NFL Draft Room Debates

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For the ones who get it done. NFL Network insider, Ian Rappaport. Coming up, NFL Network analyst, Daniel Jeremiah. Green Bay Packers head coach, Matt Lefler. Pro football hall of famer and Super Bowl champion, Kurt Warner. ESPN NFL draft hosts, Reece Davis and Mike Greenberg. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

That's right. Hour number two of day number two of our three day residency here in Green Bay, Wisconsin for the draft week is live on the air on the Rich Eisen show. As long as you are interested in the draft, please stay tuned. And if you're not, what's the matter with you? Is that a very aggressive way of kicking off our number two here? The New Yorker and me came out here in the Midwest. Matt Lefler, the head coach of the Green Bay Packers is about to walk into our studio here at Gather on Broadway in downtown Green Bay. We love this area. It's been a lot of fun already. And then Kurt Warner strolls in and then Mike Greenberg and Reece Davis who are hosting the draft on ESPN and ABC respectively will be joining us as well. But for a second straight segment, because he was nice and early, we're thrilled to have my guy Daniel Jeremiah sitting here to my right on this set. We're going to be hanging out from pick one through Mr. Irrelevant here in Green Bay.

And it's great to see you, DJ. When was the last time the number one overall pick wasn't the number one guy atop your top 50, top 100, top 150 like Cam Ward and Travis Sun right now? It's happened. It's happened several times.

I'd have to go back and look and see the specific one. But yeah, that's not all that unusual where you just have some other players at their position rated higher. So I always tell people that's the difference between doing something for a generic sense versus being with a specific team. I'm not anti taking off of pure grade your seventh, eighth player if he happens to be a quarterback over your number one overall player because obviously the importance of the position.

Sure. So at what point did Cam Ward become your number one quarterback on your draft board? Was he that way all from the beginning of college football's 2024 season?

Well, I mean, he came. I knew of him at Washington State and had seen him. I hadn't done a deep dive. The first time I really started digging in and studying him was in the fall of November, December. My first list came out in January, second week of January, and he was the top quarterback for me. And to me, the more I've dug in, the more I've done, the more I've gotten to learn about him. I didn't know much about him as a kid.

Yes. The more I've learned about him there, I became even more comfortable with him in that spot. Yeah, incarnate word to Washington State to the U and now to the commissioner's spot at the at the NFL draft first out of the green room. I mean, that's the and so you think this is the right choice of the Titans because there's so many folks who are wondering if he is number one overall pick in the draft. Worthy with somebody of Travis Hunter's talent right behind him.

Yeah, I would say it this way. I think he is. I have higher grade on Travis Hunter. But with the quarterbacks for me, I want to say if the ceiling is met.

Yes. Is he good enough to compete with the cyborgs? You got to beat in this league at quarterback, especially in the AFC when you run through that litany of quarterbacks. And if he can get there now, he's he's still there's some development, obviously, to take place.

But man, you can dream on that. You can look at him and see with his arm strength, with his ability to create plays, with his accuracy at all three levels. Like if it all comes together, we can go compete against the Josh Allens, the Joe Burrows, the Patrick Mahomes with this quarterback. So that's kind of my litmus test for him. And I think he passes the quarterback with the highest ceiling in this draft. I would say as overall quarterback, I would say him now. OK, there's the Jalen Milro conversation, but that is there's so far for him to go to get to that ceiling that it's just hard for me to put him in that same conversation. Because Ward's closer to Ward's just so far ahead of him right now of where he is tomorrow, where he can come and start the first game of the year and you can be ready to roll.

I just think that's going to be a long journey for Milro. What is your evaluation of Chidor Sanders? Chidor is like I kind of use the point guard evaluation. If you're looking at if we're going to go like families of quarterbacks, like styles, to me, there's a style of quarterback that his style that's worked. And it's been Joe Burrow is the president of that style of play. Point guard, accuracy, decision making, poise. Like those are his calling cards, more so than just the raw arm strength, raw athleticism. Brock Purdy's on that on that style, like stylistically how he plays the game. Chidor, to me, plays the game like those guys do. But I think he's physically less than what Joe Burrow is. And I think just with Brock Purdy, what we've learned about him, of how fast he can play. I think he's below that in terms of his ability to get out there right now. So I love the toughness.

I love the accuracy. To me, he's got to speed up. He's just got to speed up the clock.

And that's going to be the challenge. Do you lend any credence? Because I'm sure you've heard from this talent evaluation set of those who say he's blown the interviews. That he's been disengaged at times and that his interviews have been terrible. Do you lend any credence to any of that stuff?

Well, I mean, I don't think that's coming out of thin air. I think there's absolutely people that feel that way. And my thing has been like, yeah, I can tell you in almost every player, I've been in three different draft rooms. When a player is discussed, you are going to have sponsors and you're going to have detractors on all of these guys. In this situation, the way I've tried to explain it, I'm not going to compare him as players or as people.

But I haven't seen, and maybe you can tell me an example. I haven't seen a spotlight this bright on one player since Johnny Manziel was coming into the draft. Well, I mean, the spotlight is there because of the last name.

Oh, 100%. The way that he's been having a spotlight thrown on him since Deion showed up to Colorado. And then there's a question of how is he going to do when his dad's not his coach and all of them. But it's the last name on the back of the jersey is the reason why. And then, of course, the front of the jersey as well and what Colorado has been in the spotlight.

They were the center of the college football universe several Saturdays over the last two years, from where they had come from to where they are. And obviously, Deion's right at the forefront there. But you had the most interesting player in Travis Hunter in the country. What I'm getting at is that this isn't the first time people have had negative opinions on players.

But this is one that I think more people care about hearing the opinions on the player. Then, again, I go back to Manziel. Let's go to your mock draft.

