this? How many days are you doing the draft?

[Nick Saban]

First and second.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so that's technically what, 64 picks? Quick math. No, second has how many picks?

[Ty Tone]

Three rounds.

[Nick Saban]

Three rounds first.

[Pat McAfee]

I knew that. I'm doing the second and third picks on Friday. I knew that. Obviously, I knew that. Okay, so that's what, 96 picks total. You did research for what, 500 guys? How do you feel?

[Nick Saban]

I probably looked at 150 guys and I'd look at them just like if I was at the Dolphins or the Browns or whatever. And I still have the sheet that we used to evaluate them on critical factors and all that stuff and put all the information on one sheet, try to condense it. So. But there's always guys that pop up that you didn't do.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm bummed out that our draft spectacular happened. Happens at the same time that you're on there. We'll watch on Friday night. Get to do it. I assume you crush the draft coverage. I mean, you're perfect for it. D bud. Has a question for you.

[Adam Schefter]

Yeah.

[Darius J. Butler]

You talked about you being big on comparisons because you've been around so many great players. I want to ask you an example of yours from the past. Maybe a player you coached in college that when they went to the NFL, they kind of hit another level because the NFL game was more geared to their talents. Any personal players that you've had that experience with. And then is there a guy that you see in this draft maybe that will get drafted and really take off to the next level?

[Nick Saban]

Well, I think Jamar Gibbs is one of those guys that. He was a really good player at Alabama. Good receiver, productive. But I mean, when he went to the Lions. Oh, yeah, he was. He did more for their team and he played great for us. I don't mean this in a negative way than he did for our team.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he became the guy.

[Nick Saban]

I mean, he became the guy. I see Jeremiah Love as a weapon that, you know, maybe at Notre Dame he did great things, but on an NFL team because he could be such a good receiver and a runner and used in so many ways. I mean, you don't have to just play him in the backfield. You can put him out there and make him a wideout. So I think that guy is a guy that, you know, what about Caleb, those kind of things.

[Pat McAfee]

Caleb Downs?

[Nick Saban]

Well, Caleb Downs made more players plays in college than anybody in the draft. All right, so if he makes that many plays in the NFL, I mean, what's, what's, what's the capability gap? I mean, how much better can he get?

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so that was like when he got to campus, obviously he's gotten better and he works his ass off. And being with you and Matt Patricia and everything he's been able to do obviously makes him an incredible player. A week ago, the convo was what position is he going to be now? It's like he's definitely going to be a top 10 pick because of how talented he. Josh Chapman told us the day he walked onto your campus, he was gold jacked. It was obvious that this guy's a gold jacket. What have you seen through his college career and what are you excited to say about him tomorrow night whenever he gets drafted in the first round?

[Nick Saban]

Well, I would say that when he played for us as a freshman, he would have been the first safety taken in the draft. I mean, the guy is so instinctive. He's got really good ability. He is a phenomenal person person. And he is a football junkie and he is just so instinctive on the field and such A fast reactor. Now he plays better. Everybody questions whether he can play in a deep part of the field. He can play in a deep part of the field, but when he's in a deep part of the field and he comes downhill, he's going to bust your ass.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he thumps.

[Nick Saban]

He's a thumper now. And the only negative I would say to him, I talked to him on the phone the other day and it was the same thing when he played for us. He tries to butt him to the ground. He hits him so hard. I said, how about trying to wrap him up?

[Pat McAfee]

Go ahead, Ty, go ahead, coach.

[Ty Tone]

What about another guys you had Kaden Proctor, who I want to say, you only had him his freshman year and then you retired. But early in the draft process, a lot of people, you know, killed him for whatever his weight at certain points last year. He's obviously an athletic freak when you look at his measurables. And now as we get closer to the draft, he's kind of gaining a lot more heat. People saying, hey, he, he could be the first or second tackle taken off the board. What do you expect out of him? And why do you think that kind of change has happened this close to the draft?

