From Thirty for Thirty Podcasts. Brian Patter, senior defensive lineman from Miami. Gun down. The key to this case, it's Brian. An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with Tabaki.
This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. Being placed under arrest. We had to kill our monsters.
Murderer. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody! Can't get enough of The Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck!
You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast, so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part: our YouTube channel.
Subscribe at youtube.com slash rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment.
Now, on with the show. I'm very fortunate to do what I do for a living. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Time to reach out to Chris Fudder from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Is this team the best?
This is one of the best teams I've ever watched play before, let alone one of the best at Michigan. Earlier on the show, WWE superstar Seth Rollins. Coming up. NFL draft writer for the athletic. Dane Brugler.
Comedian Nate Barchettzi. And now, Rich Eisen. Hour number two of the Rich Eisen Show on the Air. We just said. Farewell.
To Seth Rollins in and out of our studio, hour number three, we will say hello. To Nate Brigetzi, one of our favorites, one of the funniest, funniest guys that are out there. And he has got a new film to talk about, the breadwinner in theaters nationwide, May 29th. For those who remember Mr. Mom, remember that movie back in the day?
This is very similar to it. He's also got the show The Greatest Average American episodes of that show on ABC is now available on Hulu. And it's always great when Nate stops by and he's going to stop by in hour number three and it's going to be delightful. We're here on ESPN2. We're keeping track of everything that's going on at Augusta National because we're counter-programming.
That's what's happening, essentially. Chris Brockman is showing. How long have you had that master sweater? I acquired it last year before the event. I did wear it last year as well.
Okay. This is becoming a yearly Thursday outfit for me.
Okay. It looks uh very handsome on you. It's official? I remember Chris Berman used to wear a green jacket for the baseball tonights of Sunday Masters weekend. He used to do that.
It's very similar. A tradition unlike any other, bro.
Well, it's a tradition like others, is what I'm basically saying. It's different garments. What? It's a tradition, though, here. Wow.
A tradition. Like other people do, it doesn't have the same ring to it. Got it. What musical selection from the ESPN offering of it's okay to play this music, you won't get sued? List of tunes.
What is it called again? Springtime Romance. Springtime Romance. Chris Brockman, to the tune of Springtime Romance, give us an update on what's going on at Augusta Nashville for the first round of the 2026 Masters. The chorus starting to bite back a little bit.
Patrick Reed gives a shot back on 10, but he is still your leader at 4 under par. Followed right behind him, Christopher Rattan is 3 under. Sam Burns, Tommy Fleetwood gave a shot back. He's also 3 under.
Okay. Some big name, Xander Shauffle. Two under par. Roy McElroy just made Burry on eight. He is one under.
Okay. Anybody else I should be concerned about? Kurt Kidayama was up there near the leaderboard, and he has had quite the day. This is his back nine, sorry, second nine scoring. Birdie on 10, Bogey 11, double 12.
Birdie 13, Bogey 14. He has yet to make a par on the second nine. He sits one underpin. Chris, not to steal any of your thunder, but I'm looking at the leaderboard right now on my laptop. And will you tell everybody who's tied for fifth at 2 under through 2, please?
Will you take a look at that name that'll jump out at you with the American flag, please? Tied for 5th, 2 under through 2. Do you see that name? Akshay Batia? Nope.
Keep going. Ryan Harmon. Oh, yes, Rich. I know who you're talking about. Come on, man.
Former winner, Fred Couples. It's unreal. Birdie's on one, Bertie on two. Look at that, man. Let's dread couples.
Let's I want that man on the weekend again. All he does is make the weekend Augusta. Just the greatest. That's the greatest. I love that guy.
Awesome. Rice and D shambeau, even par. Matt Fitzpatrick plus two. A lot of people's popular pick coming into the week. Springtime romance, everybody.
Chris Brockman with an update on. On the masters. Not to be confused with porpoise mouth. Ladies and gentlemen. Why would anybody play Porpoise Mouth for us once again?
Would you play? What an odd name. You know what I want to call this song? What are you going to call it? Porpoise Mouth.
Maybe like Stolphins. I don't hate Corpus Mouth. I'm not going to say it. Let's hear it. I don't hate it.
It's just like you're on a boat. You're looking off the side of the boat and you see a porpoise jumping up and you're like, look at that mouth. Should I hang on? Don't it is? What was it like?
Had a hook in it. Oh, we are dumb. By the way, it didn't get any better for Aldrich Potgeator, the South African bogeys on 17 and 18. What's his last name? Potgeater.
Are you sure you're pronouncing this right? I am. I am, yeah. He's in the clubhouse. At an plus 1284.
Again, I am not delegating. I would be 12 over. through maybe four or five. It'd be over for me. It'd be rough.
What was that called? Porpoise Head? No, Porpoise Mouth. Porpoise Mouth. Not even close.
