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Now, on with the show. It's a tap-in. Live from New York City, it's the Rich Eisen Show. It's back to back for McElroy. Earlier on the show, host of the View and Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rappaport. Coming up. ESPN broadcaster Joe Tessator. ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller. And now, it's Rich Eisen.
Back here on the Rich Eisen Show in New York City for a third hour here on the first of two days of our residency in the downtown Disney studios of downtown Manhattan. Good to see everyone right here on Disney Plus, the ESPN app. We welcome in our ESPN radio audience once again. We had Whoopi Goldberg in hour number one. We had Ian Rappaport in hour number two.
If you missed any of that, there's our Disney Plus page and there's also our YouTube channel. But we kick off hour number three of this show with a man who we just basically ran into in the greetings. Saw you're here. Would you mind popping on? I love it.
That's the way we book our show sometimes. Joe Tessatory says, What's up, Joe Tessatory? Hey, it's so nice to be with you. This is obviously we've known each other for 25 years here, and this is a real thrill. I expected to spend some time with you.
I know. There you were in the green room, and here I am right here in New York City and like throwing you on. Look how Natalie clad you are. By the way, you have like the best mic flag in all broadcasts. Man, how good of a mic flag is that?
It's pretty cool, man. We're happy with the Running Man. Yeah, you get the Running Man logo on there. I like it a lot. How have you been?
I want to ask you a question before you ask me any questions. Look at this. This is burning in our family. You know, but it is because we're, you know, hours removed from something, but for you to be on Sports Center last night, and for those of us that are of a certain generation that sort of all came in together at ESPN, and now we're here in the autumn of our broadcasting careers, early autumn, we're in the late summer of our broadcasting careers.
Okay. Was it very reflective? Were there moments where you're catching yourself? Tell me about that. Go ahead, tell me about that.
You're interviewing. I'm going to do the Ronaldi. No, no, I appreciate that. How, Rich? How?
Why? Why? Cue the piano music. Rinaldi-esque. Yeah.
How so? Rinaldi, I'm going to start crying or either go to break because I'm injured on the field. You know, it was wild. I had not been there in 23 years. And it was uh also Disorienting because the campus of the SPN has passed.
So I just didn't know which building was the one that I used to be in. Building three. It was building two for those scoring at home where my office was, and building one, which is where Sports Center's oldest. Yeah, that's OG stuff. That is mud pit ESPN stuff.
Chris, I couldn't tell. Like at one point, but then I did run into somebody who had been there since 03, and they got me. A little bit more oriented on well, that was the building where your office was in, that was the building where Sports Center used to be in. And I kind of got a little bit grounded. Right.
And then just all the memories began. Flowing and rushing back to the market. Yeah, I mean, I guess it would be equivalent if somebody brought you back to high school and said, sit in the homeroom, or handed you a Red Cup at Michigan at your frat and said, hey, experience this again. Yes, and in that regard, I have had for 23 years. a recurring dream that I'm late for Sports Center.
And we all have the same dream if you're in live broadcasting. Normally, that's it, though, for like I'm calling like an Alabama game or an LSU game, and I overslept. And all of a sudden, they're like, Where is he? What are you doing? And now I have to fight through tailgates to get to the booth.
I have it all right.
So, I used to have that for, well, not used to. I'm hoping it's now used to. That's the point. Like, that now that I've actually done Sports Center, I do know where the new studio is. I do know where the new newsroom is.
Wow. And I'm just wondering if, having gone through that experience, I will no longer have that dream the rest of my life. When you came away from it last night, you woke up this morning. It's the Joe Tessator show. It's all good.
Did you have a sense and a full realization of. Oh, I know who I am in life now and where I am in life now by having that experience last night. You know, last night, again, it's still just only a few hours ago, but it was awesome to be back there and be welcomed. And to not have my last memory of being in Bristol, having a cardboard box, strolling out into a parking lot, wondering where my life was going and what's happening next. That was literally the last moment for me walking out of building to I'm happy for you.
I appreciate you saying that. But the neat thing is, I'm not just shining it either, but the crew. of producers And production assistants and directors and everybody that pulled together last night. I mean, Um It was awesome. It was just a great sort of feeling for Hitting the Wayback Machine.
Because so many of us don't have that experience, right? Or we've, you know.
So I moved to Connecticut in 1995. What year did you do? 96.
Okay. But you were doing local CBS. I remember watching Jim Calhoun show in the Whale Road. Oh, wow. I remember watching Joe Tess on, what was it, the CBS?
CBS, CBS. With Gail King was my co-anchor. Gail King. Gail King was my co-anchor. Yes.