[Nick Saban]

I think people get a little bit

[Darius J. Butler]

more

[Nick Saban]

tolerant of these small issues. You know, people look for reasons not to pick guys. All right? That's how it starts. I mean, like players used to tell me all the time on guys go to combine and improve my stock and improving your stock, they're looking for reasons not to take you and they're going to find one. All right? So do not work out. But anyway, but, but I think the thing is this guy is so talented, big, physical, can move and has power. He's got range, he's got good feet. Now the issue with him is he's not a bad person. He'll do whatever you ask him to do once you get him in the building. But when he's not in the building, he might get a little overweight. He might not come in in the best shape. And those are the kind of things you got to manage with him, but I think they're manageable. In other words, he's not really a self starter that's going to go out there and, you know, get in great shape and come to camp like you want him. But if you can get him to come to camp, if you got him there and get him, him ready to go. So I don't think that's a huge negative for the guy and I think he's going to be a really good player now. And if he can't play tackle, he would be one hell of a guard. So there's no downside in taking the guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Andrew Whitworth, obviously, LSU legend alongside you, he told us at the beginning of his career in Cincinnati, he was playing guard and he said he was coming out of the huddle laughing because it was the easiest thing of all time because bodies are just getting sent to your way. So when you have a tackle body and then you don't have to go get people, they're just kind of getting filtered to you. That's dominance. That's why Makai Becton, whenever he moved to Garden, was such a success.

[Darius J. Butler]

That's a huge transition, four players. And like, that's. This is a big part of why it's a crap shooting the draft. Because you mentioned, you know, when you're outside of the building. I know for me, I don't know about you. For you, A.J. that was the biggest adjustment for me because in college everything was so structured. You knew where you need to be, when you need to be, be there. And it is a pro. Once that season ends, it's kind of all on you. Okay. When do you schedule your workouts? When do you schedule vacations, family time, all these different things. And then you got to show up at this time of the year and OTAs and stuff and be in shape because you don't want to be there. Tired of having soft tissue or having something like this. Can't figure out and get on the field and get those valuable reps. So that is probably the biggest adjustment for becoming a pro. You hear, be a pro, be a pro, be a pro. It takes a lot of guys a couple years, a few years, maybe some good vets in their room, good coach coaches to kind of really bring them

[Nick Saban]

along and teach them that same word, maturity. You know, make the right decisions and the right situations.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Nick Saban]

And you're going to make the right choices and decisions in those situations to put yourself in the best chance to be successful.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Maybe don't get arrested on a Tuesday.

[AJ Hawk]

Happens.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it happens. It was bye week. Coach talking about the draft being a like a crapshoot. First round Hit rate. Hembo kind of gave us a stat. Hit rate means second contract with the team in which you draft interior offensive lineman, 60%, offensive tackle, 60%. Feels like if you're going with a big guy, you can kind of tell if they're going to go six out of 10, though. Yeah. Like that's, that's not a That's not a definite, you know, 60%. Whenever they talk about going for it on the little graphics, they act like that's 100%, right? It is not. That is a quarterback less than 50%, linebacker less than 50%. Edge defender, 40%, roughly 20. Defensive tackle, 40%. Running back, 37%, safety, 34%. Tight end and wide receiver, both at 32%, you're not guaranteed a good player. And that's kind of the craziness of it all. Yeah, especially as of late. It feels like the wide receivers have gotten better. This is from 2000 to 2021. I assume if you were to do the last seven years, maybe six years, the hit rate on wide receivers would be way up because of seven on seven and the way everything kind of went there. But over the last 21 years, since the history of the 20 draft, everybody says that the player is going to change their team. Being in a locker room, being a punter, on special teams, depending on a lot of these guys that get drafted, there's a lot of ass football players somehow getting into the NFL. And whether it's off field, lack of work ethic, or if it's not understanding ball at a level in which it has to, and maybe just not physically being able to keep up with what the NFL is, there's a lot of misses coming out of this draft tomorrow night. And I don't think it's fair that we just call everybody a bust. It's really hard to make it into the league even if you're drafted in the first round. And I think that, that the perspective needs to kind of get shifted a little bit when everybody's just like, we'll get this guy. We win the Super Bowl. It's like, stats tell us this guy ain't going to be on your team in four years, so let's go ahead and just remember that. But also, there's a chance you find a Hall of Famer in there. There's a chance you find a staple and a pillar in there, which is why it's so damn special.