Not Porto's head. Porpoise Mouth. Caroline in South Carolina wants to join us. What's up, Caroline? Sweet Caroline.
Hey, what's going on, Rick? What's going on? Porpoise? Negative. A different name.
As a matter of fact, don't ever play porpoise mouth again. Because Caroline and South Carolina doesn't want to hear it. Say it again.
Something with a piano.
Okay. All right. Porpoise Negative, good fantasy name. That's in fun.
Okay. I'm with you. What's on your mind, Carolina, South Carolina? I would like to say, Rick. Um Jeff Rollins.
I love the coffee thing, right?
So. Tell him to does he want to be the first v venue or the last? Because they're going to be lit. They're going to be so jagged on that call. That's true.
I agree. That's true. I agree. By the time they get to the very end, they might be jumping on top of the tent. You know what I mean?
Yeah, I'm with you. They'll go top rope. That's what they'll do. Yeah, they'll be looking for a folding chair. Yeah, there we go.
Uh-huh. What's on your mind? Um, so I was just trying to uh well, I don't wanna leave anything I've been talking about, but Earlier I was watching the show with my boyfriend before he went to work and they're on the subject Of the Raiders, which you don't talk about much. I don't hear it much. What?
Uh oh. You don't listen to it. The Raiders. My theme. I live in South Carolina and I want to be different.
And I like the The writer.
Okay, we talk about them quite a bit, but I don't that's no pushback. Yeah. Mendoza, who was what, number one pit? Yeah. Right.
Don't let him sit down. Don't let everything influence you. Oh, let him sit down and watch me. No, let's not do that. Let's see a leader.
Throw him out there. Let him start. Let him see what he's got because he's freaking really good. You know what I mean? I know, but there's a history of first overall selections when they start.
Behind a line that's not ready to protect, and I'm not sure. Unless he's the first one to dominate, okay.
Okay, he already got a trophy or a Heisman or Wesley. What was it? He's got them both, actually. He's got a trophy and a Heisman. Yes, he's got a pull.
I don't see Kirk Cousins pulling out anything miraculous. Let this kid grow and just be the first one to say, Hey, y'all, we're not going to do it. Hey, we're on the deuce. Saucy Caroline in South Carolina. Thank you for the call.
Call back anyway, but that was that took a. A wrong turn in Albuquerque. Get some extra coffee this morning. She had a real pork smell. Hell.
Was that a first for us in eleven years? Like just a sweet, sweetheart of a calm and all of a sudden f that. All right. We hope there was somebody who's passionate thing was on the button back there in Bristol. That's passion.
Our apologies if it snuck through. You know what? Totally there. That's fanatics, right? Oh, I was told they got it.
Very good. Fantastic. By the way, Caroline in South Carolina, that's like if Dak called from South Dakota, like, you know what I mean? What else are we good? Interesting.
Interesting. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Carol in North Carolina? You know what I mean?
All right. She's from Texas. To Caroline's point. Two. Um I was not expecting that, sorry.
Now, here's the question. Do you think Caroline and her boyfriend were sitting around? She's like, look, I'm going to call on the show. I love it. Right to the end.
I do love that. No, I don't think that was to her point, to her point here. you know I understand Raiders fans are excited and want to see this kid. Yeah. And you think he should start week one.
I do. There's going to be a process. It's that simple. There's going to be a process. They're going to draft him.
Then they're going to see what they have. They know what they have. I mean, from what they've seen. But they need to know what they have in terms of professional. Football Readiness to get on the field.
Did you not hear? Who is it? Matthew Hasselbeck when he came on the program after the Combine, after meeting with Mendoza on the field. He was chit-chatting with Fernando. Uh during The workouts that Mendoza was not taking part in, other than just being part and present for his.
his combine mates, He said Basically, no quarterback should get on the field until they've mastered third-down protection. To know how to protect themselves and know how to set things up prior to the snap to read it. And protect. Yep. And that until somebody figures that out, they should not get on the field.
Now, we're just assuming he did a great job in Indiana, and Kurt Signetti and his staff got him ready for these games. And man, against Big Ten teams like the Ohio State, he saw some professional football players. As a matter of fact, some of the professional football players he saw in beating them in the Big Ten championship game. What? Three of them should join him in the top ten in the draft.
In R. Vel Rees and Caleb Downs and Sonny Styles. Fact.
Okay. So. Until they get him in the building. and work em through the paces. And see what they have.
and go through training camp. and go through even a preseason game, they're just not going to make the decision. And they got Kirk Cousins there for a reason to allow them the Studio Space to Explore To um to make this decision without A demand to start him needing to be met because he's the first overall pick, and they really don't have any other choices. And cousins showed up to um Vegas On Wednesday, met with the media, had this to say about. The kid he's going to be.
in the quarterback room with. And coaching up. Hit it. I've watched him from a distance. You know, had an incredible college career.