Daniel, Jeremiah, you held your final mock draft in television show format last night on NFL Network with Colleen Wolfe hosting and CD Charles Davis next to you. Before we jump into it, though, we have a drop. Oh, yeah. We're going to mock you like a hurricane. Hit it. Hit it. Mock. Yeah.

It's time to mock you like a hurricane. That's our production value. Strong. Thank you. What's your evaluation of our production value?

Strong. I'm just curious to know what you do with the rest of the budget. Oh, you're sitting on it? I don't know. I flew everybody out here. Oh, yeah. Just look around.

Okay. So you kind of went chalky. Really?

Didn't you? Ward, Hunter, Carter. A couple trades in there, Rich. Will Campbell.

No, off at the top. You went chalky. Okay. Ward, Hunter, Carter, Campbell, Gente with nobody trading.

Why do you go? Kelvin Banks is the second tackle off the board to the Raiders. What do you think about there? So here's the logic on this one. Gente's off the board.

So he's out. I came down to two players for them. I thought of Pete Carroll and the teams he won with and the Super Bowls with dominant line of scrimmage teams. John Spytek, the general manager. Think about Tristan Werf, the run game, how physical they were on the defensive side of the ball. Line of scrimmage guy coming from Tampa. So I've got line of scrimmage.

Now we're going to go offense, defense. I want John Spytek's a Michigan man. Let's go Mason Graham. Then I go with Pete Carroll, and I think of Pete Carroll, Steve Sarkisian, very close, worked together. I think of Kelvin Banks. So I came down to those two players, and I reached out to someone who's very close to both of those gentlemen.

I said, if these are the two options I'm giving you on the plate, who do you think they would select? And I got Kelvin Banks. Now, when you put this all together, because you go the Jets going Mambu, and then Mason Graham to Carolina, Mikel Williams to the Saints, and Tyler Warren to the Bears, do you sit back and go, wow, I have Jalen Walker falling out of the top 10.

That doesn't give you pause? Well, it gives me pause based off how I have him slotted, where I graded the player. This year more so than any other, like for instance, Banks I have in the 20s on my sequence list the way I graded him. I have him going all the way up there with the sixth pick. Walker is one of my top seven, eight players. I have him fall into 15. This draft has been described as fit more than anything else.

So how do I use this player? How does he fit in what we do has become a huge part of this evaluation, because all of them are so similarly graded. And when it comes to the offensive tackles going early, there's only four or five of them. And if you like some of these other positions, the thought is, well, if you need a tackle, you better take them early, because you're not going to like what you're looking at on day two. Why Gray Zabel to the Niners? So Gray Zabel to the Niners is a Niners trade back. I just keep coming back to you're getting ready to pay Brock Purdy 50 million bucks. Your offensive line is not in a good place right now. You just lost Banks in free agency.

You got a big money deal to come here, right, to the Green Bay Packers. I don't know how much longer Trent Williams is going to play. You're going to have to start rebuilding this offensive line. And I thought to me, he's one of the sure things with five position flexibility at eleven.

That coffee might be a little bit rich, but I think there's a chance that they could try and position themselves. They need a lot of players as a trade back team. But I have a two trade to trade maximum when it comes to a mock draft.

My brain will go crazy if I do any more. And we'll get to the drafts in a split second. But Ted McMillan to the Cowboys. Why do you have McMillan as the first wide receiver off the board and to Dallas? Well, I think if you're chasing ceiling on at the receiver position, I don't have him as my top receiver. But I do think if you say everything works out for all these receivers, he has the highest ceiling. And more than anything else, I thought he would be kind of the exciting pick. And I've been kind of railing on the Cowboys for being bad and boring. So let's try and root for them to do something exciting and interesting. And I thought McMillan would be the more interesting choice and then the exciting and interesting is the Broncos trading up from 20 with the Dolphins to take Colston Loveland and bring the Michigan tight end there.

Why do you peg that one? I just heard early on in the process that obviously Sean Payton mentioned the thing about wanting a joker, a mismatch player, whether that's a back, a tight end. They go out and they paid Evan Ingram. And then I just kind of asked around, do you think Evan Ingram's contract or his presence would dissuade them from potentially getting someone like Loveland who is a true mismatch player, as you know?

And they said no. And I think about Sean Payton's history and with the Saints, how many times have we seen them be bold and aggressive and make these moves up? I mean, you go to Marcus Davenport, they traded for a lava. I think that was a future one. I remember.

Remember they traded up for Davenport. We thought it was Lamar. Well, I wasn't for. Yeah, it was. Yeah. We thought it was going to be for Lamar Jackson.

And it wasn't. Could you imagine, though, if it was, do you think Sean Payton would probably still be in New Orleans right now? I think that's fair.

Yeah. And they wouldn't be ninth overall on the clock wondering if they should take Chidor for an injured Derek Carr, you know, or Dart. So then you've got Shamar Stewart going to the Colts and Jalen Walker falling to 15. Man, if the Falcons get him at 15, they'll be doing cartwheels, right? I think if he starts to drift, too, I just keep an eye on the Philadelphia Eagles in these scenarios.

Consider the player, consider the school, and consider the Eagles having 20 picks, I believe, this year and next year. Interesting. Go get them. All right. Now, and speaking of go get them, you've got the Giants trading back into the first round to jump the line at 18 for Jackson Dart. Why? Why?

I would put it this way, Rich. If we're going to go hot wings analogy, I would say with Jackson Dart very hot with the Giants. I would say medium with the Browns. And I would say pretty mild with the Saints. They just seem to be the team that's most connected to him. And you're looking at 21 as the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't know that they would take Jackson Dart. But if you love Jackson Dart, you're not going to take that chance.