[Ty Tone]

And it's like, how do you classified bus. Because, you know, Darius Hayward Bay gets drafted in the top 10, and yeah, he may not have been the receiver everyone expect, but you talk glowingly about him all the time about him being a Pro bowl special teamer, you know, so it's like, where do, where is that line defined?

[Pat McAfee]

You know?

[Ty Tone]

Yeah, by that account, he wasn't a, a Pro bowl wide receiver, but he was crucial to you guys.

[Pat McAfee]

He played a long time Exactly. He went to Pittsburgh. They paid him like a lot of money to be a teamer. Yeah. But they would consider him a bust for sure. Yeah. Definitely love what he did, though.

[Ty Schmidt]

Go ahead.

[Nick Saban]

But yeah, excellence is success over time. And you know, when you're a college player, your whole goal in life is to play in the NFL, so you have this built in motivation. So it's about getting in the NFL or is it about a standard of excellence once you get there? And I think that's what differentiates a lot of psychological disposition that these players have. So they don't just bust because of their athletic ability. They bust because they don't have the right psychological disposition to be motivated to be what. What they're capable of being. They lose their motivation because they just wanted to play in the NFL rather than being great in the NFL. And there's a difference?

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, definitely. Definitely a difference between having a cup of coffee and actually being a part of the NFL family forever with how long you're able to play. Do you think the nil now the kids are rich as teenagers changes that a little bit? Cause I think used to be goal, let's get to the NFL. We get a bag, you know, we get money for the first time in our lives. Especially if you're a first rounder. AJ Still.

[Adam Schefter]

My God.

[Pat McAfee]

AJ Still. Have you seen his house in Ohio? He's number five overall pick. Old, old cba. Old, old cba. They gave him. He has this. Yeah, this is his house in Ohio right here. Because number five overall. But nowadays these kids are making what, six and a half million dollars some of these first rounders are making at this point. Point. Is that a good thing or. I think it's a good thing because we know what people would do with money. Right. Don't you think that is kind of.

[Nick Saban]

I think that is definitely. You asked me about a guy like Proctor. You know, there would be a bigger question in my mind if he never made any money in college. So how does money affect a guy like that? Yes, that's. There's no question about that because he already has money. So I think that's a good thing.

[Pat McAfee]

I do. I think so, too.

[Nick Saban]

But I also think that there's. It's kind of a two way street. This is one of the older drafts because guys stay in college longer. There's less juniors that come out because they're making money. So you take away the whole financial incentive to come out early, which used to be financial, which no longer exists. Does that make sense?

[Pat McAfee]

Fascinating. Yes, definitely.

[Nick Saban]

So now you got some 20 year old guys in the draft and you got some 26 year old guys in the draft. And I think that's a huge difference in who you want on your team and how you want to develop them. Now the good news is if guys are staying in college longer, that's good for their development because they're obviously, they're down the line. Guys are going to play and develop more in college than the opportunity they get in the NFL.

[Pat McAfee]

I think the nil transfer portal era is having a lot of ripple effects that we're only going to continue to see. Thank you for going to the White House and saying we got fixed. Fix this. All right. I do appreciate you doing that. AJ Has a question for you, Coach.

[AJ Hawk]

Yeah, Coach, you were talking about evaluating players obviously back in college. I'm sure you're, you're evaluating these high school guys. When you're in the pros, you're evaluating college. And you mentioned critical factors. Like what are some of those critical factors you do evaluate? Have those changed over time?

