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An hour before he died, he was on the phone arguing with somebody. This might be a hit. You want the truth. They just want a conviction. Being placed under arrest.
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Now, on with the show. This is the Rich Eisen Show. From his footprint, he looks like a big fella. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Mendoza, let him sit down.
No, let's be a leader. Throw him out there. The Rich Eisen Show. Let's see what he's got. Earlier on the show, actor Olivia Munn.
Coming up. NFL Network Insider Tom Pellisero. Former NFL general manager Mike Mayock. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air.
844-204, Rich is the number to dial 844-204-Rich. Whether you're watching on. ESPN2 Linear. We're again master's counter programming and happy to be so here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app. Also, ESPN Radio, also SiriusXM Channel 80.
Whether you're watching or listening, we appreciate any contact with us. We always love hearing from you. We had a great chat in hour number one with Olivia Munn, your friends and neighbors, an outstanding show. How about her history with Fox Sports and going back in the day? She got coffee as an intern for Susie and the rest of the anchors that were there at the time.
Um and then she winds up in an acting career in on a hit show. In the present day, right now. Very cool. There's a lot that went down to yada, yada, yada in between in her career. And Tom Pellicero is going to join us in 20 minutes' time.
Mike Mayock, top of hour number three. It's a What's More Likely Friday. We'll get to that in a second. Do you want to start hour two with a little bit of an update on what's going on at Augusta National? Christopher, hit the music if you don't mind.
Jason Feller, a little bit of. Springtime romance. Springtime romance. Springtime romance is in the air for Wyndham Clark. Oh my God, great transition.
Hart launched a new girlfriend at the Par Three tournament. What did he do? Hard-launched new.
Alright, he's got some new girlfriend that was with him at the Par 3 tournament. All right. That'd be the right music. I don't know if that's the right way to term that either. Springtime romance.
Okay, got it. And he had himself a day today after even round yesterday. Four under today. He's your clubhouse leader. Is he really?
Four under par. All right. Sam Burns just teed off. He is leading the tournament with Rory McElroy. Five under Rory to tee off in 42 minutes time.
Cheryl Hatton here, low round on the course. He's five under. Wow. Threw 12 to put himself at three under for the tournament, firmly in fifth place right now. Scotty Schaffer rebounded after his two bogeys start.
Minus one now for the tournament as he hits the 10th tee. All right. I'm watching some of the featured group right now. Dustin Johnson's won over.
So, projected cut now plus four. Is that what it is? Good news for Bryson DeChambo, Bubba Watson, Seewu Kim, Victor Hovlin, and a few others.
Well, I mean, let's get Bryson out there, getting a little, let's see some red numbers. Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah, John Rahm gave one back. He's minus one on the day.
Okay. Plus five, one outside the cut line.
Okay, thank you very much.
Well done. Sir, we soft-launched that update, right? We soft-launched. Yeah, it was not a hard launch. All right, let's go to Glenn in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
What's up, man? Boardwalk Empire. What's up, Glenn? Uh oh. Oh no.
Are we sure that what that sounds like he's Darth Vader? No, he's breathing. All right. You there, Glenn?
Okay, bud. Very uh the heavy breathing Glenn from Atlantic City, New Jersey's on. What's up, Glenn? I just wanted to say, personally, when it comes to the Masters, I root against the guys on Liv. I I don't want them on the leaderboard.
I wait for them to implode. I d Chambo won a couple I know he won a major in the last couple of years and I is not with the live guys. I wish they played in their own tournament. Create your own majors. They wanted to go there.
I mean, I welcomed Kepka back with open arms. He realized. And now he's back on the major stage and I just But the live guys would be on their own tour. I don't root for 'em. I definitely wait for them to implode, Rich.
Okay. Look at you. You're on the don't-pass line there, huh? Spect the spite. There he goes.
This is what Glenn's going to do. Glenn woke up today. He says, I'm going to call in the Rich Eisen Show. I'm going to wait on hold. I'm going to breathe heavily.
I'm going to get on late. And I'm going to breathe fire Dracaris on the the live guys, and then we're just going to hang up and I'm out. No, Rich. Tell him what you got in my ear and say, he's sounding like Tracy Morgan. I was wondering what you're laughing at.
He's going to get somebody pregnant. I'm going to get those live guys pregnant. That was pretty good. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Yeah. Hey now I got TJ with that one because he did a little bit. Jimmy in San Antonio. Yay. What's up, Jimmy?
Oh What's up, Jim?
Okay, the chair situation with Olivia. Yes, sir. That was interesting. It was interesting. Do I owe any money for the feet picks?