You need to get in front of them. And then I look at John Schneider's history and how much he loves day two of the draft. And with where their needs align, you could put those day two picks to good use. That just seemed like a fair partner. Yeah, that would be the fair partner there. And so, I mean, we would be evaluating the Giants draft very highly tonight if they get Carter and Dart or what?

Here's a little bit of my theory here, too. Maybe you can go around the room on this one. Sure. I believe there's a difference between being the first person to speak at the press conference versus the second person to speak at the press conference. In other words, if you're the Giants and you introduce Abdul Carter, one of the universally believed to be two best players in the entire draft impact position, he does his thing. And then, oh, by the way, we've got a quarterback.

Come up here, Jackson. And we hope this works out. But it doesn't feel like you're pouring all your eggs into that basket, whereas Jackson Dart's your first pick. You bypassed some of these elite, elite players. I think that's a different level of pressure that's placed on him, especially in that market. All right. And then finishing up your mock draft, Chidor to 21.

You think the Steelers do take him? Confidence level not high there. Why? To me, it's a coin flip. I just was trying to find where that stop is.

If it's not here, I don't know where it is. So I think 21 is going to be a huge, huge pick to be keeping an eye on if you're following Chidor Sanders and his journey. OK. I mean, you want to talk about strange bedfellows, the gym goes and takes an Ohio State Buckeye, Treveon Henderson.

I do like to have a little fun in these. So you have Henderson going second in the running back department. I think the Rams really do like Amari and Hampton. And I would not rule it out with them trying to move around the board a little bit.

How does that work in the running back room? They took Gorham last year. But obviously, you know, and they've got Kyron.

Yeah. So Kyron Williams, this was when I first thought about this. Now, Kyron Williams rushed for, I believe, 1,399 yards, 14 touchdowns. Oh, he was used, yeah, two years in a row. Kyron Williams is getting ready to get to the point where he has to get paid. Yes. So there's that part of it.

Here's the other part of it. As well as he ran the football last year, this is one of the best offensive lines in football that Les has built there. Last year, Kyron Williams had one run of 30-plus yards. Saquon Barkley, you include the playoffs, had 13. Against the Rams?

Yeah, darn near. He did have more runs, 30-plus yard runs against the Rams, many more than Kyron had. So the thought process is, this is a team you've got to go through. Kyron Williams is a good player, but I don't think they're going to want to pay him top market. And now you go out and get somebody who can hit some of those home runs behind this offensive line. They can kind of get back to the early Todd Gurley years with a guy like Omari and Hampton. And now it's a fair fight when you square off with the Eagles, who you've got to go through to get to a Super Bowl. And then you have the Eagles taking Jahad Campbell.

You think he lasts the 32 for the Eagles today? All I do is I just try and figure out a scenario where some unbelievable talent from Alabama or Georgia falls into the lap of the Philadelphia Eagles. Lo and behold, this is where I landed. All right. And before I let you go, I'm going to look directly at our next guest. When you say Maxwell Hairston for the Green Bay Packers, is that what you're saying is from Matt? Oh, you're getting a reaction from Coach? I like that.

I like that. He's over your shoulder. Be careful as you evaluate him. You know what? You know what I would say about Maxwell Hairston?

What would you say? I would just say the guy's going to get coached so well that even if you had any reservations about him. Yeah. I mean, he's going to exceed whatever those are.

What do you think? What do you think of the coaching in Green Bay? They're going to maximize their talent. Yeah.

They're going to just maximize whatever they get. Don't kiss up. Just because. Oh, it's Coach back there. Oh, hey.

I see him back there. Hey. All right.

Thanks for coming on. I look forward to seeing you. Have fun. You're going to have a lot of fun.

I'm going to be sitting on you. So I've thought this through. Yes. It's the opposite of carrying a football.

You know, we talk about points of pressure. Yes. Yes.

You want the dogs got to be out here. So I'm just going to. It was on you. It was on you.

Yeah. I did. I was squeezing. I was too tight. What do you think? Someone was trying to cause you to fumble a puppy? I don't know.

I'd like to do a lot of things differently with that situation. Well, I got a chance apparently because there is apparently a local Green Bay dog rescue coming to our set on center. Nice. So here we go. Good to see you.

Black teeth, a black shirt. Fantastic. Great to see you. Good to see you. Daniel. Great to see the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Matt Leflore is going to be joining us next right here on the Rich Eisen Show live from Green Bay. This episode brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game, shifting a little money here, a little there, and hoping it all works out? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can get a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help find you options within your budget. Try it today at progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law.

Not available in all states. What's up everyone? Matt Leflore here from the PFF NFL Show, here to get you ready for the 2025 NFL Draft. We're dropping PFF podcast episodes three times a week with the rankings, sleepers, team fits, mock drafts, and more, powered by the same data used by all 32 NFL teams. If you want a deeper insight into this year's class and how it all shapes up on draft day, we've got you covered. Become a smarter draft fan right now on the PFF NFL Podcast. The PFF NFL Podcast, part of the Believe Network.

Follow and listen on your favorite platform. The Sean Ryan Show Peak Points, get timeless inspiration from the very best of the Sean Ryan Show. What do you think of working with the Seals? We went out every night going after bad guys. I was humbled. There was no going back home. I would be in another room crying because I was afraid to go to sleep because of what was coming for me in the middle of the night.

How long did it take you to be able to talk about a long time? But I realized my experiences may help other people too. The men by yourself are considered legends in the community. You're right. The Sean Ryan Show Peak Points, follow and listen on your favorite platform. Back on the Rich Eisen Show on the Roku Sports Channel, radio audience will rejoin this stream in a couple of minutes. The head coach of the Green Bay Packers is here, Matt Leflore. Hey. Nice. Good to see you.