Got to run into him yesterday on his draft visit. Uh he just seems like a high caliber person, and if we're fortunate enough to get him here, then uh It'll be a a privilege to work together. Yes, my rookie year is always kind of forefront in my memory. You know, it was a lot of change, a lot of adjustments. At that time, I was a fourth-round pick, very different experience than being a high pick.
And Robert Griffin was drafted to the same team as me. And I remember at the time saying, boy, that's a whole different life to be a top pick and what that involves. No, I I think it'll be a great opportunity up ahead.
Now It is crazy, isn't it? That He's now What a career that he's drafted in the manner in which he was drafted. Washington moves up. All the way to two to take Robert Griffin the third. And then in the fourth round, the next day, because it was a two-day situation back then, the next day they draft Cousins fourth round.
And I remember I was sitting there with Mike Mayount going, what is this all about? Because the only way that this guy gets on the field is if Robert Griffin III is either hurt or doesn't work out, and both are disasters. Why are they. hedging or backing them up with two By taking two quarterbacks, and sure enough, we found out yada, yada, yada, there was a big Snyder finger on the button for RG3. Who had a dynamic rookie season, then gets hurt.
And in comes cousins, and we find out that's who the Shanninghans really dug. Overall You know? And then All those years later, he leaves Minnesota. And goes to Atlanta, gets paid to be the starting guy, and then they draft. A first round.
Quarterback, seventh overall, rather than getting somebody. A piece on defense, a piece on offense that can. Support Kirk Cousins in his dotage, in his football dotage, to win with him right now in the same way the Rams are doing with. And four. Matthew Stafford, and instead they draft Michael Pennix Jr.
and he's like, What gives? Sure enough, he was He's benched for pennics. He's now gone from Atlanta. And now he goes to a spot willingly where he knows they're going to draft a kid at first overall. In Mendoza.
And I believe he has been told there is no decision as to who is going to start in 2026. right now, and he has every opportunity. To win this job. You heard him say he can't wait to work with, alongside the kid. He's not saying, I know I'm here to just coach him up in the locker room and.
Make sure he's supported when he gets out there. It's not it. Certainly when you hear his answer about what he thinks his role is on the team. Yeah, I think we all want to play. I think but I I made this clear to Clint that the the best player needs to play.
If if that's not me, I I don't want to be out there. I don't think that's the best thing for the team. If it if I am the best option, then I I believe it's important that that those guys are out there. But uh you know, I'm excited to you know get the chance to Lead and help influence in the locker room, and do my part, do my role, and just most importantly, help our team win. And I say this because you know, I saw Fernando Mendoza play.
You know what I think about Indiana and their program, and you know what I think about this kid. He is slated to be our first guest of draft week. On this program. He's booked for it, scheduled to appear. I can't wait.
I'm a big fan of his. But If there is a competition. There is no way. He beats out a 14-year veteran, and I don't care how you feel about Kirk Cousins. Not a chance.
Not a chance. There's you know all I I guess I just said not a chance in the league where anything can happen. Kurt Warner exists, Tom Brady exists. I get it, but. In open competition.
But are the Raiders going to be like the best quarterback gets out there? Doesn't matter what. Doesn't matter we drafted the kid first overall. and if he does show an acumen to protect himself and an uncanny ability to pick up this offense, Would they go ahead and just say, we've just got to see what we've got? Right off the bat.
Sorry, Kirk. But there's just no way a fourteen A kid who's never played a snap in the NFL is going to have the same neck up ability as a 14-year veteran in the league. And I know people love carping on Kirk Cousins. Yeah. I know people love you know dumping on 'em.
Because, you know, he it's his hat on frequent You know, who Lighted ceilings under the lights, prime time games, this, you know, playoffs, and whatever. Isn't it? No chance that a guy who's had all these 400-yard games and 500-yard contests, and you see how he can light it up. There's no, and neck up, there's just no chance. That Fernando Mendoza, despite his incredible abilities, Neck up can beat out Kirk Cousins.
Now neck down. I don't know. But Cousins is saying this for a reason. Best guy, get a chance to win. And if I'm not the guy, I don't want to be out there.
He knows he's. Come on. Come on. But if the Raiders want to put a thumb on the scale because they got a first overall pick and he's close enough. That's possible.
But then you sit him down, you gotta go back to him. If you sit him down, he's not ready. And we did see that with J.J. McCarthy this year, but he was hurt. A lot of folks made it seem like he was hurt in quotes.
He turned it needed a sabbatical to get his mind right. I don't know. And again, we also thought remember we came on this show and like Bryce Young should tell the Carolina Panthers, I don't want to play for you ever again.
Now look at him.
Okay. So there's possibilities of sitting your first overall drafted quarterback and going back to him. That are less, if you will, embarrassing than the one that Bryce Young has overcome. It works better if you wait and wait as long as you can and then it's his job. Correct.