And I remember watching you. You were part of the local news when UConn was winning everything. And you hosted the Jim Calhoun show every single week. And the Hartford Whale Road. And I was trying to get to Jim Calhoun's bar before it shut down.
And at one point, I'll tell this story. Steve Levy would always. be able to get a said after hours. Right. We would get a drink.
And then um Pour it into a plastic or paper cup after hours, just in case anybody knocked on the door, and we'd just pour it out and run out. If that was the case, by the way, downtown Harvey knew that you can imagine downtown Harvey. Yeah, man. That was my life. There's a generation of guys who we all moved to Connecticut during those few years and then sort of had the ride.
And now, you know, everybody's off doing their shit.
So is that how ESPN knocked on your door? Because they were watching you? Exactly. Yeah. Actually, they knocked on my door, and then that job opened, and they told me, they said, hey, we just.
Called them and said, You should hire, because they were all, it was when ESPN2 was starting, so a bunch of us were brought in to interview for ESPN2 and all that. You, Rhys, myself, Trey, Denny, Seward. It was a generation of us, Susie, and then, and then soon thereafter, obviously, I was in Bristol. And I guess I'm still here. Yeah, you are.
Exactly. Yeah, pretty cool. Do you remember? Do you got a good Stewart story? Ever crossed paths with him?
Oh, yeah, not really. Often. I think the legacy memory stuff that everybody else has, and just the massive presence. And the one thing I will say about him is. A great understanding of who he was, authenticity.
Oh, yeah. And when younger folks ask me what I think the key to television is, and obviously I've done a lot of varied kinds of television in my career. Yes, you have. I will always say. Authenticity is the key.
Just being authentically you. because the BS meter goes off really quickly when you're not. No doubt. I mean, and that's that when I first got, I mean, Chris, you've heard this story over and over again. And many of those who, you know, have been listening or watching the show for a while have heard it before, but I'll repeat it again because, you know, why not?
But I remember when I got to ESPN from Reading, California, it was like lightning struck me. And all of a sudden, I'm in a newsroom where more people are in the newsroom than were in the entire outfit that I was working for to start my career, the ABC affiliate in Northern California. And I get there, and they put me right on Sports Center, but I had to. spend a month observing.
So I got there in February of 96, and I went on the air in March of 96, and I'm observing. And the sports centers that I was observing was the one week where Chris Berman came back. Oh, it's crazy. Because he would come back once a year or twice a year to do like a residency of sports centers. And the guy who I grew up watching was the guy who walked in the meeting room.
And every other person, Keith, Dan, Linda, Robin Roberts, Bob Lee, Charlie Steiner, just to name Kilbourne. That wasn't an app, that was Craig. To a T. Yes. And every single successful person that I've met in my career in our business, same off the air.
Authentic ingenuiness. And that is a key.
So when people are like, How do I get started? What do I do? What advice do you have? And it doesn't sound like you can really hang your hat on it. Just be you, because you're the only one that you can be.
Right. And a lot of things that shaped you to become you. And those need to always come across when the red light's on.
Now, granted, there are certain presentations we have to conform to, have some guardrails, make sure we're doing things the right way. But the best, most authentic version of you should always come across. When I reflect on myself, I grew up in an ethnic immigrant Italian family, large family of nine aunts and uncles who all came over here with my mother from Italy. We were all raised, you know, two-family homes in an Italian neighborhood. The meals were loud.
There was a lot of debate. There was a lot of passion. We're just speaking. We're not arguing. It's just how we speak.
We were obsessed with horse gambling. Growing up in New York, gambling on horse racing, watching football, watching boxing. We spoke passionately.
Well, that's basically just what I did. It's the same sports conversations I had at the four-hour dinners or at OTB or at the Saratoga racetrack with my aunts, uncles, cousins with the passion debate of sports and who you like and who you got. I just simply try to always. Bring that passion intensity across with everything I do. And maybe that's why boxing, football, WWE, and entertainment have been the things that I gravitate towards because they're more conducive.
I can't broadcast golf. My style is not excuse me. I'm not doing it. No, come on, Jim. You broadcast no golf.
You left me golf. And our ratings were just as good as a lot of the PG4 stuff. Come on. You left out that has fire coming out of it. Miniature golf is what put you on the map for my children.
I'm a kid. I'm glad to know that the years are network football. Your kids, Holy Moly, is what you're doing. On ABC? You're wearing the old worldwide eyebrows sports.
Yeah, the mothball smell is great. By the way, honestly. I know he's a guest in your show often. How talented is that guy? Dude, how talented is Rob Briggle?
