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Now, on with the show. Welcome football fans. Live from the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, it's the Rich Eisen Show. Today's guests, Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, NFL Network Analyst Daniel Jeremiah, Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, WWE Superstar Seth Rollins, Steelers defensive tackle Cam Hayward, and now it's Rich Eisen.
Well, hey, everybody. Welcome to Draft Day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The NFL Draft 2026, getting ready to go down right there outside of Acroshire Stadium here in this beautiful Steel City in western Pennsylvania. We are live on ESPN, as well as our usual haunts on Disney Plus and the ESPN app and ESPN Radio and Sirius XM Channel 80. Humble host Rich Eisen here, reporting for duty.
It's my two a day. I'll be here for the next three hours, first two hours on ESPN, third hour on ESPN 2, and then later on tonight at 7 Eastern Time, sitting on the draft set of NFL Network, giving you coverage of the National Football League draft on that channel for a 21st time in my career, going gavel to gavel, starting tonight when the commissioner of the National Football League puts the Las Vegas Raiders on the clock. And we've got Kurt Warner, my buddy, who will be part of the NFL Network draft coverage for tonight. He will be here in studio in hour number one. And then Daniel Jeremiah, who you'll also see on ESPN as part of their pre-draft coverage tonight.
DJ will be with us here in hour number two, as well as NFL Network throughout the draft coverage tonight. Rod Woodson, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Cam Hayward, a future Hall of Famer for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They'll both be here in Seth Rollins. And then there's you at 844-204-Rich being the number dial to have a chat with us. It's a higher register Thursday.
We'll give our higher register thoughts on what's going to go down in the draft tonight. And so much to discuss. Good to see you, gents. How are you? Hello, man.
Rich. Hello, Rich. I'm so excited. The draft day is like Christmas. I can't wait for me.
Yeah, I know. It's pretty cool. We all know what's going to happen tonight. The commissioner is going to put the Raiders on the clock, and then we're going to hear Fernando Mendoza's name. I will tell you this: this is the 20th day.
draft. Of Roger Goodell's Commissioner Show. I saw that. Would you care to guess who was on the clock first overall in his first draft? I know the answer.
It was Raider the Raider. And they took Jamarcus Russell. The first name out of Roger Goodell's mouth as commissioner of the National Football League announcing a pick was Jamarcus Russell for the Raiders. Bad? No, what it is.
No, no, no. It's called a coincidence.
Okay. That's all it is. That's true. Don't read anything into it.
Okay, I don't know. Just throw it out there. They're both quarterbacks who were drafted first overall by the Raiders. And I think from there on out, they'll go separate paths. Yes.
I believe. We'll find out. Obviously, careers must be played and played out. And then the drama starts with what the Jets are going to do at second overall. Is it going to be David Bailey, the edge rusher out of Texas Tech, or will it be the conversion linebacker, which is the phrase that's used for Arvel Reese?
Which one will that be? And which guy that's left on the board for the Cardinals to take will be potentially the apple of someone else's eye to go trade up and go get him? And Daniel Jeremiah, who's joining us in hour number two, gave everybody his mock draft on NFL Network last night. And he has the Saints trading up for R. Vell Reese at three, and the Cardinals moving back to go to eight, where they're going to end up taking Francis Mauinoa the tackle out of Miami.
And then if something like that happens, let's just say Arvell Reese goes, we don't talk about a trade. This is when the Jeremiah Love, Sonny Styles conversation hits for a bunch of teams.
However long both of them last on the clock. The first one that might have that question is the Tennessee staff. And that'll be Robert Sala's got, as you know, a whole bunch of bald coaches. And somebody's going to lose more follicles in their hair when somebody puts a thumb on the scale and says we're either going for the defensive player in Sonny Styles or we're going for the offensive player Brian Dayball, you know, would love, be pounding the table for Jeremiah Love with all due respect to Tony Pollard and the rest of the running back room there. Brown's there at sixth overall.