So correct. But I find it interesting what Cousins had to say and how he said it. Wanted to bring that to everybody right here. And we say hello to Caroline. The way he kind of made it seem like it was already his team.
Like, if he does come and join us here, I was like, 'cause he's there. I'm saying right away, he's big leaguing. He's letting it be known. But he also is in the NFL. Like, all of a sudden, first overall pick, R.
Vel Rees. Because guess what? Aren't you like that? Our next guest, Dane Brugler, has Arvell Reese very, very high on his Top players list. And the beast is out.
Beast off. His list called The Beast. He's going to be joining us next from The Athletic. Let's talk about the NFL draft live here on ESPN2, Disney Plus, the ESPN app, and ESPN Radio. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.
In a world in need of a hero, one man rises to the challenge in style. He is just driving the kids to soccer practice. Make every day feel epic in an all-new Hyundai Palisade hybrid with up to an EPA estimated 619 miles of range on select trims, advanced tech, and class-leading interior space. Because when you're hauling kids gear, snacks, and backpacks, space matters, and so does comfort. Just make sure they keep their cleats off the seats.
Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for details. Rich Eisen here. The April 15th tax deadline is coming fast, but don't worry. Hand off your taxes to a turbo tax expert today. You know how April feels.
Everything speeds up. Games matter more. Hoops and hockey schedules tighten. Your phone won't stop buzzing. And somewhere in the middle of it all, there's that quiet little reminder.
Taxes. You'll get to it tonight or tomorrow or after the weekend. And if you handle it the old way, you're refreshing your inbox like it's breaking news, waiting, wondering, hoping everything's squared away. That's a lot of mental bandwidth. With Intuit TurboTax Expert Full Service, you can match with a dedicated expert who understands your specific tax situation and handles your taxes for you, start to finish.
You can do it all online or meet in person at one of their new tech-enabled store locations. Have your tax forms imported directly into the app and hand everything off to your TurboTax expert. While they work to get you every dollar you deserve, you can go about your normal routine, giving you time back to focus on what actually deserves your attention, like rooting for your team to make the playoffs. April 15th is not waiting, people. Visit turbo tax.com and hand off your taxes to a turbo tax expert today.
Okay. Need parts fast? O'Reilly Auto Parts as fast. Need them now? We've got now.
No matter what you need, we have thousands of professional parts people doing their part to make sure you have it. We're O'Reilly fast. Just one part that makes O'Reilly stand apart: the professional parts people. Oh, oh, oh!
Alright, Lee. Auto parts. Back on ESPN Radio and Sirius XM Channel 80, The Beast. Every year, this man puts it together 2,700. Hundred prospects broken down.
As we get ready for the NFL draft and the man who puts the beast together for the athletic in New York Times, ladies and gentlemen, Dane Brugler back here on the program. With you, Dane, how are you? I'm doing well, Rich. How are you? How long does it take you to put this together?
It's a year project. It really is. And we're already started on next year, on 2027, because inevitably, you're talking to scouts, talking to coaches. They'll bring somebody up, hey, make sure you watch this for this player, or you're watching tape and a left tackle pops out. And you, okay, let me make a note for the future.
But yeah, it's been fun to share it with everybody. I mean, look, we've got the Masters, Michigan winning the National Championship. The Beast comes out. What else do you want from a sports week? Listen, I appreciate you catering to me.
I appreciate that, Dane. You know what? You're the beast.
So I've been perfect. Guy to ask then. I've been asking this over the last few days of anybody that's come on the program, news and information or talent evaluation, Albert Breer, Sports Illustrated, on Wednesday, on Monday from the ringer, Todd McShea.
So I'll start with you since you mentioned this is a year-round process, the beast, and that you're already working on 2027. How is the 2027 quarterback draft class, in your estimation? looming over the twenty twenty six first round of the NFL draft and beyond. Dane. There's no doubt it's going to play a factor.
Part of it is this draft class is just light. It just is what it is. But I'm going back to the Combine and talking to teams and scouts. And it's funny how often the 2027 quarterback class was brought up organically. Just teams already have their eye on next year's class.
And that's not unusual. I think teams are always advanced scouting. I remember having a conversation with Phil Savage back in the day how when they traded up for Brady Quinn, it was that 2007. They looked at the 2008 NFL draft, and Matt Ryan had yet to really announce himself as a first-round player. And so they felt that was one of the reasons they felt good trading up for Brady Quinn and giving up a future one because they had done that advanced scouting.
And so if you're a team like the Cardinals or the Jets, you know, potentially the Browns, where you have an option here to maybe go Ty Simpson. whether in the first round or second round. How much of next year are you looking at and saying, okay, well, I think let's just get our pass rusher here. Let's get our tackle here and let's worry about, let's just kick the can one year because we feel that good about Arch Manning, Lenora Sellers, Dante Moore, and the rest of that group that are going to come down the pike a year from now. Yeah, and I guess with the Jets and the Cardinals kicking off night two atop the second round of the draft, if Ty Simpson drops, he could go there, or either one of those teams, if they like him, could pop up in the end of the first round, or he could go somewhere in the first round.