Thanks for having me. What number draft is this for you overall, period, since you've been coaching in the NFL? In the NFL? Yes, sir. Oh, geez, I don't even know. 16? 16? 15? 16? I don't know.

It's my seventh year with the Packers. Okay. That's about, you know, what I can tell you.

That's pretty much it. So it's got to be the first draft in the town in which you're coaching, though, right? Absolutely. Correct? Yeah. This is a first for you in this regard.

It is a first. Yeah. People around here are just fired up that the draft is here. It gives them a reason to drink really early in the day. I didn't know people were looking for a reason.

Oh, yeah. We're always looking for a reason around here. Because, again, I always thought when the draft would be here, it would be inside Lambeau. I thought that would be a pretty good idea, but apparently people thought differently than us. But I guess it is fitting that there's a party in the parking lot because that's what happens around here, too.

You can't get any more Green Bay than that. Have you ever walked through the parking lot on a game day? I have not. You have not done that yet? I have not. When I started here, my office was on the third floor of our building, so you could overlook the... On a game day.

On a game day. And sometimes you're like, man, I wish I could go out there and experience it. But yeah, I've never been outside in the parking lot.

You have not. But you have observed before you actually go and coach a game. For sure. Yeah. I mean, the red carpet has been rolled out for everybody here, and the number of people that are just so excited that we're here in this town for this draft, it's pretty cool.

And the neat thing is you're just, well, you use your regular offices anyway. It doesn't matter where the draft is. But I will say the people of Green Bay are very welcoming, no matter what jersey you have on, because there's some cities, Philadelphia maybe, where if you came in there with a pack or jersey, you might not feel comfortable. That is what's unique, I would say, about our fan base and just this area is just they're going to welcome you in no matter who you're rooting for. Matt LaFleur is here, the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. The radio audience has returned. I'm sitting at the Rich Eisen Show Desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions. For every industry, Grainger has the right product for you.

Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by, as Matt LaFleur has. You're a man of your word. You said when the draft is here, I'll come on your show. You did say you were going to bring some red wine, but I guess it is early still in the day.

I'll bring some over later. OK, very good. Well, we're right there.

Yeah, I know. Saturday would be perfect for that. We can do that. OK, very good. Maybe I'll show up, you know. Right there on the set. Right?

Yeah. We're right there. As the draft is winding down, we can pop open a bottle. Although speaking of liquid here, this is very fascinating to me, coach, because I've done my 22nd draft here on the NFL Network and 11th here on the Rich Eisen Show. First time I've ever seen a coach willingly tip his pick publicly, as you have, Matt.

And I've got a photograph of it. I step off the plane and I find out your first round pick is hydration. Yeah, it's interesting. I had no idea what, you know, that you would just let everyone know who you're picking tonight. It's hydration. Embarrassing. Now, are you throwing us off the trail that you're really going to be picking cramping tonight and you're just trying to get us off the trail by saying it's going to be about hydration?

You know, I'm just glad this year, I mean, a year ago, I was coming back from getting my pec repaired. Oh! Yeah.

So you're... Speaking of the draft, I flew back from New York, Dr. Cardasco. Are you serious? I'm dead serious. You had pec surgery prior to last year's draft? Yeah.

We tried to keep it on the wraps and for the most part, yeah, I got in a fight with the bench press and obviously lost that battle. Wow. So today I come here and I'm in full health.

So that's a win. Okay. And obviously hydration helped you. Hydration, yeah. Okay. Yep. All right.

Everyone's out there, man. Everyone's talking about the Packers are already choosing hydration. So what is your role tonight, would you say is your role tonight in the draft room?

Like a lot of us, we just sit there and wait and when the opportunity arises to make that selection, obviously there's going to be a lot of good conversation between Gudi, his staff and myself and just looking forward to getting some good players. So you have, I imagine, already gamed it out, right? Yeah. Everything's... All the work's been done to this point. Otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here right now. Right.

You'd be grinding it. On the 23rd overall, there's like a general sense of who might be on the board. Are you already on the record in a conversation of saying, if these guys are on the board, I want this guy?

Have you voiced something like that? There's definitely been some of those conversations, but I still think there's a lot of unknowns. In particular in this draft, who's going to be there? I think there's going to be more conversations as we approach the pick.

Okay. Obviously, the quarterback spot has been taken care of in your world. How do... You just never know though.

Maybe... No, I know that's the old... No, I know that's the old Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson way of going about things and Gudekunst is from that DNA where you keep on... It seemed like almost every year when Favre was there, they would choose a quarterback. And then one year they actually went ahead and chose a quarterback that they used to succeed in Aaron Rodgers. But my question for you is, how do you evaluate a quarterback? How do you look at a quarterback and figure out the traits that you know can translate to the next level?

Yeah. So for me, there's a couple of non-negotiables and number one, they better be fearless in the pocket. They better be able to stand in there knowing that they're going to get blasted and make the throw. The second one I would say is just being a natural thrower because the pockets in the NFL are dirty and they're muddy and you got to be able to, in essence, throw in a phone booth.

Yes. So I think those are my two non-negotiables and then you get to just the intangible portion, you know, the character, the mental makeup, the love of the game, what kind of leader they are. I think all those, there's so many factors that determine whether or not a guy is going to be able to succeed in our league. And you saw that in Jordan Love as you were evaluating? Absolutely. I thought he was the most pure thrower coming out of that draft and I know there were a lot of guys taken ahead of him, but love that about him, love the person, love the worker and I think we're seeing it all, you know, kind of come to fruition at this point.

And you saw some cut ups of them playing in Utah State taking some in the chops and you're like, okay, we checked that box too. Absolutely. You saw that?