But he's also, you want to talk about genuineness. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, that guy is as genuine as they come. It's funny, people.
People will ask me to level off and say, like, hey, who's your favorite partner that you've broadcast? You know, and there's, you know, I could go through Todd Blackwood, Matt Millen, different guys, different support categories I've done. Nope. And I'm always like, do I say Rob Wriggle right now? Do I drop the Rob Wriggle?
Yeah, you have to. I mean, the laughs we've had through the years of doing that show. Dude, I mean, I've told you this off the air. You know, that show, Holy Moly, needs to come back. I know it's on Netflix now, and you know, it is on Netflix now, you know.
But that is great. family viewing to the ultimate degree because it's something, again, your kids can watch. Yeah, it's multi-generational. But there's also something you or Regal would throw in there that only the adults can get. Um and it There is nothing like at the very end of the day.
I know I'm getting a little bit too deep on holy moly, but at the end of the day, when somebody jars a punt like that, it's it's it's yeah, it doesn't matter if it's at Augusta or at a windmill or you know, run through porta potties that open the door up and you might get wet because you're getting hold of the water. You don't remember some of the holes, hole number two, you remember the space-themed hole, Uranus? Yeah, and remember it had the chute, and sometimes your ball would get stuck. In Uranus, you remember that? Yes, I do.
This is amazing. Holy Moe was brilliant. It was so good. It was. It was great.
Joe Tessator here on the Rich Eisen Show. We'll get to WrestleMania in a second. But what? Yeah, I know. I accept the Wrestling Super Bowl coming up in Vegas this weekend, right here, and the magic of Disney as well.
The. Wildest Finish. You've ever called Richard any sport. I mean, it's biggest finish. Listen, I've done the third highest scoring NFL game of all time, Chiefs, Rams.
That was one wildest finish. I did. You're right in Los Angeles. Yes, I've done the eight-overtime Georgia, Georgia Tech rivalry game on Thanksgiving a year ago. The four-overtime Michigan, Penn State, the ultimate four-overtime game 15 years ago, when Boise State, Nevada, Colin Kaepernick, trying to get who could possibly get to the BCS against Kellen Moore in Boise State a million years ago, the last-second pass, the doink off.
I've done so much boxing. I've done Tyson Fury heavyweight fights with knockouts, Deontay Wilder, incredible fights of the year. Obviously, WW. I mean, you know, March Madness with Colin Sexton, Alabama, 2.4 seconds left, coast to coast to make the NCAA tournament. There's been so many great finishes.
I'm so blessed. And I'm not one of those people that can literally say, like, this one was all time. That was, it's just, it's been an incredible ride. It really has, of just being around so many. Awesome moments to capture so many SEC football moments.
It's been a thrill. It's been an absolute thrill. By the way, every single one that you were saying, you're over there like that. I'm like, I remember that. I remember that.
I'm going to get off here and somebody say, well, what about you did that? You did this. I know I miss stuff, but I'm on the road on stuff, so it's easy to miss stuff. Yeah, we were listening to that Georgia, Georgia Tech on the radio coming back and it was just like. Unbelievable game.
It was a great game. I couldn't imagine being there in person. A piece of advice when you broadcast an eight overtime college football game, which is about three hours and 30 to four hours before that. Don't drink a lot of espresso pre, during, half-time. Maybe take notes.
Overtime, overtime, because with each overtime that goes by, you are dying. Dying. Yeah. So everybody knows this if you work on one of my crews as an obsessed Italian.
So I have an espresso machine in every booth I am. Is that right? Yeah, you're like Team Italy in the world. Wow. Listen, I was doing it for years before they ever started doing it.
And by the way, not a lot of Dropa Taiano Woma on that team. Not a lot of pure Italian men on that team. They're rentals. But you got to have the SPRO before you go on the air. You got to have the SPRO into first quarter, halftime.
And Jesse Palmer, honorary Italian, just as obsessed as I am.
So, yeah, that was tough. Eight overtimes. Dying. Oh, my goodness. Wow.
Yeah. I mean, I'll tell you, just I guess to bring it all a little full circle here, on my mini tour to try and get my bearings back in Bristol on Sunday night, I strolled into the old ESPN two studio. Yes. Where in my first month of My career. What do you determine?
It was the Hoskins, it was the Caps and the Penguins who played seven overtime game. I think it was. And I did what we call the Deuce Raps, which is the half-time, pardon me, not half-time, the intermission, in between period of intermission.
So I did it in between periods one and two, two and three, three and overtime, overtime and overtime one, overtime one and overtime two. And then three, I think it was. Was it 2000? No, it was 96. Oh, 96.