She was very comfortable. She was like, shoes off. Let's enjoy myself. Dude, I appreciate her saying something. Right.
Because I would have watched her in the chair being somewhat uncomfortable. And as a host, that would have thrown me off. You know what I mean? And so. For her to have the presence of mind in saying this is not working.
And the neat thing is, again, I love name-dropping to begin with, and certainly his name, certainly with the. Previous experience with Arnold Schwarzenegger, we know where the backup chair is. Underneath the ass of Chris Brockman.
So we just swooped into it. Get a new chair. Get him a new chair. Yeah, I know. I gotta do it.
We do have some bedrooms over here. We do. All right, can we? Can we pull those in? One fits like a glove.
I don't understand. No, we brought me one afternoon. Good to know. Thank you. Ripped glove.
Okay, I have first a heartfelt shout-out. The Voice of the Rich Eisen Show, Her Baby Daddy. It was his last day on air. And shout out to Seton. Yeah, that was pretty cool.
You did a great job. And you know, we've been in this business for a while, all of us, and we're a small group. I wish him the best, and I hope everyone does well.
Now, back to my sports, Rich.
Okay, Jimmy, what's on your mind? I don't know if you know in San Antonio, we are huge Denver University hockey fans. Why is that? Yeah, no, no, no. We call them the Los Pioneers.
And what an amazing double overtime victory for them. They're going to play for the national title. Kent Anderson never has to buy a breakfast taco in San Antonio. We are such Denver University fans. Why is that really?
You are? I don't know.
Okay. Are you just calling up to troll me? I mean, no, listen, I was at the Bruce Springsteen concert last night, so I did not see a lick of that Frozen Four classic that went into double overtime. Both games, by the way. Both games.
I heard the Denver goalie stood on his head. It looked like it. They got lucky. That was a double overtime, man. Yeah, Michigan apparently outshot Denver two to one, and Denver moved on to take on Wisconsin.
So. Had Michigan won, then we would have had at least another guaranteed another Big Ten champion. Bingo, hit it out of the park. I set you up for another Big Ten story. That's it, Jimmy.
Why wouldn't you? I mean, if you're rooting for Denver down in San Antonio, you must be rooting for Big Ten sports, too. Oh, dude, I'm pioneers all the way. Come on. I love it.
Look that up. Thanks for the call, Jimmy. That's Jimmy in San Antonio, ladies and gentlemen. All right, it's a Friday, so let's go for it. It's time for What's More Likely, Everybody, presented by our friends at Pello Windows and Doors.
What? What's more likely? Never say never, but never. All right, Christopher, what's more likely presented by a pala windows and doors? You have the floor.
Hey, everybody. Happy Friday. Great to see you. Glad to have my chair back, honestly.
Okay, great. All right. Kirk Cousins said this week that the best quarterback is going to play. for the Raiders. Who's more likely to be the best Raiders quarterback by the end of 2026?
Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza? What is your measurement of best quarterback? What does that mean? You tell me, I'm asking the questions. No, no, no, you're asking the questions, but I'm asking what your metric is.
What's your definition of best? I think it's all encompassing. Best chance to win, stats, record. Like a better quarterback. Who's the better quarterback by the end of next year?
It would be. A stunning A stunner that Fernando Mendoza will have figured everything out and is a. The best quarterback. Neck up against a guy who's got 42. Oh, neck up is not on the list.
No, I know that, but it's also neck up is part of the body of work as well as the body of a quarterback. Sure.
So, I mean In the same way that Jaden Daniels was a better quarterback than Marcus Mariota by the end of his rookie season? It's a rarity, right?
Well, Drake May and Jacoby Brissette. Right. I mean, yeah, Caleb Williams had no competition. Right. It happens.
Oh, Nick's was great right out of the box. Dude, I mean, I have no idea the way this thing's going to go.
So, what's more likely? It's what I need to lean on. I'll go Fernando Mendoza since that's what you're looking for. That is what I was looking for. I know that.
Thank you for giving me what I want. I am a. People pleaser. Either is an improvement, so. Oh Jesus Lander.
Wow. There's not, I mean, over the last few years. Yeah. G-O was phenomenal in week one. Remember that?
I know. Week one narrative. Keith Carroll's Raiders beat the eventual AFC Champs. And as a matter of fact, the reason why the AFC Championship game was in Denver was because of that result. expressly that result.
Crazy.
So, yeah, I understand that, but you can make the case the Raiders have not had. efficient Successful play at the quarterback spot since what Derek Carr's second to last year Yeah. It's been a long time. Yeah, it's been a long time. I don't sign shoes no more.