100%. And he added an element of the ability to move. I think especially now, the way the game has evolved, I do think that's an important component. It doesn't mean, I mean, there's been a lot of great quarterbacks that were more or less, didn't move as well outside of the pocket.

I mean, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning. They leap to mind. Yeah. Right.

They're at the forefront of the mind. So it doesn't mean that you can't do it, but I think just with today's game, it definitely adds and puts a lot of pressure on the defense. And again, I'll just go here and you say what you wish. Your two attributes of taking the hit and also accuracy, that does describe Shadore Sanders coming into this draft.

I don't know. Did you look at any of his film at all? I didn't do a deep dive on Shadore, but yeah, he definitely.

That does sound like him. He can make some, a lot of off platform throws as well. A lot of the games that I saw, there was a lot of off schedule going on, so it'll be interesting.

Yeah, I know. Who knows what does happen tonight, and I've got the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Matt LaFleur here on the Rich Eisen Show. Your first year on the sideline, did you ever have any moments of go, like, okay, like Lombardi was on this sideline, like in this stadium? Did you have any moments like that when you first? Absolutely. I still do, to be honest with you.

You do? I would say, you know, when the national anthem's playing, you look up, and especially when we're at home, you look around Lambeau, and you're like, wow, this is pretty cool. But I'll never forget, so our, my first game as the Packer head coach, we opened the season, the 100th year of the NFL at Chicago, and the guy singing the national anthem is, he must be an opera singer or something, and the entire stadium's going crazy. I'll never, that'll be forever embedded in my mind.

That was the first year of ownership of that franchise, as Aaron Rodgers would say that? You know? Something like that. Did Ben Johnson send a little broadside verbally up the toll road? Yeah, that was interesting, huh?

In your direction? That was interesting. Wasn't expecting that, being the fact that I don't really know him, but. Well, now you do. I do.

Now you do. I think that is part and parcel of Bears' coaches taking the job and throwing out the record for the fans. Yeah, I honestly, I think it's more for the fans.

It is. And banter. Tonight, when the Bears are on the clock, I mean, it's going to be on, for sure, here in this town, when the Bears are on the clock. I'm sure.

Hopefully, we'll hear a lot of boos. I know. Are you in touch with Rodgers at all? I have not been, no. Okay. So do you have any thoughts on what's going on with him that you're willing to share?

I really, I have no idea what. Do you think he's going to play again? If I were a betting man, I would not bet against it, so I would say that he's more than likely going to be somewhere. Right. It could be Pittsburgh, and obviously, you guys play Pittsburgh this year. That would be interesting. Wouldn't it be?

You're standing on one sideline, and he's on the other? Yeah. But the two of you guys got along famously well, right? Yeah, we did. We had a great relationship, and I think there was a lot of respect for one another. And certainly, I don't think I'd be sitting here today without the way he led our team and his performance on the field.

So we had a lot of great moments together. So when you are thinking about last season at any point in time, what leaps to mind for you, for a team that, in the mind's eye of a lot of people in chairs like mine, you arrived earlier than people would expect the year before, and then there were some expectations last year that I think you'd agree went unmet. And I'm wondering what your two cents on that would be when you looked at last year. I just think that, certainly, the season never ends the way you want it to unless you're holding that Lombardi Trophy. But it was a little bit disappointing to have an opportunity to go into Minnesota and not get the job done.

And then we lost the last game versus the Bears, and then into the playoffs versus Philly. So I think, yeah, there was some disappointment there. I think there was a lot of great lessons that we need to learn from moving forward.

What are they? What would you say? Well, I think that our game is so competitive. And there is a lot of things that are not within your control. So you've got to maximize each and every moment. And that's all that goes into the preparation of being able to make the plays in those big time games. And so I would just say just being super intentional about how we go about our business and the preparation that we put into it. Sort of the team growing up together, is that what you're alluding to? Yeah, I think, yeah, there's a lot of that. And I know for two years in a row, we've been the youngest team in the National Football League. But at the end of the day, nobody cares.

So you have to grow up fast. And you have to learn from every experience, both good and bad. Well, Josh Jacobs appears to be a hand-in-glove fit here in the Bay. He's been awesome. What'd you learn about him? He is as advertised. Obviously, coming from the Raiders, we had Rich Busaccia that had been around him. Derek Ansley, who's our defensive back coach, was with him in Alabama. I would say he's as advertised.

Those guys said, you're going to get the ultimate competitor. And he's been exactly that. He's been a great leader, a great force within our locker room.

And as a matter of fact, I just saw him today working out of the facility, and it was great to see him. Yeah. I mean, and boy, you really used him as a hammer, like a first-quarter hammer, quite a bit.

I'd say a four-quarter hammer. Well, I mean, that's for sure. But just in the first quarter on a chip, you were tone-setting quite a bit using him last year.

Absolutely. He is a tone-setter. You're going to wear down behind his pads, and you're going to feel him.

And I think he's just got that ability to wear down defenses. Right. So your message to Packers fans going into the draft tonight is what? Just another way of me trying to sneak in a little peek behind the curtain about the 23rd-overall pick tonight, just to walk straight through the front door. Yeah.

You know, we're going to get the best player available. Oh, come on. How about that? It's not sexy. I know. Hydration. It's not hydration.

I agree. It's not hydration. It's not hydration.

And I will be well hydrated. Well, I don't want you crapping up with the big moment, man, for sure. But I don't know.

I love how you guys got that, by the way. Which is what? That's my photograph.

Is it? I'm not kidding you. So as you flew into the airport.

As I de-planed. Trust me, I've gotten a lot of text messages over the last couple of days like, are you serious? Yes, you're serious. Well, I mean, your face doesn't say you're serious, but again, I would love it if tonight Roger Goodell steps to the podium with the 23rd overall pick in the draft, the Green Bay Packers select hydration. That would be fantastic. Put a plug into him.