It was March of 96. Bladder screaming.
Well, I didn't, all I'm saying is, no, I mean, I had the actual hockey periods to actually go and do it. I wasn't calling the action, I was just the studio guy. But they were saying in the middle of the game, it was the longest hockey game since 1930, 1920.
So before cable, and obviously before it sponsored intermission segments that needed to be hosted, I'd set a record for cable. You know what I mean?
So I understand what it takes: the fortitude, but you are calling. You don't have any minute to go to the bathroom. There's no, yeah, there was Penguin's Caps 4 OTs. That's it. That was it, man.
We're so blessed, though, with what we're grateful when you reflect on it all.
So we're so blessed that we get the BS of just even sitting in the studio and people, even thinking that people want to listen to what we have to say. We're very blessed. What's WrestleMania going to be like? It's going to be so hyped, Rich. It's the greatest merging of sports and entertainment.
Listen, I'm a firm believer that what WWE has done for the better part of 40-plus years now is really what all sports attempts to be. What all sports are trying to do at the network level are be incredible storytellers of creating. Amazing characters with long arc storytelling, with all the plot twists that you would get. There's no difference between Game of Thrones, WWE, and what the NFL, the NBA, major college football. Everybody tries to be, where are my superstars?
What are my plot twists? Where are what's going on with drama? Betrayal, revenge, where's the romantic relationship we need to cover? What the heck's the difference between what we do in covering the NFL for the better part of 10 to 20 years of the cutaways of Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift and the lionizing of Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady and Drew Brees? These are characters in a long arc story.
Well, WWE does that purposely every single week, and that's why it puts the hook in the mouth, reels you in, and then when you get to this event, By the way, 6 p.m. start time, which I think is more convenient on the app. When you get to this event, all those storylines come to that crescendo peak moment of reveal and delivery. And it really is fascinating when you consume it in that way, the way you would watch Game of Thrones or The Sopranos or The Wires or any other long arc storytelling that you consume. When you've taken WWE that way and you understand plot character's story, this week is incredibly compelling.
Las Vegas, Nevada on top of it. Get the pyro ready. It's going to be hyped. Bull Yachti's going to be there with Trick Williams. Jellyroll is going to be there with all the celebrities.
They come out of the woodwork to try to get with their guys this week. Why not? I'm going to be on air for about 90 straight hours. I love it, but you're used to it, as it has been established. And you have the Iron Bladder, which is...
Thank God. I think that was the original name of the Iron Sheikh. Iron Thrones. He went like that when he was in the Indies in Minnesota. He was the Iron Bladder.
Then he came to WWE. More profane. Exactly. That's how he grew the hair. That's it.
I'm not up here. But anyway, great to see you. What a nice surprise this was. I know, I'm sorry. Congratulations on all your success.
I'm excited that you had the experience of last night. Thanks, Palm. And that's why I wanted to ask you about it. Live, local, and late-breaking. There it is.
That was yours. I witness news. Gail, back to you. Joe Tessator, check him out on WrestleMania on all the Disney family of networks starting this weekend for WrestleMania 42. Yeah, WrestleMania 42.
We SPNF 6 p.m. both days. There you go. We're back with Matt Miller. The NFL draft is right around the corner, 10 days from today.
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That only leaves one other thing to do. Our radio audience is back. Matt Miller here on the Rich Eisen show saying that the final mock draft from the NFL draft analyst of ESPN is coming the day before the draft. I had Daniel Jeremiah on Sports Center last night, Matt.
So, while we're waiting to hear your final mock draft, let's critique others. He gave me his first 10 of the draft last night. He had the Jets taking David Bailey. Would you agree with that? I would.
And I think until a week ago, I was kind of viewing it as a toss-up. And I talked to one team that thought the Jets would go R. Vill Reese and that's from someone on the outside looking in. But these teams all do mock drafts just like we do because they're trying to see who's going to be there for us at seven, who's going to be there for us at nine or wherever you might be. And this team I talked to a week ago thought maybe it would be R.
Vill Reese because the Jets are a team that's building for the future. And I'll tell you that the tide has turned on that. There's been a lot of pushback that the Jets need to win right now, that Aaron Glenn needs to win. That defense was awful last year. They produced zero interceptions.
When your head coach is a former NFL defensive back and you have zero interceptions, that's a problem. And I think part of that was their lack of an ability to get to the quarterback and create some of those problematic throws that could be jumped on. Everything I'm hearing today says it's David Bailey.