Talked about CJ Stroud having his fifth-year option picked up. Wondering if the Houston Texans are my Huckleberry in this quarterback thing here. Quarterback more likely to get a contract extension first. Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud?
I'll go CJ Stroud. You know the Panthers are gonna have Bryce Young go through year four. Stroud? I don't know.
I don't know.
Let's see what happens in the next few weeks and months. I'd be curious if Tom has any intel on that. Tom Pellisero joins us in just nine minutes' time if you're watching this live.
So uh I'll go Stroud still. What else you got? How about this one? News today that the Jacksonville Jaguars plan to have Travis Hunter be a full-time defensive back. I'm wondering if that's the knee thing.
Is that what it is? Rich Eisen, more likely team that made a massive 2025 trade that wishes they had a do-over. Yeah. Jacksonville or Green Bay? Green Bay, the Micah Parsons trade.
Injured most of last year. Oh, I'll go Jacksonville. He was not injured most of last year. He was injured. He was not.
He got injured late in Denver. Is he going to be ready for week one? We don't know. I don't know, but oh no. I would go Jacksonville.
Because if now he's hurt If you can now wave a wand, right, and go back. And I understand their season turned out phenomenally, so they have few complaints there. You're giving me this construct. If they could have a do-over where they could have their first-round selection this year. And knowing that Travis Hunter, maybe due to his injury or due to their Different philosophy.
They would not trade up one spot for a cornerback, shutdown or otherwise. Um you know? Really?
So Uh I I would say that. Again, this is a constructor putting me in this box. He's a terrific player and a terrific kid. I'm sure they're very happy to have him in the cornerback spot. Being a shutdown corner, and the Jets used a top-five pick on.
On Sauce Gardner. Um So, but to trade up and give up a first-rounder to go get somebody who's now just going to be a straight-up corner rather than a potential unicorn on both sides of the ball. Heisman Trophy. Type guy like that? I think Micah, that one is just.
They're not looking for a receipt on that one. In Wisconsin. That makes me think too that Brian Thomas Jr. not getting traded at all. You know, always going to have rumors surrounding him.
Why would you trade him? By the way, we just kept telling you this. To be full-time on both sides of the ball, it's just, it's, I don't want to say it's impossible. But it's kind of impossible. It truly is.
I hear you. Yeah. And now he's got a chance to be coming. It's a bottom of all the hopes and thoughts we had and why. Yeah, it could still packages.
He can do all of that. But like, this guy could be the best cornerback in the NFL in a few years if he's just this year.
So he's still special. What else you got, Chris? All right, last week of the NBA season coming up over the weekend. More likely to be the more dangerous play-in team. Hornets Or warriors.
Steph Curry back. I I see what the Warriors have been like and it just seems like there's a There's a There's something off. I'll go hornets. I know I just went higher register. You did.
Con Knipppo might be rookie of the year. I hear you. Well, Melo's been nice.
Okay, Con Konipo is not going to be rookie of the year. I mean, you don't think so? He's a Cooper flag. Yeah, come on, bro. You know that.
Like, he'll be all rookie team first team. This is going to be cool. I don't know that. Why do you are you looking up odds now? Is that what you're doing?
Yeah, I am. Odds don't always tell the story. Kong Rippo is the favorite for Rookie of the Year. What? Yeah, minus 140.
Cooper flag plus 110.
So they're even, but. They're with those odds. It's close, but Knipple's kind of been the favorite for. Over a month now.
Alright. Granted, Cooper fights and ball in the way. Second best main player ever. I will go Hornets. I'll go Hornets, even though...
The Warriors have some all-time greats so What else, Chris? A little Masters action here. More likely to win the Masters, Rich. Rory or Scotty Scheffler? or the field.
Yeah. Can I get can I get uh springtime love or romance, please? Springtime love. I like springtime love. Springtime well.
Springtime for springtime for Augusta. Um. I'm gonna go Rory. Right. I'm doing it.
I'm going Rory. I'm going Rory. I mean, that's GOAT status right there, man. Going back to back. Only four players.
Did Fred Couple say he may never lose again here? He said Rory was kind of walking around with an air about him. Like he may never lose your hair. Yeah, he's just so free. 5-under looks pretty damn free.
Scottie Sheffler now back to even par on the day, 2-under on the tournament. Mm-hmm. Roy teeing off in. 28 minutes.
Okay, what else? You have one more? My last one. Rich, tomorrow, a film you were a part of. had its premiere 12 years ago draft day hit theaters.
On this day tomorrow. Yeah. More likely draft day player who'd go number one in this year's draft. Vantae Macker Bo Callahan. Wow.