You know what? I can do the, I can actually go in the back and fill in the card. I know I can, actually it's a player's name. You just fill in the team on the card.

So you just tell me who you want. I'll do that. Let's do it. I say, thank you for you coming here.

Let's do it. You tell me the name of the plug. You got to tell me the camp. I can't just write best player available down.

You know what I mean? You're going to have to give me a name. Who do you think we're going to pick? I think you're going to pick.

Well, I think you're going to take Ibuka out of Ohio State. Not a single. You just nodded your head.

I could just start naming names and see if I hit on one that you really want. Well, I famously heard they've never taken a first round wide receiver. Well, that's not true. It hasn't been one in a long time. I think it's been like, what, 2002? Okay. Yeah. Was it Jevon Walker? It was Jevon Walker. Sorry.

Nobody for Aaron Rodgers. Look at me, huh? Look at you.

Some might call you an expert. You know what? I've been around.

I've been around. So, yeah, I mean, they have done it. Not for Aaron Rodgers, I guess is what I heard. But you got enough wide receivers, right? I tell you what, historically, we've done a pretty good job drafting a lot of great receivers.

Yes, indeed. Very true. Second round receivers. Third round receivers.

Very true. Hey, man. De'Monte Adams. He's all right. Jordy Nelson. They're both pretty good.

They've been pretty good. James Jones. Randall Cobb. I mean, just to name a few. Just to name a few. The Donald Driver's memoir is in my hotel room is reading.

We drove by Donald Driver's statue. I mean, I think we got a couple, Jaden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Dobbs, John Tavian Wicks. Got you. Yeah, you got it.

I think so. No wide receiver. You just heard no wide receiver tonight. We'll see. We'll see. Okay, great. So we're just making our predictions? Derek Harmon.

Is there a player named Hydration in the draft? Will you please look that up? So I took that picture. I took because I knew you were coming on.

I'm like, I got it. This is going to be fun. That was great. Is it? Not really. Thank you for coming on. Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

You bet, man. I love the Green Bay Packers, Matt LaFleur here on the Rich Eyes and Show. Oh, it's loud over there. Hey!

All the Packers fans in the house. I love that. Yeah. Wow. That's the loudest.

You've got the loudest ovation. Honestly, it was like a golf outing with Ian Rappaport when I say goodbye to him. He was on his phone all the time.

He was on the phone his whole time. Coach, can you make us just one? Go outside during a game and jump into the tailgate. Yes, there you go. This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. Not everyone is careful with your personal information, which might explain why there's a victim of identity theft every five seconds in the US. Fortunately, there's LifeLock. LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity. If your identity is stolen, a US-based restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed, or your money back.

Save up to 40% your first year by visiting lifelock.com slash podcast. Terms apply. When did you realize that you had a special talent? I would say in middle school, honestly, because it was always people telling me, you know, I thought I was just, you know, I thought it was great, but, you know, everybody told me that I was elite, that I was going to play in the NFL someday, that I was going to be one of the best. I mean, I just remember how I got into football was really because of my, one of my childhood friends, Mario, his dad was like, we were just playing around one day at, actually at one of his practices was I'll go and just hang out with him and watch the practices. And then he was like, man, why aren't you playing football? I was like, I don't know. And then next thing you know, I'm in, I'm in Pop Warner football.

And now next thing you know, you're going to be in the national football league, fresh off of being a runner up for the Heisman trophy based on what you've done and the abilities that you have. I mean, we just showed that photograph, put it back up again. One more time. When you see this, you think, what, what are you thinking here? I'm in there. I'm in space, man. I'm floating.

You are. I mean, you, you, you are doing that. I mean, when, and then you watch it back. Do you, do you even marvel at that? I do. I do. I mean, sometimes after the game, I look back and I'm like, man, I really did that, you know? Yeah.

Right. And so who, who have, that currently plays in the NFL, do you reach out to for 2 cents? For help? I wouldn't say I've really have reached out to anybody specifically, but I mean, I've talked to a few different guys that, you know, different events like Raheem Mostert, Jonathan Taylor, down at the Super Bowl, Mark Ingram, you know, just being able to connect with them and talk to them, they all gave me advice, you know, even talking with Marshawn Lynch a few times a little bit. So but, you know, building, kind of building relationships with those guys who've been there and done that. Other than taking care of your mentals and your chicken, what did Marshawn tell you about? What advice did he give you, Ashton?

He said, yeah, just, you know, kind of stay, stay focused, you know, on, on the grind and, you know, he's just saying like, I'm, I'm, I'm the one, I'm one of them ones, like I'm next up. So it's just great to hear that from, you know, somebody that I grew up watching play. Before I let you go, I'm going to ask you what I ask of every top prospect that is kind enough to say yes to appear on this program. A team gets what if they draft Ashton Gente next Thursday night? They get a, they get a guy who's going to, you know, change and make this organization for the better. There's obviously a lot of great organizations, a lot of great players, but you know, what I bring to the table is, you know, leadership, a person who's going to be able to connect with everybody in the locker room and not only that, but make them better, you know, push them to, you know, higher limits, obviously an asset, you know, on the offensive side of the ball.

And then just the community, right. You know, doing things in the community, bringing change, and most importantly, a legacy for people to follow, you know, cause the legacy is what you leave behind. I'll leave behind nothing but greatness.

And I love Ashton Gente, his story. He would look so good in New England. I just don't think that's happening, pal. I don't know.

I know it's not. He's now the betting favorite to go number five to the Bears. To the Bears.

Oh God. What's this be awesome tonight? Back on the Rich Eisen Show radio network, along with our live stream on the Roku Sports Channel. Love being here in Green Bay. Love that you're watching us or listening to us. It's just going to be such a wild night tonight. We have no idea.