Now we're a. Week out, 10 days out, a lot can change, but I think Bayley is the preferred pass rusher in that building because they need someone that can help Aaron Glenn keep his job right now. Another disappointing season. The Jets are probably moving on, especially if they're in a position to draft a quarterback highly next year. More likely than not, they would want to bring in an offensive mind to work with an Arch Manning or a Dante Moore or whoever that quarterback might be at the top.
Unless, as you point out, that they can do well enough this year with Geno Smith and win enough games and with Frank Reich being the offensive coordinator, perhaps that would be the model for the Jets to move on and move forward and for Aaron Glenn to keep his gig. And in that regard, Daniel. Kind of doubled down on Sports Center on Sunday night to say the Jets would move up from 16, only coughing up their second two. On this year's draft, they have multiple ones, including their own at the top of Friday night, and a fourth rounder to go up to seven and take Carnell Tate. Uh what what do you think of that notion?
Matt. Yeah, I love it. I think receiver is the second biggest need for them, honestly. And it's a team with a lot of needs, obviously. It's the Jets.
They always have a lot of needs. They have the number two world pick for a reason. But I do think it's smart in a class where there's not really a ton of love for the number two receiver, at least from the teams I talk to. I personally view it differently. I think Makai Lemon is a very good prospect.
I think Gomar Cooper Jr. is a very good prospect. But teams definitely see a gap between Carnell Tate and that next group of wide receivers.
So if you're the Jets and you feel like it's not that valuable to have pick 34 because the receiver board is going to be wiped out.
So let's package that second and second rounder and a fourth round pick to get ahead of some teams like the New Orleans Saints, to get ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs, to get that first wide receiver off the board. And I think the Jets are a team that we have to watch as a trade-up. I think the Dallas Cowboys are a team. that we have to watch as a trade-up because again, they have multiple first round picks like the Jets, 12 and 20. And if they view one of these corners in this class as a player that you have to have, whether that's Jermod McCoy from Tennessee or Mansoor Delaney from LSU, who would probably be the player that I think they would target more likely, if they view one of those corners as can't miss, then I think you also get aggressive and see Dallas come up.
With who? Who would be their trade partner? I'd imagine it's not the commanders, Matt. Yeah, probably not going in division, but what about Cincinnati sitting there at pick number 10? And you only jump in one spot, but Miami has completely remade their board.
So we could see, I think that's a logical landing spot. I think we could see the Saints at eight be a team that would rather move back and get extra capital, especially depending on how they view Ruben Bain. That's going to be a big question as how these teams view him. Is he someone that they say, well, sick at pick at eight, or hey, maybe he's going to be there at 12 with the short arm concerns? Maybe we can move back, get extra capital.
And Dallas comes up to that eighth spot ahead of Kansas City, who traded Trit McDuffie. And you take man Seward Delane, a player who I compared to Trit McDuffie.
So you jump Kansas City to get a player that I think a lot of us believe that they would like to have. Matt Miller here on The Rich Eisen Show. We just talked about the receiver class. Makai Lemon is in Miami today. um having a visit with the Miami Dolphins and that is one of the more Sharpied, for the lack of better phrase, mock draft player and team to be married.
10 days out right now, Matt. As you said, you've already gone through some of the mock draft. Endeavor for yourself before your Wednesday before the draft final mock. Who are the sharpie picks for you? Where you're like sitting 10 out, 10 days out.
Pretty confident this guy is going to be around, and this team will definitely take him when they're on the clock. Yeah, I had Mikai Lemon at 11 to the Dolphins. I think Caleb Downs at 10 to the Bengals is one that's close. You know, as close as you could get to Sharpie. And another one you're going to see in a lot of mock drafts is Dylan Theneman's safety from Oregon to the Minnesota Vikings at number 18 overall.
And now, there might be a question mark of if we were to talk about Dallas at 12, if they can't move and the board gets wiped out, would Dallas just take him at 12 and make him that rover in their secondary that they're going to need with this new 3-4 defense coming in? They have massive needs at the safety position. They have needs at corner as well. But I think Theneman probably gets past Dallas and at 18. If he's there, the Vikings would make him the replacement pick for Harrison Smith.
And that's about as seamless of a replacement as you can get. He was a playmaker at Purdue, transfers to Oregon, plays under Dan Lanning, and is incredibly versatile while being a high IQ leader on the back end. The Vikings need a hit in the draft after several misses in the first round with their former front office, former general manager. I think a lot of times we see these new GMs that you just want to hit in the first round. You'll see a lot of offensive linemen be hits.
I think Theneman is one of the true hits in this draft.