Okay. What is happening? Can I tell you why this is funny?
Okay. I've got this little post-it note thing by my desk here. Uh, I didn't know you were doing this, Brockman, but literally I admitted we did not set this up. I have on here, Vonte. No matter what.
I mean, that's what I'm saying. Every draft season, how can you go against that? Raiders need a quarterback, you can't go against it. Fonte Mac, no matter what. Quarterback's going number one in this draft.
I know that. O'Callahan had one bad game against Ohio State. I know, but we all know that in real life, if anybody took a linebacker first overall. It'd be a massive problem. Certainly when they're linebackers going second.
Certainly. Um. I guess. From maybe that college. I don't even want to talk about it.
I just want to know, though, how many, when we talked to Fernando's. Nobody wanted to go to Bo Callahan's birthday. How many people went to Fernando's? I'm sure everybody did. You know.
I'll never forget that shooting that. Those scenes in Radio City Music Hall. with Frank Langella. One of the greatest actors ever. And, you know, they gave me the script, and the script I knew would just be in front of me.
You know? I just knew it would be in front of me.
So I didn't learn my lines. I would just look down and I'd learn my lines. Like, you know, I know Ivan Reitman was going to direct me, and I know I was going to be in a scene with Frank Langella, but for some reason, I just thought I'd wing it. And when he shows up, do you want to run lines? I'm like, holy Frank Langello just asked me if I want to run lines.
Yeah. I just wanted to run away at that point. Great stuff, Chris. Thanks, bud. That's what's more likely, everybody.
Brought to you by Pella Windows and Doors. When it comes to your home, Pella Windows and Doors always have the winning game plan. That's why your neighbors trust them. Visit pella.com/slash Eisen. Tommy P.
When we come back, Tom Pellisero, lots going on as we're getting ready for the draft. Rumors and conjecture. And information next. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Rich Eisen here.
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Rich Eisen here. I've traveled all over for some of the biggest NFL moments you can imagine. Conference championships, Super Bowls, draft weekends, and everywhere I go, the city just feels different. It's buzzing, packed, electric.
Now take that energy. and multiply it by the entire world. That's what's coming this summer with the FIFA World Cup. Fans from every corner of the globe are going to be traveling to experience it live. And when that many people come to town, they're all looking for a place to stay.
And that got me thinking. If you live in or near a host city, this is one of those rare moments. You already have a space. This summer, you could list your space on Airbnb while fans are in town for the FIFA World Cup, not as a full-time thing. Not as some huge lifestyle change, just during an event when demand is naturally high.
When I travel for big games, I just want a comfortable place in a real neighborhood, and that's exactly what so many visiting fans will be looking 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. Oh, oh, oh.
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Alrighty. Auto parts. Back on the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN Radio. Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Pellisero is back on the program. What's up, Tommy P?
How are you? Tommy P. How we doing, Rich? What's up to the boys in the studio? Tommy P.
What up, Tommy P. Talk to me nice, Tom, because I'm real popular these days. You know what I'm saying? Talk to me nice. I was just watching ESVN news, and I had to click away.
I think I'm TiVoing it.
Okay, good. We'll get you a contest for wrestling later. TiVo, good use of TiVo. Nice old school reference. What's top of your list, Tom?
I'm just going to give you, how about that? I'm not going to ask you a question. What's on top of my mind? What's on top of your list? It's been interesting, Rich, this week because once you get past the pro days, right, the scouts are off the road.
The coaches are diving into the tape more. People are getting closer to having their final evaluations. A lot of teams haven't had their medical meetings yet. They haven't done those final things, set the board with character in that. But you got a pretty thorough evaluation of the players.
And so, talking to a broad swath of coaches and scouts and executives throughout the course of this week, a few things jump out. Big picture, 13 days out from the NFL draft. Number one, There are fewer blue chip players in this draft, and I can remember. Just again, you're never going to have all 32 boards looking exactly the same. But if we're talking about the legit first-rounders, the no-doubt first-round grades for the league, there are drafts where you might have 20 to 22 of those guys, maybe 24.
It's never 32 with first-round grades, even though there's 32 first-round picks. Last year, it was a little bit less than that. This year, we're talking about somewhere between 13 and 15 players, which means if you're a team that's holding a pick, let's say just outside the top 10, You may be in a bind because there's not. If you've got specific positions that you could really use a huge upgrade at. Those guys might be gone by the time it gets to you.