I do want to put a pin in that. For the moment, and start our conversation here in terms of looking at how you broke down some of the position groups in the Beast with the overall look. You're top 10 players, you don't have. I mean, I've seen Fernando Mendoza not being a top people's boards just in terms of top ten players, but usually Jeremiah Love is one and he's two. You've got Love two and Mendoza three behind Arvell Rees, and I'll ask you why to kick off the conversation here, Dane.
Yeah, I mean, I think R. Vel Rees is the best player in the draft. I think his hybrid nature of how he can impact the game is something you just don't find very often. It's not a direct apples-to-apples comparison to, say, a Micah Parsons, but stylistically, that's the type of impact that you're looking to add to your front seven. And I think, you know, box score scouts, they won't love R.
Vill Reese, 10 tackles for loss, six and a half sacks. But when you watch the tape and you see him setting an edge or spying and doing exactly what he was asked to do in that Matt Patricia defense, not just athletically, but how smart he is as a player and the instincts, the violence. I think it gives you a lot of optimism about what he can be at the next level.
So if you want to just put his hand on the ground and make him a full-time edge rusher, I think you could do that. But on third downs, you can also stand him up and you can let him rush from the A gap. You can let him spy and let him show off that speed once the quarterback gets flushed from the pot. There's just so many things you can do with this player. And so for me, he's a top player in the draft, but I don't think it's just wide margin.
Jeremiah loves right there as well. What he has done, what he did last two years at Notre Dame, 6.9 yards per carry, 49 plays of 10-plus yards just last year alone. And it's not just what he does carrying the football between the tackles, it's what he does as a receiver and a pass catcher.
So it's, I think, four with the Titans. Five, the Giants, seven, the Commanders. I'll be pretty surprised if Jeremiah Love doesn't end up at one of those spots. And then, of course, Mendoza. It's pretty funny.
My top five players, they all played their college football in Ohio or Indiana, which I did not expect that to be the case when we started this process. Yeah, I know.
Well, I mean, it's the Big Ten world, as you pointed out at the beginning of this conversation.
So I guess not to turn this into a full mock draft, do you think R. Vel Reese is going to go two to the Jets? That's what you think. I would say he's the favorite right now. It really seems like him or Bayley, Texas Tech pass rusher, make the most sense.
Aaron Glenn has talked this offseason about how he wants to have more of a hybrid nature to his defense. And to me, that speaks to R. Val Reese because of all the different things that you can trust him to do. But I understand why Bailey is certainly in that conversation as well. That first step burst, his ability to get after the quarterback.
And the big knock on Bayley was what can he be as a run defender? Back to 2024 at Stanford, he was more of a sub-down player because they didn't entirely trust him as a run defender. But fast forward to this past year, 2025, at Texas Tech, I thought he showed some pretty promising strides as being an every down, three-down player. And so, but you're drafting him for that juice off the edge. And that's why Bailey, he's going to be a top-five pick in this draft.
Yeah, I mean, so when you say the draft is light, do you think it's light on Mm-hmm. Can't miss Surefire blue chip prospects at the positions that. Evaluators and front office executives are comfortable spending a top 10 draft pick on. Or or it's just light in general because Um, I do see styles, I do see downs, I do see, um, as you mentioned. You know, Fano is there as well.
I don't see Maui Noah in your top 10. And he might be third overall. All right, so he's just there at 11. You know what I mean? You see what I'm saying?
Like, Styles is incredible. Downs is incredible. But they're also, you know. Off the ball, and they're also on the back end of a defense. And normally, you don't see those guys go top five, even though their talent just screams it, right?
That's the, to me, the story of this draft is the quote-unquote non-premium positions and how teams reconcile that. Where you don't usually think about drafting a safety in the top 10, but Caleb Downs is that good. I mean, talking to teams about his interview process and how Caleb Downs is sitting down and basically telling them, this is exactly how you guys run your scheme. This is exactly how I would do it. He's talking their language, unlike most college players are able to do.
So Caleb Downs is just different. And of course, you wish you were a little bit bigger. You wish maybe you had some of the testing information. He didn't do any testing at Combine or Pro Day, but you're going to trust the tape. And nowhere on the tape does it say he's a deficient athlete or anything like that.
The intelligence is what sets him apart. And then we have Sonny Styles, a linebacker, there's going to be several teams that are going to be. I'm looking at the Cowboys specifically as a team. They're going to be tempted to move up. Right now, the Cowboys don't have a player they feel comfortable wearing that green dot.
Sonny Styles would be perfect for that Christian Parker defense, exactly what they're looking for. They have two first-round picks. Could they be tempted to move up? You know, we know the Browns are always willing to move back. Maybe six could be that sweet spot for them.