[Nick Saban]

Yeah, well, the first guy that I really learned this from was how Belichick, sort of when I was with him, how we evaluated players, and he defined the kind of players that we wanted in the organization. Character, intelligence, size, speed, and what are the critical factors to play that position in our system. Now, I always coach db, so I'll give you that because that's what I'm more expert at. So a guy's got to be able to tackle, play the ball in a deep part of the field and play man to man. Those are three critical factors. Now, you may have 25 things that you evaluate. Quick feet, change of direction, burst out of a break, how does he open his hips, all this kind of stuff to determine those three things. But if you watch the film and a guy misjudges the ball on the deep ball or he's missing a lot of tackles, when you're db, those are all big plays, you know, and if you can't play man to man, you can't get your ass off the field on third down.

[Pat McAfee]

So can't happen, won't win with it. So.

[Nick Saban]

But every position had that kind of. Now that, that's not all you looked at that, but those were like killers. You know, if we got to play a guy that can't judge a ball in deep part of the field or

[AJ Hawk]

corner, he's going to give him off the list.

[Nick Saban]

Yeah, he, we don't want that guy. And, and then, you know, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick they were big people. You know, you've heard me say before on tv, you know, football is a great game for little people until you put a big guy in front of them. Yep, you've heard me say that before, right? It's the same way a corner. I mean, you got a little corner and he's playing against a big receiver. It's like a po that they play that in the NBA, man, as soon as they come across half court, if a big guy's on a little guy, they're giving the ball a big guy, right? Yes, same thing.

[Pat McAfee]

How do you feel about pawns? Feel about pawns.

[Nick Saban]

Ponds is a great football player. He might be pound for pound as good a football player as there is in the draft, but he's going to have a hard time playing corner in this league because of matchup issues. But I think the guy would be a really good star. You know, Javier Arenas was that kind of player. He played for a while in the league, but he was a good star. He was one of those five, nine guys that was explosive, powerful, good tackler, smart, aggressive, good blitzer. Pons is all those things. But if you put him out there at corner, somebody's going to try to figure out how to take advantage of. Advantage of.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I feel like that is the game ultimately. D. But you had. You got drafted at a high second round, Belichick, three disqualifiers. I just learned you ain't have. They didn't worry about the weak ass hands.

[Darius J. Butler]

I had great hands. They ran my workout. I actually did a workout as a corner first. Then I did a wide receiver workout. So they knew the hands were elite.

[Pat McAfee]

Day one. Diggs has a question for you, Coach.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, coach, you just brought up coach Bell Belichick, and we had him on here two or three years ago and his big thing for the whole draft was sticking to your horizontal draft board. Okay, so you being obviously you've looked at all these players and you've been a coach in the draft room. And how important though is it the dynamic with the head coach and the GM and then sticking to the board when you're on the clock and not doing something stupid? Because I know there's a lot of voices in that room.

[Nick Saban]

Yeah, well, I think it's really important. I bought. You've heard me talk about vertical integration in the NFL from the owner to the president, the GM to the coaches to the staff. So you get the right kind of players. If the GM wants this kind of player and the coach wants this kind of player it's not going to fit systematically and somebody's going to get fired. Most of the time it's the coach. All right, because the GM sitting in the press box telling the owner what he wants to hear. I mean, I've been through all this, so. And you're on the sidelines as a coach. Coach, trying to win the game.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, of course.

[Nick Saban]

Good luck.

[Pat McAfee]

Politicking is always happening, so it is critical.

[Nick Saban]

And look, one thing we never had to do in college is we just had to say these are the five best offensive tackles that we're recruiting. Here's the five best corners. Because we could take more guys. Yeah, but in the NFL, having the board horizontally, is this offensive tackle better than this corner? And you did that by having a 9 point grading system. This guy might be a 7.5, the corner may be a 7.2. So who we picking? We're going to take the tackle for value because he's a better player long term or we need the corner. And those are the kind of decisions you got to make. And when you're not on the same page, they get really hard to make.