And if you go any further back, you really might be outside of that zone. And so I think that right around on either side of the 10th pick, you could see a lot of potential movement and a lot of calls because teams are either going to want to get aggressive. And go get one of those blue chip guys on their board, or they're going to be trying to trade back. Because then, after you get outside of that 13 to 15 guys, the sweet spot of this draft. Maybe into rounds two and three.
In other words, there's a bunch of guys who are gonna have second-round grades who are gonna go in the first. There are also guys who maybe have second-round grades that are gonna go in the third.
So, your real value is going to be found. On day two of the draft, and it's going to create a lot of variance. There are not a lot of quarterbacks that somebody's going to trade up for, even into the bottom of round one. We'll see how things transpire with Ty Simpson. But that's one of the big picture things to me: there are so few of those true blue chip players that it's going to change, I think, the mechanics of how some of that movement may take place in the draft.
Certainly, if we're talking about. How things fall in the top 10. Everybody's watching the Jets. I think that if you took a straw poll, and I kind of have around people in the league, they think David Bailey from Texas Tech would be the pick, but nobody knows for sure. There's half the Ohio State defense from last year that's going to be in the green room for the draft.
So you could certainly make a case for an R Vill Reese. You could talk yourself into Sonny Styles, even though that's really rich for a true linebacker. Caleb Downs is one of the top players in the draft. He's a surefire safety that's going to go high in this draft. But you take one at two.
There's a lot of different questions when it comes to that. And then that in turn impacts Arizona and Tennessee on down the list in terms of what their options are going to be, which is going to make it fun, Rich, when you're sitting there in Pittsburgh and calling this draft. We've been saying for three months, okay, Fernando Mendoz, it's going to be the number one pick. That's what everybody presumes. But at two, you still have real questions, and then that creates questions for the teams directly behind them.
And then the third big picture item here is this quarterback class has been. In many ways, kicked around for a long time. I have found nothing to dissuade that in talking to teams. This is not a deep quarterback class. This is not a quarterback class that necessarily has a ton of real starters up at the top.
Fernando Mendoza, there's no doubt that he's a starter. How good is he relative to quarterbacks in prior drafts? That depends who you talk to. I haven't found anybody who would put him up there above Caleb Williams or Jaden Daniels, Drake May, but certainly there's people who are going to make arguments in terms of how good he is. He's a legit starting quarterback prospect.
Ty Simpson, the real question is, where is the value for Ty Simpson? There's a lot to like. Everybody's intrigued by the tape, especially from the first half last year and the way that he processes and runs offensive concepts that are very familiar. He's got some really good tape, but the size, the way that things went the second half of last season, it just creates some questions. He's going to go, but is he a legit, no doubt, walk of the Yeah, yeah.
That is going to vary between teams. And then, you know, the real interesting part in terms of the quarterbacks, Rich, to me, Is that next group of three guys who are in different orders on everybody's board, but they all played big-time college football, had really good moments, at various points were all regarded as first-round picks between Carson Beck and Garrett Nussmeier and Drew Aller. Those guys could go in the second, those guys could go in the fourth. And I'll have my quarterback story coming out in the relatively near future here. But there's real questions.
They've all got developmental upside. They all had their struggles, especially this past season. Where exactly, not so much Beck, but the other two, where do those guys go? Is going to be a big storyline because these are huge names in college football. And right now, there's not people in the league going, okay, that guy's going to walk in and he may be my starter in year one.
Tom Pellisero here on The Rich Eisen Show. I know asking somebody with your bona fidees, Tom. Uh lead pipe wielding news and information man. For me to go down the road of conjecture in asking you to take a guess. It's out of your lane a little bit, so pardon me for asking.
Doesn't matter. If you're wrong, doesn't matter. but two weeks away. All right. Who do you look at to say, keep an eye on this team packaging something together to move up and make the biggest splash?
of night one. At the draft, Tom. I could peg it myself. I can kind of try and guess it, but. You're the one who's got the sources and the nonstop buzzing phone.
So, what do you think? Which team. would be the one. Tom.
Well, start with the teams that have two first-round picks because the 2027 draft is regarded so highly for both quarterbacks and players in general. I could be, listen, things can happen, okay? We can be surprised, but it would surprise me if somebody's going to give up a 2027 first-round pick.
So the teams with the most ammo to move up right now are going to be the ones that have two first-round picks in this year's draft. Kansas City has it by virtue of the Trent McDuffie trade. If they are going to try to target one of the pass rushers, again, like I was just saying, in terms of the draft class as a whole, there's a bunch of pass rushers we'll see go on day two, but there's really, depending on how you look at Arville Reese, only two or three edge players that are going to go high.