So if he's there at 18, that's That's a Sharpie pick for the Vikings. Yeah, I've seen Germaud McCoy basically a Sharpie pick for the Cowboys at 12, right? Like if he's still there and the Cowboys don't move up, that's the spot. That's a popular one. Yeah.
And the Cowboys are an interesting team, Rich, because their team doctor is one of the best in the nation at these types of injuries that McCoy had, the ACL injury.
So I think Dallas would be more comfortable with McCoy just knowing who the team doctor is, what he's been able to do with these athletes in the past. And we've seen the Cowboys not be shy about drafting players coming off injury. I know Jerry Jones said they need to stop drafting projects. They need to draft players they could come in and produce. That's McCoy, who had four interceptions in 2024 at Tennessee.
He was a lockdown corner. Yes, it's at least a question mark that he missed the entire year with that ACL. But Tennessee was out of the college football playoff race. I think we probably would have seen him back on the field at least by January if they had been in the mix there. And then he had that phenomenal pro day workout that I think does answer a lot of questions, at least about his readiness to get on the field and play right now.
Who's the guy moving up most draft boards? In the final throws, late push. Moving up. Who is it? Yeah, I'll go Alabama, but not our guy Ty Simpson.
I think it's Caden Proctor, the left tackle from there, someone who he started the year at 390 pounds and really played his way into shape. I made the comparison to Shaq, how we would see him play himself into shape during the season. It's exactly what Caden Proctor did, and it worked because he was playing his best ball down the stretch. Then we get to the combine. He's 354 pounds.
He puts together a great workout, does the same thing at the Alabama Pro Day. puts together that great workout. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that he's the number six overall pick in this draft. The Cleveland Browns need a left tackle. They've liked bigger-bodied offensive tackles like this in the past.
So I think the Browns at six are a team to watch. It's maybe a surprise pick for Caden Proctor, but his name is absolutely rising. No kidding. I mean, the Brown because DJ Daniel had Fano going to the Browns.
So I guess a right church, just a different pew for what you're saying here. Yeah, you'll take that as a hit in your mock draft, right? It's not always the player.
Sometimes the position is a good enough hit.
So if Daniel's here in tackle, I'm here in tackle. I think we're all kind of here, and the Browns got to address that offensive line spot.
So you love to get the name to the team right, but sometimes the position is just as good.
Well, there's only one name associated with the position of running back, as we all know. Your 10-day-out peg for. Jeremiah Love would be where Oh, he's tough. I still think Tennessee at four, I look at a team that did so much work trading for Jermaine Johnson, adding players through free agency. They checked off so many boxes defensively, which is where they have needs.
And Robert Salah coming in, you're going to want to build the defense kind of in your own way. But then I look at what they have offensively. You have Cam Ward, who had such a great rookie season. You're bringing in a different mindset offensively. I think you could go with Jeremiah Love.
And you have that tough inside-outside runner. You have someone with the breakaway speed, that 98-yard touchdown at Notre Dame, 94-yard touchdown at Notre Dame. Great receiver out of the backfield. He had a two-touchdown game as a receiver against Arkansas, excuse me, last year. I think love at four.
Yes, that's rich for a running back, especially on such a young team. But if you want to boost this offense, if you want to give them a chance, and there's not a receiver that you love at four overall, I think you just take Jeremiah Love, who I believe is the best player in the entire draft class. You take him and you pair him with Cam Ward, and you have something that at least is going to threaten defenses. Right now, they don't have any position players that scare a defense. This would give you that player that defenses have to really worry about and scheme for.
Who are we not talking about? That Who we not talking about here? Ty Simpson. That's the question, right? That's the big one.
I'm waiting to see. Is anyone going to call his name? That's who we're not talking about.
So I'm rooting. I've been loudly pushing back on the round one talk. My guy Orlovsky says he's the best quarterback in the draft. I've been pushing back on that, but I'm rooting for Ty Simpson to prove me wrong. I truly am.
But I maintain it. We're number 15 is accurate because that's how many starts he had in college. And that should scare everyone who wants their team to draft him because there is zero precedent for a quarterback starting that few games in college and having success in the NFL, at least in the last 30 years. And so that's going to be the question mark. He's a great young man.
He's tough as heck. He had such a fantastic start last year. And then the wheels kind of fell off for that entire Alabama offense.
So I'm rooting to be wrong. I had this great moment early in my career where Luke Keekly came up to me at the Super Bowl and was like, hey, I still remember the scouting report you wrote about me. You were wrong. I was like, you know what? I absolutely was.
You're going to be a Hall of Famer. I was way too low on you.