It's such a mystery. I mean, last year we knew it was going to be three quarterbacks going off the top. The question is, when would other quarterbacks go? And then we found out one was going to Atlanta and Michael Pennix. One did go to Minnesota and J.J. McCarthy with a small trade up into the top 10 from 11 for Minnesota.

And Bo Nix turned out to be a rookie of the year candidate as the sixth and final first round quarterback taken. Tonight, we have no idea how many quarterbacks are going to be taken. We have no idea if running backs will be taken more than quarterbacks in the first 20.

Same thing with tight ends, right? We're assuming that there could be trades galore. I mean, Ian Rappaport came on the program at the top of the show, said, look out for Jacksonville to move from five to two. Right now, you're saying Ash and Gente is a betting favorite to go fifth overall to the Bears. Right. Because that means Gente drops down to five. I mean, and if let's just say Jacksonville does move up to two, that means the Browns move down twice. And the idea of the betting public as if that matters.

I don't know. I mean, it's just what people are thinking. Not like that there's anybody with the inside knowledge to do this sort of thing. Also remember last year, no defender got selected until 15. Right. Right. That won't happen. Well, I mean, that's not going to happen tonight.

Well, it's certainly when an offensive and defensive player gets picked in one in the same year. So we're going to scratch. You know what I mean? By the way, how do, because I know that there is, you know, these props out there. He is not available in either of those props. You know what I'm just saying? So receiver or defensive back, what I'm saying is like, I know there are props about number of offensive players taken in the top 10 or in the first round.

Does he count for both like a 0.5? No, he's not. I'm serious. No, no. Every prop is, is without Travis Hunter. Unbelievable. Yeah. He's his own category.

He's an anomaly. This is an annual tradition for us on this program on the day of the draft from the draft town where we choose a draft room. If we could choose one room to be a fly on the wall for or in which team will that be?

And it's a segment called draft room debates presented by spectrum. Chris Brockman, you are first up right here. I like the fact that we're at podiums. I love that.

Let me get my pose down. By the way, that was a coach, Fred Carter point out of me right there. Like back in the old NBA two night, I should have brought my gavel, Chris, you're first up. Which if you could choose one room to be in as a fly on the wall, it would be, which team?

Yeah. We're not picking our own teams, obviously. So I'm going to take the Chicago bears. I think there's so much intrigue surrounding them at number 10 there, like I said before, they're now the betting favorite to take Gente fifth. So there is a lot of speculation that they're going to move up and who's it going to be for. If they stick and pick, could they get Tyler Warren?

Probably. And that's a super fun, exciting player that they could really use, but it's not as fun as taking Ashton Gente and moving up in the draft and really creating a splash. Maybe the first big splash of Jacksonville doesn't move up as well in this to really get things going and kick off tonight.

So I'd love to know what the conversations are going on with Ryan poles and now Ben Johnson, who we knew, we now know, doesn't know Matt before that was nice information. They're not acquainted, but just what is Chicago going to do? Because there's a lot of hope now with year two, Caleb Williams, year one, Ben Johnson, all the offensive weapons that we saw that they have, that they could be a playoff team. And that's a really tough division, maybe the best in the NFL. And what are they going to do to get better and improve and surround themselves and surround Caleb Williams with what he needs to succeed? I'm really interested in Chicago. It is an excellent choice, especially since Ryan poles did say that he thinks it's going to be a wild night and if he thinks it's going to be a wild night, because there's going to be some trades in the top 10 once the fifth overall pick is on the clock.

Maybe he knows that he's the one that can bring the wild to the party here. TJ, the draft room debate that you're eager to listen in on would be which teams? Well, you know, everybody wants me to say the Cowboys, but like Chris said, we're not picking. We are not picking our teams.

Obviously my next team would be the Steelers. Coach Tomlin famously said we want volunteers, not hostages. And yet it seems to me like Aaron Rogers is holding this entire city hostage right now until he makes a decision. Good one. Look at you turning a phrase, TJ. Yeah.

Well, you know, I'm a little bit of a wordsmith, not on your level, of course, I'm trying to get there. Okay. But yeah, man, I'm interested to see what goes down. What's the door laying there is Mike Tomlin's on, you know, winning record streak. It's really, I think this pick is going to have a lot to do whether that streak continues again for what, a 19th season. And so Pittsburgh, you know, the fans are a little, I want to say they're suffering from Tomlin fatigue, but we've seen all the tweets. We've seen all the stories they, the fans, supposedly the loud ones, they want something different.

Right. And if this draft doesn't hit for them, I'm afraid that it could be, it could be bad news for coach T. So I don't know about that. I mean, listen, the debate is going to be if Shador Sanders is on the board and you can take them and again, Jerry Dulac, who knows quite a bit about this organization and its way of thinking, you know, historically, if not right now, based on, on their roster and their decisions that they have to make tonight. He said that if their defensive tackle that they have been targeting is sitting there on the board, they're going to go with that player, regardless of what's going on at the quarterback spot. He also said to keep an eye on, you know, the running back position, Willow Marion Hampton and Trevion Henderson be on the board at 21 for them to use as a debate or do they say, we like Shador, we do need to come out with a rookie quarterback at some point and let's do it right now. That would be the debate that goes on in that draft room with the 10 minutes ticking. And if nobody trades up in front, I mean, Daniel Jeremiah says that he thinks the Giants will leap forward, leap the line at 18th overall and take Jackson Dart, which would be, if they don't do that, that would be a debate as well. Like if we're going to take a quarterback now, the debate is also Dart versus Shador and we know versus defensive lineman versus running back versus another best player available that they were covering.