[Pat McAfee]

We got some Hembo stats here on the history or on this particular draft for most amount of picks here. The jets are the only team with four top 50 picks. They can really do some damage. Remember, they did not take David Bailey on one of their top 30 visits. They said they knew everything about him already. Fascinating. The Dolphins are the only team with more than five top hundred picks. Good luck to them. They're going to need them. Ain't that right, Gumpy?

[Ty Schmidt]

Sully's at the wheel. We're good to go.

[Pat McAfee]

Coach Saban also pulling for the Dolphins, obviously always will be.

[Darius J. Butler]

Seven starters.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, maybe. Could be. Should be. Going to have to be probably for your guys team. You got rid of all your good players over the last couple years. The Broncos are the only team without multiple top hundred picks. Sean, Patriots sitting there on the ice yesterday.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey. Right, right there on the ice.

[Ty Schmidt]

He's got nothing to do for a couple days.

[Pat McAfee]

He almost got glass.

[Ty Schmidt]

I know.

[Pat McAfee]

He almost got shards on him as he's hanging out watching the Colorado Avalanche, who might be the real deal and preds are Predators in the playoffs.

[Nick Saban]

Nope. I had a chance to get in. Went four or five and one in the last 10 games and missed it by, you know, two points or however they do it in hockey.

[Pat McAfee]

How'd you feel about the season? How'd you feel about the hockey season?

[Nick Saban]

I'm anxious to see how we can build the Program, just like we built programs in other places and we get the right people in the organization. It's kind of exciting.

[Pat McAfee]

Have you shot a puck yet?

[Ty Schmidt]

No.

[Nick Saban]

Haven't been to a game yet either.

[Pat McAfee]

Can you skate?

[Nick Saban]

No.

[AJ Hawk]

Have you tried?

[Nick Saban]

You've been to West Virginia, man. Where would you stay?

[Pat McAfee]

We ain't got. Was he a speed skater? Guy's going straight downhill.

[AJ Hawk]

Going to have to jump it.

[Pat McAfee]

Dude could have at some point. Can't wait to see you at a Predators game. Can't wait to see you do your thing for the draft coverage. Thank you so much for taking time out of your life to join us today. You look good. You're super fit right now, huh? You feel good?

[Nick Saban]

Yeah, I'm playing a lot of golf.

[Pat McAfee]

How's the game?

[Nick Saban]

Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Man, that's a metaphor of life, that game. I mean, you know, I mean, you hit a good shot, you got to deal with success. You hit a bad shot, you got to deal with failure and focus on the next shot. And if you don't focus on every shot, you get punished. I mean, it's a damn disaster thing.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

That is golf, football. What's bad for you, though? What's bad? You said some days good, some days bad. What's bad?

[Nick Saban]

Oh, well, some days I can't putt, some days I can't hit straight off the tee. What do you mean?

[Pat McAfee]

80 bad?

[Nick Saban]

I've shot my age three times.

[Pat McAfee]

When's the most recent time you've shot?

[Darius J. Butler]

68.

[Pat McAfee]

Recently?

[Nick Saban]

About a week ago. 73. I'm 74 years older. You get, the easier I thought you were. Hit the number.

[Pat McAfee]

You're 74 right now.

[Nick Saban]

I actually shot 82 at Augusta about a month ago.

[Peter Schrager]

That's pretty goddamn good.

[Nick Saban]

I was nine over on the front and one over on the back.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow. The second time I went through.

[Nick Saban]

Amen. Corner, one under.

[Pat McAfee]

But you birdie to par three. Or what?

[Nick Saban]

Or did you part birdie to 12? Yeah.

[Darius J. Butler]

Wow.

[Pat McAfee]

Second 12 or second nine, not back nine? I think you're good there forever because of who you are. But if I was to get that wrong, I'm potentially. You know what I mean? So let's make sure we get the words right.

[Nick Saban]

Patriots, they don't have that kind of expectation for me, though.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, you're a Southern God. Yeah. I understand how it works down there. As they should. You're the man. Ladies and gentlemen, the Goat. Coach Saban, thank you.

[Nick Saban]

Thank you, guys.

[Brandon Beane]

Good seeing you.