Wow. Okay. Keep that one. Put a pin in that one. Dane Brugler's.
Beast, the Beast on the Athletic New York Times, 2,700 prospects. It's as deep dive as you can possibly get on over 400 prospects right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's look at your top 10 quarterback rankings. Obviously, Mendoza atop. Then you got Ty Simpson, Nussmeier, Drew Aller, Cole Payton.
Of North Dakota State before we finally see Carson Beck's name. Why do you have a. listed all this way. If you can boil it down for me, sir? Yeah, and obviously Mendoza won who, you know, we thought would be a first-round pick coming into the year.
I think in August, he was my 19th overall player.
So, you know, we didn't necessarily see him as a top five pick, but credit to him just throughout the year. Whenever Indiana needed a play, he made it. And so I don't think there's any mystery about why Mendoza is going to be the number one overall pick. Ty Simpson, you know, it's funny, you watch the first six games of the year and what he did at Alabama, you throw on the Georgia tape. He looked like an NFL starter.
He looked like a guy that was going to come in, help your team win games. But then the back half of the year, when the run game was struggling, the offensive line was up and down, more was put on the quarterback to go make plays, and he wasn't always able to do that. It was a little up and down. And I think you just come back to the experience factor with Ty Simpson, who has 15 career starts at the college level. He threw his first, or he graduated from Alabama before he threw his first touchdown pass.
That's just, it's a rare example of a quarterback. To be put in that situation, Anthony Richardson, he had under 15 starts. Dwayne Haskins, Mitchell Trubisky, it's not a great track record of those guys.
So, you know, just back to our earlier conversation, it'll be interesting if he's still on the board as we go into Friday night. And then, say, Ty Simpson is a second quarterback drafted. Who will be the third quarterback and when will it happen? You know, will it be Garrett Nussmeyer, who I think has the ability, the talent to start? He has the command.
Obviously, his dad, Doug Nussmeyer, had been in the game a long time, current offensive coordinator with the Saints. Would it be Carson Beck? I think Carson Beck has more of a ceiling as a backup, but maybe that's exactly what a team is looking for at that point. Does a team believe in Drew Aller, the developmental ceiling and the potential that he has? This is such a bummer.
He missed that second half of the year. He didn't get a chance to really show what he could do down the stretch. But it's a light quarterback class, no question about it. But, you know, his. History tells us that maybe one or two of these guys will at least get a chance.
And it'll be interesting to see where these guys end up and see who gets on the field. Dane Bruegler, a few minutes left with the athletic, right here on the Rich Eisen Show. The wide receiver board.
Now, this is this. Would you say the deepest position? In the draft? I think I'd go edge rusher, but wide receivers are close to. All right.
So Tate won. I mean, if Mackai Lemon's there for the Dolphins, right? Trader Way, Jalen Waddell, they're sitting there at 11. Do we sharpie that one in there, bud? What do you think?
What do you think? The fact that they have so many picks, 11 picks. I mean, they have a lot of opportunities because, like we said, this is a deep receiver class, and it feels like they're starting over from scratch. And so, if they opted for the offensive lineman at 11, I wouldn't be surprised. And then come back at what, pick 29, and you can get maybe a Denzel Boston or in the second round, a Chris Bell from Louisville.
So, I think wide receiver certainly makes sense for this team, but so does about 10 other positions. It's just kind of where the Dolphins are right now in their roster construction. But it'll be interesting to see where Carnell Tate goes. There's a few teams in the top 10. We know the Browns desperately want a playmaker on the outside.
You know, the Chiefs have been kind of looking for that guy on the outside. The Saints, Saints rarely turn down an Ohio State pass catcher, right?
So, don't rule out the Saints here at eight. But, yeah, where that first receiver comes off the board is going to be interesting. All right. Before I let you go. Yeah.
Of the 2,700 prospects or the 400 deep dives that you've done for the beast, who. Give me one or two that we don't talk about enough on shows like this one, and my colleagues who are on every day chopping this up. Who who do you like that you're pound you'd pound the table for?
Okay. Going back to Indiana, you know, Fernando Mendoza was obviously the igniter of that offense, but he didn't do it alone. Riley Nowakowski, the tight end, who was part fullback, part H-back, they needed a couple yards on third down, get past the sticks, he could do it. They needed someone to block, he could do it. They even gave him some goal line carries as a fullback, and he had a couple touchdowns.
And so he'll come in, play special teams for you. Former walk-on, he's wired the right way. Wisconsin transfer. I think he's just one of the most underrated players in the draft. And he'll come off the board probably in the fifth round, and he'll play for the next 10 years and just be a solid contributor.
Look at that one. Dude, you just pulled that one. I mean, you're the beast. He's not even your top 10 tight ends. I'm looking at your top 10.