So if you want to go get David Bailey, Ruben Bain's going to go at some point, or Arville Reese, you might have to go up. Kansas City certainly has a need at that position. I can see them becoming aggressive. What does Cleveland do? How aggressive do they get?
They need a Lot of different things. They've got a bunch of needs on their roster. They potentially could be drafting a quarterback in 2027, depending what they see. In the great Deshaun Watson Shadur Sanders competition of 2026. But, you know, last year they were the team that traded back because they could get the value that they thought was there from Jacksonville, which was going up to get Travis Hunter.
Could they flip the script? And Cleveland could be the team making the big bold move up. I would not put anything past them, just depending on where they see the breaks in the board, where they should be more aggressive. The Jets... They're top of their first-round picks is at number two, so there's really nowhere for them to go.
Certainly, they could try to go up and get Fernando Mendoza, but I think that you would have to strap several members of the Raiders organization to the wall to make that happen. But could the Jets, remember, they got three first-round picks in 2027. Again, it would surprise me if they were going to dip into that, just knowing. Their potential quarterback need next year and just the strength of that draft. But get to get to the team TJ wants to hear.
Get to that team, Tom. That's the one that I'm thinking about. That's the one we'll have. 12 and 20. 12 and 20.
Go move up. What do we got? Certainly the Cowboys. Remember, when they were in on the Max Crosby trade conversations, they were not willing, there you go, TJ, to give up. Don't distract him.
He's dispensing information. They were not willing to give up both of their first-round picks at that point. But that doesn't mean that they're not willing to go and do it. for potentially a pass rusher would make sense if you're willing to give up both of those first round picks. They've still got a lot of options.
I would say that Dallas even would keep the light on for potentially making a move for a veteran. We've seen that from Jerry. We've seen them be aggressive in a bunch of these different talks. I would focus on those teams because again, last year, part of the reason that we had the movement we did last year was multiple teams gave up. the following year's first round pick.
It was not just the Jaguars giving up the one this year and going and getting Travis Hunter. And we'll see how that works out in year two. We also had Atlanta giving up their first round pick in this year's draft to go get a guy who's currently facing three felony charges. We don't know if we'll ever see James Pierce Jr. play again.
That remains an open question at this point. Those are the types of variances that make teams reluctant sometimes to go and do it. The fact that we've got a bunch of teams with multiple first-round picks in this year's draft and a shorter group of blue chip players, I believe does raise the specter, Rich, of teams being bold. And moving up, I would certainly tell you. Those teams and others are going to be poking around on the possibilities.
But based on the uncertainties, even about what's going to happen at two, it's hard to make a trade now not knowing who's going to be on the board at the spot that you're ultimately trading into.
Okay. Who would they who would they who the Cowbo I well I I'm hearing Sonny Styles, Tom. that they love him so much. That twelve and twenty, I don't know how twelve and twenty would how far would twelve and twenty get them up? What do you think?
Not all the way to two. I mean, depending on which chart you're going off of here, 20 has a lot of points, but it's not enough to get you to two or three in my mind, especially in a draft like this.
So you're talking about seeing if the player is still there. Again, drafting a pure linebacker is not something we see happen very often at the very top of the draft, but you also don't see many guys test the way Sonny Styles is and be as big of a freak show athletically. If you're going to make a case for somebody, it's that guy right there. All right. The report that the Jaguars are tapping out on the two-way experiment.
with Travis Hunter. What can you tell me about this, Tom?
Well, listen, it's going to be part of the reason that they traded up with what they did to go and get Travis Hunter was to have that ability. You felt like you were drafting both a top corner and a top wide receiver. Therefore, you could justify giving up two first-round picks. I don't believe it's so much abandoning an experiment as much as the reality that this guy suffered an injury last year in practice that you have to wonder was part of it just the load of reps and the unique way that he was practicing. There was no blueprint for giving in those reps on both sides of the football.
And that's not to cast any blame on the Jaguars. It's just you're in totally uncharted territory here.
So it makes sense that he's making a way back from the injury to not say, hey, you're going to go full-time on both sides of the ball. Realistically, nobody's done what he's trying to do. The closest was Deion in 95, I believe it was, when he had a whole bunch of catches as the third wide receiver and was still an all-pro cornerback. That is the exception to the rule because Deion's one of the greatest athletes we've ever seen in any sport, and in fact, multiple sports. Travis Hunter.
Is a really good athlete. We know that, but it was never realistic that he was going to go out and play 140 NFL snaps per game. And so let's see how it evolves. Train him on one side of the ball predominantly. He's still going to see action on both sides of the football, but trying to ramp him up into a phase where he's playing almost full-time on both sides of the ball, it never made sense to do that initially.