[Ty Schmidt]

Good see you, Coach.

[Pat McAfee]

Love you, Coach. You look good, dude.

[Nick Saban]

Really Good.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, you guys better stand up. Yeah, boys. Good work there, boys. Standing up for the coach. Ms. Amy. See you later. Great seeing you. Yep, you're the best. Thank you so much. Feels like the draft is really starting to heat up. We had Brett Michaels playing earlier. We had said, see it, coach. How about coach? See it, coach? How about him coming in here and just Shafter just going. Let me stop you, right? Let me pick your brain for one half. Talks to table at Boston Connors back. You were right in the middle of that convo. Was Shefter trying to get as much information as possible out of Coach Saban right there?

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah. After seeing how Shifter works, I have a completely different perspective on him. He's a true shark. Eye to eye. He got real, real close to Nick Saban's face. So, you know, the information that he was looking for was serious. But yeah, that was a high football IQ conversation from one side. The other side was just questions. Hey, tell me more.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he was kind of downloading everything. Exactly. That's kind of what Shefter's doing.

[Darius J. Butler]

Speaking of high football conferences, something Saban said when he was talking about the star position. A lot of people at home probably don't know that is kind of like a nickel slot defender. So think Derwin James Cooper Dean, Nicki Minwari, Devin Weather. Devin Weatherspoon out in Seattle. Who. I think him being as successful as he's been will help. D' Angelo Pons probably draft stock tonight or tomorrow night.

[Pat McAfee]

Troy Palu, original Troy.

[Darius J. Butler]

Troy played everywhere. C. Wood. You know those guys. And Caleb Downs. I can see him playing his position as well because those guys can just impact so much of the game. They communicate with linebackers, corners, safeties, linemen. Sometimes they can blitz. They're immediately. They're going to make your run game and your pass game better. So you get a guy like this in the building, they're obviously never going to come off the field. They're like a chess piece on defense. So you see the last two super bowl champs, Cooper De Ghost team and Nicki Minor, that was two of their best players playing at one of the most critical, in my. My opinion positions.

[Pat McAfee]

The queen chess piece. Yeah.

[Darius J. Butler]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it's not. It's not the stupid horse one. That's an L. No, no.

[Adam Schefter]

Not a night.

[Darius J. Butler]

I'll sneak up on you now.

[Ty Schmidt]

Not a rook.

[Connor Rogers]

Yeah, careful.

[Pat McAfee]

But I'm saying that one's just riding in route. We're talking that these. These stars just need to go everywhere.

[Darius J. Butler]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Linebacker off the field. You don't have to.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah. It's the best in with the game. Now they have to be able to thump. Thumping is back in football and we love that. I'm excited to see Goodell thump a couple of these big guys tonight. As we wrap up here on espn, let's make sure we cover all the news stories of the day. Brandon Aubrey, highest paid kicker ever. Four year 28 million. 20 million guarantee with cowboys. Congratulations, Brandon.

[Ty Schmidt]

Well done.

[Pat McAfee]

You earned that, pal. Remember, there was some rumors going around about what he was expecting and wanting and thinking and all that stuff. And then his agent said that's not real. Got transition tagged. I believe somebody else could have made an offer for him through that point. He ended up being definitely back with the Cowboys. They get a deal done with the most accurate kicker maybe of all time. If he's the go guy never misses. It doesn't make any sense. He hit, I think two cross or uprights in the same game last year. It was his own like and it was earth shattering. Headline news. Brandon Aubrey missed a kick. When you get to that point, Tucker was there for a little bit. Boswell got to that point a little bit. Obviously Vinatieri lived in that moment for like 20 years. If you're somebody that they make a big deal out of you missing anything, that means you're a guy. Aubrey's been at literally since day one. He got in the NFL and he might hit from 75 yards. Weapons, absolute weapon. And when you talk about the salary cap going up and to the right, to have a guy that can make a kick for you, priceless. They put a price on it. It's about 5 million a year. What else happened around here? Shane's Steichen says Dan Jones is back to throwing and performing his drop. And we saw him walk in. Broken leg and an Achilles ain't enough to slow Daniel Dimes down. Now he lost a receiver in Michael Pittman. Sure tough to the Pittsburgh Steelers kept Alec Pierce, who he made definitely his absolute best version of him. Yeah, he's out for three months. Dimes is back. Yep. I'm excited about the future. I love where we're at deep.