So you love those moments. And I genuinely hope that Ty Simpson and I get to have that moment in 10 years where he says, hey, buddy, you were wrong. Dan Orlovsky was right. And I've had a great career and a little bit of a chip on the shoulder, maybe, because someone's lower on him than everyone else.
Well, I mean, and the way for that to happen, Matt, is he's got to be drafted by the right team. You know, and again, I'm concerned that if the Jets do that. And they've already kind of um Gotten their fan base attuned to the idea of drafting one next year. And that if Simpson isn't as sure fire as he possibly Um As somebody drafted in the first round is assumed to be. And he's put into New York, and Geno Smith shows up and struggles in this Jets offense, similar to what we saw in Vegas last year.
And he gets in there. Um And the coach might be on the hot seat, that doesn't sound like a great spot for him to wind up in, as a for instance. Um w would it be somebody like the Rams who could use a pick? I don't know, in the middle of the first round. Um, if that's the way it's going to go, that just doesn't make sense for the Rams to do that when they've got Matthew Stafford and can get a significant.
Helpful player to win right now, this year, in Stafford's final year or years there. Uh, I don't know. Did the Steelers do it? Matt? I mean, that would be fun for us as we're sitting there, right?
It'd be fun if they take him. I don't think they will. I would think you have to be a little bit cautious if you're in Pittsburgh that this feels like Kenny Pickett all over again. You know, the smaller quarterback who falls to you and you say, oh, well, we don't have one. We'll draft him.
I think in Pittsburgh, it's probably similar to everywhere else where they say, you have to evaluate Ty Simpson against what you know is coming next year. And there's always the risk of potential and guys don't live up to expectations. We saw that. Plenty this year. Garrett Nussmeyer didn't live up to expectations.
Lenore Sellers didn't live up to expectations. Goes back to South Carolina. Arch Manning and Dante Moore decide to go back to college instead of jumping into this class. Both very good decisions. But so I think if you're Pittsburgh, you say, a lot like the Rams, you're sitting at pick 21.
Can we draft a player at 21 that's going to help us with one more year of Aaron Rodgers, get to the playoffs, make another run, try to build this entire roster? Or do you, are you in a spot where you think you're drafting for the future? And for Simpson, that's the hard part. The Game of Musical Chairs says there's not a lot of teams that have that need at quarterback that makes sense for him. The Rams at 13 definitely don't.
As you said, you can draft an impact player for one more year of Matthew Stafford. Do the Jets move up? Do the Cardinals move up? There aren't that many teams that need a quarterback. And that's where maybe we get the surprise pick.
You know, Michael Pennix to the Falcons was a surprise at eight overall after they had just signed Kirk Cousins. I mean, do the Dolphins surprise us all? And if he's there at 30, they take him with that second pick. It's hard to find a logical landing spot right now for him. Matt, thanks for the time.
I wish you the best of luck on your final mock draft. We'll have you on, and we'll see you in Pittsburgh. Thank you. Yeah, looking forward to it. Thanks, guys.
You bet. That's Matt Miller, everybody, ESPN NFL draft analyst, right here on The Rich Eisen Show. And speaking of Aaron Rodgers, the aforementioned Adam Schefter went on Pat's show and came up with an interesting scenario about his future and when he might announce.
Next, as well as my review of my weekend. Yes, cannot wait for that. Good times in Memphis and Bristol. Are you Need parts fast? O'Reilly Auto Parts has fast.
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Alright, Lee. E bridge auto parts 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. 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.
The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. All right.
Okay, so take me through it. I want step by step. When did you arrive? What were your feelings and emotions when you got to Bristol yesterday?
So I arrived. It was a midnight sports center that came on a few minutes early. And uh got there around 1:30.
Okay. So left New York around 11. Took a ride up there.
So you got there about an hour before Cam Young and Macaroy Trump. I know the Sports Center. Let me get the I want to make sure I get everything right here because I'm new to absolutely everything. Sure. What the team is expressly called.
So just bear with me for a moment here. Because we shot the Sports Center universe team.
Okay. A crack staff of producers and photographers and camera operators. We put together a This Is Sports Center type of promo. Like we came up with the idea when we started Zooming or Microsoft teaming with each other a couple weeks ago about what we want to do on the show. Just coming up with a Sort of a This is Sports Center cutesy take of me coming back after 23 years, walking and seeing, you know, like an overflowing mailbox and stuff like that.
Um so that took a few couple hours to shoot.
Okay. And then once that was over, um we started, you know, le mapping out the show and and sitting down. And um you know, I interviewed Ovechkin, which was like You know, occasionally pulling teeth because he didn't he didn't. I mean, listen.