He's not even there. He's a deep tight end cloud. He just went deep tight end. Cut. You want to give me one on defense?
Let's test it out. Let's take that one for a spin.
Someone on defense. Sure. Let's go southeastern Louisiana. Good chance. Caleb Proctor.
Throw on the LSU tape against southeastern Louisiana, and you see this three-technique who he's a high school linebacker, and they bulked him up. He's up to 290 now, but he didn't lose that athleticism. He got after Garrett Nussmeyer a few times. And so, somewhere in that early day three range, I think Procter is going to be one of the first FCS players drafted, and he's going to make some noise. Have you ever met anybody who's sat down, read The Beast in its entirety in one sitting?
I don't think so, but that's part of the beauty of the beast, right? It takes some time. Beauty of the beast. You gotta lock some plus, right? You gotta lock somebody down in a basement, not let them out until they're done.
Is that how it works? The beauty of the beast? This is where I give credit to my editors who had to actually go through all of this and double-check everything.
So, a lot of good people behind the scenes make sure this is a presentable project. Of course. And all the spellings, right, and everything.
So, then, what do you think somebody with a regular average reading speed. How long would it take to get through the beast start to finish, Dane?
Okay. Maybe by next draft. I don't know. It's tough. I know.
It comes out late. I understand that. But if you have this by your side for all three nights of the draft, you'll be steered in the right direction when your team drafts a player and you'll know everything about them from their family to their stats in college to all their background. It's a great resource to have. And I hear from fans all the time who dig it up in four years when their team signs a free agent.
And oh, what was he like coming out of college? And so it really is a resource guide for fans. Awesome. Do you know how many words? It is, Dane.
Just over 300,000. Jeez.
So, quite a bit, yeah. Oh, man. 600 pages of information. I took the under on the words. Damn it.
Okay. Thanks, Dane. Really appreciate your time. Congrats on this. What a work that you provide and a resource.
Perfect word for it. Thanks, Matt. Thank you so much, Rich. You got it. That's Dane Bruegler, everybody, right here on the Rich Eisen Show.
You can check out The Beast. on the athletic and of course through the New York Times portal as well. Let me just say this to you. Um just out of everything you just mentioned. I I know you don't draft for the fans, right?
Not supposed to. But if you can draft for the fans and check a major box and fill a massive need, that's the triple play, right? Mm-hmm. If the Cleveland Browns take Carnell Tate. and tell all those buckeye nuts You know?
and tell all of 'em. in their fan base. We have Cornell Tate now.
Okay. And their new head coach, Todd Monkin, comes from the offensive mindset. You know? Because they did draft some, I just went higher register a little bit. Fannin, right?
And And they got Judkins, and they've got some really good young players on offense over the last couple of years. I know they just lost in Joku, but. You add Carnell Tate to this mix. And you're telling the Browns fans. We know you.
You know this guy. Come on out and watch Cleveland Browns football. Don't you think that would get people excited? Yes, right.
However, Who's the quarter? It's Deshaun Watson. I didn't stutter. It's going to be him. It's not going to be anybody else.
Yes. Period. They didn't get anybody in free agency. They're not going to go hire like Jimmy G. You know, you know what I mean?
Like, that's gonna happen. I get it. But is that exciting for fans? Is that it will be if he shows up like the guy that they spent all that draft capital on years ago? Pretty big if.
Or That's their, and you know how I feel about Shador. I mean, honestly, I'm the lead. I put on a cape for that kid more than anybody else in the national media, I think. For good reason. I'd be curious who Brown's fan is.
I didn't stutter. Well, you listen to them, it sounds like Shador is the one that they. Guess who's going to start? The guy who they've owed all this money, they owe all this money to and have paid all that money. To watch him sit.
It's going to be him. It's going to be him. 100% it's going to be him. And if Browns fans need to reconcile, spend the months doing it. It's going to be him.
And if he shows up as him. It would be nice to give him Carnell Tate to throw to. Sure would. And I think fans in Cleveland would be like. Uh-huh.
You can check the box. Tate Fannin Judkins. Dude, pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, it sure is.
And certainly Judkins and and um And Tate. You know, one of them beat Michigan. Just look it up. I don't know why we needed that. We have to.
I saw these radio hosts: one saying that Ohio State had a better year than Michigan. How to apologize for it, apparently.
Somebody sent me those videos.
Okay. Let's take a break. We're headed to walk it back. I don't know if you apologize. Scotty Scheffler in the rough on one.
Okay, Scotty Scheffler's on the course. Everybody, we'll give you updates. Nate Brigetzi's coming in studio. The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. Rich Eisen here.
Every time I travel for a major sports moment, whether it's a playoff run or a huge prime time matchup, I see firsthand what happens to a city. Hotels fill up fast. Energy builds. Everyone wants to be part of it.