[Darius J. Butler]

I love where we're at as well. We're obviously moving on, I think to kind of a new chapter with Kenny Moore moving on. Desire Franklin moving on.

[AJ Hawk]

Do you really love where you are though, with all these great players leaving?

[Darius J. Butler]

We got. Look, we got it. We still got a gm.

[Pat McAfee]

What's that?

[Darius J. Butler]

We still got.

[AJ Hawk]

If you guys really are excited, we

[Darius J. Butler]

got our quarterback a lot of Great players. Got a quarterback walking in.

[Connor Rogers]

Alec Pierce.

[AJ Hawk]

He signed him $150 million. He's got ankle surgery three days later.

[Darius J. Butler]

You'll be all right.

[AJ Hawk]

We hope.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Multiple weeks later.

[AJ Hawk]

Did Sheffy know about Pierce's surgery before the Colts signed him to the extension?

[Pat McAfee]

That's what he was kind of saying.

[Ty Schmidt]

Is what he was saying.

[Pat McAfee]

But I think he kind of has to say that in that kind of like. I think I knew that's kind of what he was doing. It's like, I don't know. Did you.

[Darius J. Butler]

You looked over his shoulder on his phone. You think he knew based on what you said?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Connor Rogers]

What was that? What was on his phone?

[Pat McAfee]

A lot of. Just a lot of shots. Got anything for me? Shot, shot, shot, shot. That's what it felt like. It felt like. You know, every once in a while you see those boats that those super rich olds go on out in the street sea, and there's just like 30 fishing lines.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And then they got, like, workers standing there telling them, this one my fat ass over. Do the entire thing. Sure. That's what that text message kind of looked like. Okay. That's why I was scanning it out. I'm like, oh, that's a shot. That's a shot. That's a shot. And there was a lot of names that I definitely knew. I'm like, that could be a cool thing if that was to happen. And then he comes up, comes on and goes, we don't know anything. Yeah, nothing's going on. Got any more for me?

[Ty Schmidt]

He knows stuff.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know everything.

[Adam Schefter]

He knows stuff.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, now that him. The superpowers have combined. Yeah, Him, Rapaport, Palacero, they meet every morning. Field Yates, I think is Field an insider.

[AJ Hawk]

But have they combined?

[Pat McAfee]

I think a little bit, yes. I think they have stuff.

[Ty Tone]

He's never.

[AJ Hawk]

But you think Shifty's giving his stuff. Hey, I got. No, I'm gonna gift it to you.

[Darius J. Butler]

You break it.

[AJ Hawk]

No.

[Ty Schmidt]

They're meeting every morning, giving every everything to each other.

[Pat McAfee]

I do think Shefty, this many years into the game, I think he probably only knows one way, which is like, go, go, go, rap. Same way. But I think Rap has been very open about, like, hey, would be honored to be a part of Schefter's team. I don't think Schefter has ever publicly come out and been like, can't wait to have these guys part of my team. Because I think Shefter is an actual machine.

[Darius J. Butler]

Shefty fucking hates it.

[Pat McAfee]

No, I think at this stage, I think. At this stage, I think he'll be excited to add members to team. Like, I. I think he'd be happy to bring members of team in because it's not like he's ever going to be viewed as not the guy.

[Ty Tone]

Right.

[Pat McAfee]

And he's already proven. I think.

[Ty Tone]

And I think that's what bothered him is I think he does want to add people to the team. But it was the notion that this is his heir apparent. Like, this is the guy that's going to replace him. And he obviously is not thinking about stopping anytime soon.