Well, he hasn't said anything. He hasn't said anything. Right. And the team still has an outside shot to make the playoffs.
So he's not sitting here. There is like, you know, the. The penguins wanted to shake his hand. Yeah, and he was shooing them away. Yeah, yeah.
Saying, Get out of here. Right. You know, so you didn't really want to say much, but he was kind enough to speak anyway. But really, the the the the wild moment was when I got out of you know, and strolled around the campus and saw This building again for the first time in 23 years. Since you left, right?
And then not knowing which was the old building or which was the new building. Like I'm walking around having no bearings, you know, and where I'm standing right there, that I believe was the building that I did have my office in behind me. Oh, okay. I'm almost sure of it. I don't know if there's anything else.
How many more? I've never been there.
So, how many more buildings are there than when you last? It has to be a half dozen. Wow. Right. And, you know, and then there's this spot for, you know, where you walk in and they're showing commercials and.
You know, there's a this is sports center wall, there's a new cafeteria where you walk down this hallway. And on your right. As you're walking down the hallway to the new cafeteria, is like a touch screen and a touch screen of all of what looks like, I think, about 50 college schools. And college football programs, you press the button of the logo of your alma mater or your favorite school on the touchscreen and it plays the fight song as you walk down to the cafeteria. That's awesome.
Honestly, I just It was so out of body and it was so like Um I just didn't know where I was, even though I knew where I was, and I was so familiar where I used to be. And I finally got You know, a little bit of a heads up of which building was the old building. And then I walked in and I saw my old desk. I saw my old desk. You know, the desk where Stuart and I shot that commercial where he gave me an earpiece for the holidays.
And where Dan Patrick had his office. And And how things still look the same there. And I walked down the stairwell where I would go to a sports center. And the the um Old studio is still there, but it's filled with Stuff because they use it for storage. The old baseball tonight set was there, and this wall where the old sports center desk was.
has now just got like pieces of wood and boxes and stuff on it. And um Yeah, it hit me. And the old newsroom is now an ESPN radio wing, and that's where that room. I wanted to go in that room specifically to FaceTime the kids because that was in that room where I met Susie. Oh, wow.
And but that's gone now. Um and it was wild. It was totally wild. But the neat thing is, I'm not just saying it because obviously we've got these four letters here and we're part of the ESPN world. I really mean it.
The crew. The production staff Um you know um It was awesome. You know, each production assistant that gave me a shot sheet. You know, this young man handed me my first shot sheet in 23 years. We took a picture.
I believe his name is Shane Gray. What is that the Masters one? No, it was. Ironically enough, the Yankees losing their fifth in a row. Ah, it's a shame.
Which somehow, some way, you know, uh oddly enough, didn't make the show. But that had nothing to do with me. I got cut? It had nothing to do with me. Yeah, Shane King, who I met yesterday.
But it was great. It was just the whole team got together and. And we did it. And that new studio is spectacular. Yeah, I mean the way they made it look too in the late nineties.
The director and the production staff put the old school background up on that huge screen. I like the gray suit. Good job. Just pop the whole thing. Yeah.
That picture you posted. That's true, man. Damn, that's so cool. I mean, I'll do it again. It's just, and look at there, there's DJ.
You know, look at DJ. Look at Daniel. He got all suited and booted for the occasion. Out of boy. His glass, the desk didn't break.
This time, it's all put together. He's all put together. It was great. I loved it. You know, inside the NBA throwing to me on Sports Center, like, you know, the long-term, long-time TNT show in the 23 years I was gone.
It's crazy. What are we living around? I was watching Golf Channel. They were replaying all the pressers last night, and then I was like, oh, it's 11:50. Let me switch over and watch the end of Inside Guys.
But you were already on. You had already started. Yeah, I know. We came on all the old school teas and everything.
So I want to thank everybody there at Bristol a lot. Congrats. That's awesome. They made me feel welcome and warm like I'd never left. And I look forward to going back, you know.
It's just the beginning of our beautiful new friendship of the 2.0. Rich, you mentioned this.
So, what a fun show. Whoopee Goldberg. Yeah, I did mention that you texted LFG right off the top. I didn't realize you were going on a little bit earlier, and I was waiting until I was like, all right, 10 minutes beforehand. Yeah.
That's when I'll send the text. And I was like, oh, wow. I didn't want to interrupt you, so my bad. Yeah, it's all good. All good.
It's all good. Irv sent me one, too. It's nice to hear from everybody. Thanks to Whoopi Goldberg, Ian Rappaport, Joe Tess, and Matt Miller. We'll be back.
Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show Podcast. You can watch and listen to The Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app, The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.