Now imagine that. On a global scale, the FIFA World Cup is coming this summer, people, and with it thousands of fans traveling to host cities across the country. If you happen to live in one of those cities and you're planning to be away, maybe you've got your own summer trip lined up. This could be a practical opportunity. While you're gone, you could list your space on Airbnb and welcome traveling fans who want to experience the FIFA World Cup in person.
You're not changing your routine. You're not committing to anything year-round. You're simply making the most of a moment when your city is in the global spotlight. I know when I'm on the road for a huge event, having a comfortable home base makes all the difference. And that's what fans will be searching for.
If you've ever thought about listing your space, this summer is a great time as we welcome FIFA World Cup fans. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. Rich Eisen here. The April 15th tax deadline is coming fast, but don't worry.
Hand off your taxes to a turbo tax expert today. You know how April feels. Everything speeds up. Games matter more. Hoops and hockey schedules tighten.
Your phone won't stop buzzing. And somewhere in the middle of it all, there's that quiet little reminder. Taxes. You'll get to it tonight or tomorrow or after the weekend. And if you handle it the old way, you're refreshing your inbox like it's breaking news, waiting, wondering, hoping everything's squared away.
That's a lot of mental bandwidth. With Intuit TurboTax Expert Full Service, you can match with a dedicated expert who understands your specific tax situation and handles your taxes for you, start to finish. You can do it all online or meet in person at one of their new tech-enabled store locations. Have your tax forms imported directly into the app and hand everything off to your TurboTax expert. While they work to get you every dollar you deserve, you can go about your normal routine, giving you time back to focus on what actually deserves your attention, like rooting for your team to make the playoffs.
April 15th is not waiting, people. Visit turbo tax.com and hand off your taxes to a turbo tax expert today.
A SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible, and that's overcoming high-interest credit card debt. Walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed-rate monthly payment, no fees required, and as soon as the same-day funding, that's right, pull off your. own debt defying stunt with a sofi personal loan visit sofi.com slash trick to learn more loans originated by sofi bank and a member fdic terms and conditions apply nmls 696891 We'll take phone calls in a moment before Nate Brgetze. Joins us in studio hour three. I'll give you a couple of updates from the masters that I've seen.
Let's go. Reportedly, Mark Kalkovecki, a 13-time PGA Horror champ, got the gate. Got ejected off the grounds of Augusta National because he somehow, some way was using his cell phone. Yeah, that was that was making the rounds yesterday during I don't know if it was during the par three or somebody's practice round. Oh, it wasn't today.
It wasn't today. It was yesterday. I thought they take the phone from you. You're supposed to lock it up. They tell you to leave it in the car.
Right. But if you do bring it through the gate, you lock it up. Right. And then you can get it after the round. Or after when you leave.
No idea. Yeah, because I know some people who are like, hey, if you need me, I'm off the grid for like seven hours. Yeah. 'Cause I'm I'm not even taking my phone to the course. Why risk it?
No biscuit. Um Here's a shot I'm seeing. Who was it? Was it Shauffley's? Had a uh uh A tea shot on the eighth landed in a patron's bag from the merchandise store.
I just saw the picture of it. Yeah, I'm watching the like someone had their bag right next to the edge of the fairway. Right, and it dropped right into the bag. Oop.
So, what is that? Like a free drop? I think you get a free drop on that one. But you pluck it from the bag and then drop it. You don't just like turn the bag over.
Yeah, but she just kind of dump all the stuff out. Dump all of her stuff. It should make them do that. And then wherever the ball ends up, that's it. I'm just wondering.
That would be great. But you can't touch the ball, right?
Well, you can touch it if it's been a rules official comes over and goes, I see what's going on. It's definitely unplayable if it's wrapped in like a master shirt. It's stuck in the garden gnome box. Shooter McGavin off of Frankenstein's. Do you think Augusta National sells a garden gnome?
Rich. It is the most popular item each year at the Masters. They only make a limited number of these things, and they are the first item to sell out at the merch store.
So I'm watching the video right here, and they're coming up to the ball. And Shawfley's like looking around the ball, and then a rules official is like, it's in the bag. They're pointing to the bag. And and they just make the decision and they clear a space Next to the right next to the bag. Like it's put down right next to the bag, and then they lift the bag up and Shawfley gives it back to the patron.
That's the ruling. Like they took it out, and I guess. You can't have it any closer to the hole. Right, so it's just they saw where it was in the bag and placed it just outside the bag's environment and close as close as they could to where they found it in the bag. That's what they're doing.
Every year, there's a first thing for everything. And then they lift the bag, and Shuffley's the one who actually hands it back to the patron. That's very nice of him. Yeah, that's very likely. Have a Gilmore III going on?
Yeah, that's right.
Now usually, you know Does he now sign the bag? Sure. I would think so. Do you have the temerity to ask for it? Because you're the one who left it so close to the fairway.
Nate Brigetzi coming up. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.