I mean, Jahod Campbell could be sitting on the board there as well. Not that that's a need, but you know, best player available may be a part of the debate. Steelers are fascinating tonight. And my draft room debate, like, listen, I totally agree with Chicago and I totally agree with Pittsburgh, but I'm going with a team that can actually choose twice in the first round, not just once, but twice. And that could be the New York football Giants and the draft room debate when they're sitting there at three.

Now it's time a rubber meets the road, do we do Shador Sanders or do we do Abdul Carter? Now that might not be a debate that may be already handled in New Jersey right now. That may be already done to the point where if somebody is pounding the table for one over the other, uh, still, um, while the clock's ticking with 10 minutes, nine minutes, eight minutes, and there may be fielding a call from somebody trying to leap the line for Gente or trying to leap the line or for Carter even to, to see if the giants want to pass on that, um, that that's a debate that could be going on in the room.

And then the debate is throughout the rest of the next hour and a half. If they don't choose a quarterback third overall, how do they get back in? Do they get back in? Why get back in?

Is it too expensive to get back in? Do we not get back in or we have to get back in and with who is it Seattle? Is it going to be Denver at 20? If they haven't already moved up, like Daniel Jeremiah thinks, could the dolphins move down twice if they do move down to 20, uh, in that trade that DJ says is going to happen for Colston Loveland between the dolphins and the Broncos.

And then of course the fact that, you know, ownership is going to be in there. The cameras will be on, but with no sound this time, you know, for their decision-making honestly, I think it is fascinating when you're talking about a draft night for a team that is at a crossroads again, or still at the same crossroads as they were at the quarterback position at this point last year, um, and, and, um, and they could choose twice tonight. That to me is a draft room debate I would want to be listening to. And that's draft room debates presented by Spectrum. Elevate your home internet with a fast and reliable connection backed by a local team that's there when you need them.

Make more things possible with Spectrum today. You know, I love guest convergence, right? This has been going on now off to the side this entire time has been Matt Lafleur and Kurt Warner chopping it up because Kurt arrived early and Matt, um, left the set. And once my poker buddies, including Murph stopped bending his ear for Murph, Murph's been banned again, man asking for 15 pictures with Matt, I mean, honestly, no Murph, I free you. But anyway, Matt Lafleur has just left. There he is. Good to see you, Kurt. Kurt. That's Kurt Warner, everybody. Pro football hall of Famer. And he will be part of our NFL draft coverage, turn out an NFL network coming up an hour three, still sitting here on the Roku, uh, sports channel as well. Uh, is, is Kurt wired for sound?

Is he miked up? You there, Kurt? You're ready to go. Yeah. Uh, you're back from your European vacation. I am. Okay.

I saw you, you know, like you were, we were trying to do some meetings and all Kurt's in Europe, you know, like that's where, that's where we're here in Kurt's in Europe. Wow. You know, the off season is all about Brenda. You know that I got a little two or three day break here for this little thing we call the draft. And then the non playing season. Yeah.

That's right. No off season. Oh, we call it an NFL network. You tell Brenda that. Okay. You tell her it's the non playing season. No, we're not telling Brenda. No off season. We're not telling. Okay.

Don't tell her that. Where'd you go? We were all over. We were Paris. We were in Florence. We were in Dubrovnik and Croatia. We were, we were all over.

I want to go to Croatia. Do you really? Yeah. Okay. Game of Thrones.

You can tell you what, you can tell you where to go. That's Game of Thrones. You know what I mean? Game of Thrones. We did a Game of Thrones tour. Oh, that's right. We saw.

Can we, can we get this for the, for the next segment please? I think you, were you on an iron throne? Were you on the iron? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I think I saw that. I saw that. Great. She's the king of the north over there.

Okay, let's prevent parliament. Brice Hall is available for trade. What? A potential availability of Brice Hall has increased in the last week and a half.

And then Brice Hall tweeted out, fingers crossed. Come on, man. I'm not kidding. I'm not saying it. I'm not kidding. Are you serious? I, I'm dead serious.

Then I just don't want to pay him. Brice Hall wants out. Seems like. Geez. All right.

Well, if that's the case, then move up for Gente for crying out loud. Let's get nuts. Come on.

All right. So if you're going to, if you're going to, if you're going to tell Brice Hall, who was as dynamic as he possibly can be, blows out his knee and then he comes back from it and, and, and gets his ass handed to him because everything else has fallen apart and you're going to trade him, you know, you better get Gente out of it, but it makes no sense. I mean, if you're going to bring the Detroit lion system to here that there's, there's, you know, Sonic and Knuckles. Yeah. You know, he's the Sonic. I'm just telling you what's on Twitter right now. He's the Sonic. You know what I mean? But if he's crossing his fingers, he's crossing his fingers, I'll send him to Pittsburgh.

If you'd like Santa Rogers that much, there you go. We're Malibu. Tell him to get off the beach. Why are you telling me this stuff when Kurt's here to make me happy? Well, you know, he, he always likes to bring you down a little bit.

I just got to squeeze it in real quick. Okay. Well, we just, if we're not taking Gente, I don't want you to take him. Okay.

That's true. Either you guys would be happy. Now, now, now it's like a green and white wedding. Geez.

All right. Hour number three with my hall of fame, buddy, NFL network buddy tonight's draft will feature Kurt Warners as well. The kickoff of hour three, NBA veteran, Jim Jackson takes you on the court. You get a chance to dig into my 14 year career in the NBA, but also get the input from the people that will be joining Charles Barkley. I'm excited to be on your podcast, man. It's an honor. Spike Lee, entrepreneur, filmmaker, Academy award winner. Now you see, I got you, but also how sports brings a life passion, music, all of this together. The Jim Jackson show part of the rich Eisen podcast network follow and listen on your favorite platform.