And now, with a guy coming back from an injury, I would imagine this is a baby steps. Ramp him up gradually, be careful, be careful, because the last thing you want is a guy to get hurt two years in a row. What is the Texans' plan on extending? The guys that they gave fifth-year options to, Will Anderson and C.J. Stroud.
I would anticipate Will Anderson Jr. is going to be at the forefront of those conversations. The price for elite pass rushers is only going up. Will Anderson Jr., in addition to being a top young pass rusher in the league, he's also one of their locker room guys. If you've ever talked to him, I'm sure you have, Rich, one of just like the great, grounded, humble young men.
That's the guy he is in the locker room. He's very involved in the community. He's everything you want a Texan to be. There's a price on that. It starts with a four at least for Will Anderson Jr.
The sooner you do that, the more you can get ahead of the marketplace for some of the other guys that are going to be coming up. He's not going to take a deal like Trayvon Walker just took. I'll tell you that, $27.5 million a year, $28, whatever it was. There's no chance he's taking that. This is going to be a big-time deal in line with the Micah Parsons of the world.
And we'll see exactly what that number ends up coming in at. As for C.J. Stroud, the back half of last year did not go well for Stroud. We all saw the issues just even taking a snap. But you've also been in the playoffs with him three times.
You've won a playoff game three times. It would not surprise me at all. And I don't think that this would be something that C.J. Stroud would necessarily be upset with if they play this thing out through his fourth season. You know, we've seen teams extend quarterbacks early before and end up regretting it.
There's a reason that the Dolphins are paying Tua Tonga Vailoa $53 million to not play football for them in 2026. Stroud has already accomplished more. Than Tua did in his time in Miami, but there is a danger as much as you're trying to get ahead of those markets. And right now, it's $60 million a year for Dak. If Lamar does an extension next year, that could be $70 million a year.
I get that part of it, but it would be hard, and I understand it, for the team right now to say, based on how last season ended, we're going to go all in and pay this guy up at the type of level to get the contract that CJ Stroud surely feels that he deserves.
So you never say never. There's a team-friendly version of this, like there aren't a lot of young players where, yeah, if he's willing to do a deal at that number, you know, let's go ahead and do it. But CJ's got a very experienced agent in David Mouligeta, who's not going to take a cut rate deal just to get a guy paid. It's ultimately up to CJ Stroud. But would not surprise me at all if Stroud plays this thing out.
The Texans continue to evaluate the overall program before they make the type of top shelf commitment that, you know, based upon the numbers and the productivity, if you just isolate that alone, Rich, it certainly seems like CJ Stroud would be in line for him. You want to take a swing at Ty Simpsons? Right now, before I let you go, Tom? Listen, I've consistently said. I believe at the end of the day, Ty Simpson is going to be a first-round pick.
Having said that, I don't currently, as I'm talking to teams and looking at it, have a no-doubt spot. This is where the guy is going to go. I do believe still that the Jets, you have to think long and hard about it. You know, with one of your first-round picks, if you think this guy can be the dude, You draft him and you don't look back.
Now, is he the best fit for Frank Reich's system versus some other systems that he could be running? We certainly can debate that, but it has to be a consideration there. I know the Rams have done a ton of homework on Ty Simpson, but they already traded one of their first-round picks to go get Trent McDuffie. Are they now going to use the other one on a quarterback who, unless something happens to Matthew Stafford, is not playing for a year or two? That maybe takes some convincing.
But again, I would not rule out the Rams. I wouldn't rule out the Cardinals who have a high second-round pick. And if they feel like Ty Simpson can be the guy for years to come, go up and get him at the bottom of the first. The real question here, Rich, is. What is the value?
of the quarterback in 2026. That fits that system. And by that system, I mean the quote-unquote Shanahan McVay, the outside zone system, play action heavy, turning your back to line scrimmage, all those hallmarks that we see. Because the comp, honestly, that I have heard the most in talking to coaches and scouts this week for Ty Simpson is Brock Purdy. Who statistically, Brock Purdy has developed into one of the most efficient quarterbacks in NFL history.
And no, that is not hyperbole. Look at the numbers, look at the pass rating. He is unbelievably good when he has been healthy. He was also the last pick in the draft. Kirk Cousins has succeeded for a long, long time in that system.
He was a fourth-round pick. Jimmy Garoppolo had a lot of success playing for Kyle Shanahan. He was not a first-round pick.