[Darius J. Butler]

Hates it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. No, I think it is forced upon him. And I think now he's like, how do we make this the best play ball?

[Darius J. Butler]

He's the old franchise quarterback. You draft a young gun. I. Exactly.

[Nick Saban]

You are right. But I'll play.

[Darius J. Butler]

I'll play. I'll be a team player.

[Pat McAfee]

All right. We will see you tomorrow night for the draft spectacular 7pm it starts with the football town. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice might change your life. Goodbye. All right. Clocks were off a second. I think I nailed it. A lot of activity brewing behind.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, yeah.

[Adam Schefter]

Lot happening big time.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm being told in my ear, how long's this?

[Ty Schmidt]

A lot of that.

[Ty Tone]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, because the music was starting.

[Ty Tone]

Sure.

[Pat McAfee]

So I assume somebody was like, hey, can you not do the music? And they're like, no, actually kind of have to. That's kind of a thing. It's not just music, I guess that's going to be on that stage. I think if we were to wait 2 minutes and 30 seconds, we would potentially get something that I'm sure they do not want us to show.

[Ty Tone]

Okay.

[Connor Rogers]

Okay.

[Ty Schmidt]

We can't tip what it's going to be.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't think we can tip the open of the fucking draft.

[Nick Saban]

That's probably the safest thing.

[Ty Schmidt]

They have almost started about three times.

[Darius J. Butler]

Is it Brett Michaels?

[AJ Hawk]

Ah, they were playing some.

[Connor Rogers]

A little bigger.

[Pat McAfee]

All right. Bigger than Brett showing it. Foxy, we're getting out of here. Okay. We're out of it.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's not possible.

[Pat McAfee]

Foxy was like, we got a really good shot of this.

[Ty Schmidt]

Foxy. He wants to tip the whole draft.

[Pat McAfee]

Foxy, show the shots that we have of the stage. Bmac. I know you're probably watching this. We could get the whole thing. We could get the whole thing.

[Nick Saban]

Oh, boy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that would really do it. We're not gonna do it. We are lucky and thankful to be. Hey, somebody tell Oni or Ani, whatever the hell his name is. We are very lucky and thankful to be here. Okay. And on that note, we're not tipping.

[Ty Tone]

No.

[Ty Schmidt]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

We are going to get. We've come this far. We need not.

[Ty Schmidt]

I want to see what it is tomorrow night.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you, Shrager.

[Kendrick Perkins]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Tomorrow night draft Spectacular starts at 7pm with a showing a debut premiere of the Football Town. A. I'm going to say it's maybe the nicest thing I've ever been a part of. I mean, it is. It was so cool to watch like the first five minutes and the way people are talking about it, I think it'll be something that'll be well worth your time. And also a nice prep for what's about to happen. The next generation of NFL stars are gonna be drafted on this stage tomorrow night after the open that has a lot of really cool stuff happen. Roger Goodell, come out here and we're gonna celebrate the hell out of ball. We can't thank you enough for all allowing us to do this for a living. We will see you then. For myself. DBut AJ Conman. Conman. Good to see you with a soul.

[Darius J. Butler]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

We saw you on Steel Curtain without one. Yeah, that was alarming footage. I did not see that before. It was happened both times.

[Darius J. Butler]

The first time. The first time was a little worse. I was concerned because I knew it's glasses. He was concerned about that.

[Connor Rogers]

It was a little quicker, but yeah, it was tough. I mean, that's Kennywood.

[Pat McAfee]

40 seconds here. Ty Tone Truck. Great work, Truck. ESPN crew, thank you so much for setting this off. Barcode and them Faso. Ms. Karen's here doing logistics for life. And tomorrow Coach Coward will join us. AQ Shipley will join us. Surprises will happen. Dreams will come true. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice might change your life. We're in this thing together. Team on me. Let's have a hell of a week here in Pittsburgh. Perfect. Come down and see us if you're in town. We appreciate you. Team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team, goodbye. Hey, sports fans. The ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, advance ESPN shows and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional cost. Visit activate.espn.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now.