So, have we evolved enough? As a league and schematically, has that offense spread to enough of the league that you would look at a quarterback who, based on the physical traits, you're going, well, we can get him down the line and just go, no, if we get Brock Purdy out of this, if you redrafted several years ago, you'd take Brock Purdy at the bottom of the first round, knowing that he's going to be that quarterback. That's an open question. And I've had this debate, Rich, this discussion with many people in the league. It is going to say a lot about the NFL as a whole and where the idea of quarterback play is going.
If we see Brock, excuse me, if we see Ty Simpson going sometime in the first round versus sliding down a little bit just because, yes, physical trait-wise, he may not be on par with some other guys within the league, even though the likes of Purdy and cousins of Garoppolo have shown you don't need to have A-plus physical traits to be able to have a lot of success in the NFL. Tommy P, thanks for the time. We'll chat next week. Have a great weekend. Tom Pelsier, everybody.
There he goes. As TJ sends him the video of him appearing on this program, he'll be on Tom's Instagram in like two minutes. This is great.
So I'll put you on this too, Richard. T-minus 17 minutes until TJ Jefferson is on two ESPN channels. Hey, you guys got to keep me humble, all right? One minute until Rory tees off. Ah, see, hey, undercut me with that.
We'll get an update on what is happening at Augusta and also your phone calls: 844-204-Rich, number to Donald. Mike Mayock, top of hour number three on his draft board. Talk to me nice. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. In a world in need of a hero, one man rises to the challenge in style.
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Good morning, guys. I just wanted to say a quick thank you, or as quick as I can. If anyone asked me what my favorite football team was before, I would have said the nineteen eighty two San Diego Chargers. And this past season, watching you guys be coming in, seeing clips of celebrity true or false and wrestling, and that brought me into Overreaction, and then now I'm a daily listener and watcher. And so I love this past football season.
I'm into football now, thanks to you guys.
So I just want to say thank you. Stick with us for this year, too, brother. We'll be here.
So my question is, it seems to be having pairs of of quarterbacks now that you've got Tua with panics and you've got Um Yeah. The reader situation. And so, is there someone out there? For Geno Smith, is there someone in the carousel? Is there someone on the draft board?
That Gino can be that person that um you know, that Tua and Panix will be together and that uh cousins will be for Fer for Fernando. I really feel, John, if you're asking me a Jets question here. The 2026 season is How Can the Jets Find the Pieces? For the future quarterback that's currently not on the roster, I really feel that way. I don't know who the backup to Gino would be.
Because you'd like it to be a young kid that they can take a flyer on. I'm like even sitting here. Who is the backup right now? on the jets um Depth chart. I'm looking at it right now.
The Jets depth chart. Brady Cook, Bailey Zappi, and Geno Smith.
So I don't know. You want to keep developing Brady Cook, who got cups of coffee last year, just to see what you got? Makes sense. But the Jets again I know we just had, and thanks for the call, John. I know what Tom Pellisero just said about how.
you know, the Jets have a draft choice right in the middle of the first round. Uh I I don't know if that would be the spot. For Ty Simpson. I know, sure, Ty wants to be a first rounder. I'm sure he can't wait to get to the NFL.
I get it. You know, if he's right for Frank Reich's offense. I mean, you got to choose somebody that's going to be right for anybody's offense for the next 15 years. That's what you need. That's what the Jets are trying to find.
You know what I mean? Like when they drafted Drake May, we're like, he's got to be right for the Alex Van Pelt offense. No. It's got to be for anybody's offense. And then they got so fortunate to have.
you know Josh McDaniels be available for them to hook up. With him.
So you gotta you got Frank could be the guy that the Jets have for 10 years, and Frank finishes his career as the offensive coordinator of the Jets, and he's like the Josh McDaniels of this equation, and Ty Simpson could be that guy. It's a what's more likely Friday? What's more likely? That's the case. Or The Jets Future quarterback is not on the roster right now.
Option B. That's right. Yeah. So you've got to win enough games that if you're Aaron Glenn, where you don't get fired. Or, if you're a Jet fan who believes in Aaron Glenn, you've got to win enough games where you hope he doesn't get fired and does put his system in in the same way Dan Campbell had the grace.
Period to do so in Detroit. And from whose system? Obviously, Aaron Glenn. most recently professionally came. There's Sean Payton in him too in terms of his history.
Part cells So it was a guy who drafted him as a player. Mm-hmm. That's what you got to do, and you got to hope that those three draft choices, a quarterback of the future falls to them. And it's not such a disaster where you're top five. Although that would be the best way to go get your quarterback in the future.
So I just don't see There any pairing with Gino. Like, there's no young guy out there unless you want to go trade for one, which makes no sense if you're going to draft one next year. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