The question is: do they trade out or do they take the tackle that they like a lot? I think it's going to be Spencer Fano out of Utah. We will see. Then comes a conversation at seven for the commanders. At some point, there's going to be a conversation in a room about taking a wide receiver.
Is it going to be Jordan Tyson out of Arizona State or is it going to be Carnell Tate out of the Ohio State? What do the Saints do if they stick and pick? What do the Chiefs do if they stick and pick? The Giants can remake their offense. If they go offensive players five and ten, as a matter of fact, Daniel Jeremiah, again, he's going to be joining us in our number two.
He says that the Giants basically. Like the end of the godfather, settle all offensive family business and go Jeremiah Love at five and Carnell Tate at 10. If that's what happens, then the Giants with Jackson Dart and Cam Scatabu and Theo Johnson and the rest of the skilled position players of Malik neighbors, they would be going to work in the NFC East in a significant way with two big-time offensive pieces. If that happens, the first 90 minutes of the draft tonight is going to basically be my cardio for the day. And that doesn't really speak very well of my workouts or of how fast I'm going to run when it's revealed on my St.
Jude 40-yard dash run on Saturday's NFL Network draft coverage for the culmination of Run Rich Run. By the way, certainly we're sitting here on ESPNSt. Jude.org slash Run Rich Run to donate any amount of money. We had our friend Brett Michaels drop a $10,000 check off here. Big check.
But it's also made of plastic. At any rate, it's A large big check. I mean, it's right there. Sitting is still right there. And we are in a bank.
But anyway, I digress. The first 90 minutes of tonight's draft is going to be like a cardio moment where we're going to be non-stop moving because each pick in the first round is eight minutes long. When we first started the NFL Network draft coverage back in 2004, was the first one that we covered for NFL Network. It was 15 minutes. And it was a two-day event.
Now it's a two-night, three-day event. And now it went from 15 minutes down to 10.
Now it's down to 8. The commissioner wants us basically back in our hotels by 11 o'clock tonight. I don't know if there's a curfew officially or what have you, but it's going to go fast. And if a team doesn't go and take all eight of their minutes, we might see Picks being sent in in five minutes' time.
So, we're going to be needing to keep things moving and keep things talking tonight on our draft coverage.
So, I'm looking forward to all that. That's kind of setting the stage for you. The other things to look out for tonight are the teams that have multiple picks, the Cowboys sitting there at 12 and 20. Do they do anything? What do the Cowboys do at 12 might set things up for the Los Angeles Rams at 13 using the spot that the Atlanta Falcons gave them in last year's draft?
They're sitting there at 13, they already cashed in number 29, their own pick. To the, they already cashed that pick in earlier to the Kansas City Chiefs to get Trent McDuffie. If the Rams, this is where they could shock the world and go ahead and take Ty Simpson 13th overall. I don't think they're going to do that. I'll repeat here for the ESPN audience what I've been saying on Disney Plus for quite some time.
I think the Los Angeles Rams are going to, they've already indicated that by trading for Trent McDuffie. They are going to take a player that can help them win right now with Matthew Stafford coming back off his MVP season. And I think they are going to keep their options open once Matthew Stafford does decide to retire. Could it be the end of this year? Could it be the end of the next two years?
That there's going to be some quarterback somewhere in the National Football League with Pro Bowls on their resume, on his resume, sitting there thinking, I might want to pull some sort of an NBA-type moment and say, or Carson Palmer-type moment, and I'm out of here. And I want to go be the next quarterback of. Sean McVay's, Sean McVay's Los Angeles Rams with less need shopping for all the groceries in Los Angeles, California. I think they don't go Ty Simpson here. Ty Simpson might go towards the end of the first round.
As a matter of fact, Daniel Jeremiah in his mock draft says Arizona does, in fact, move into the end of the first round, moving up to 26th overall to take Ty Simpson, and he would be the quarterback of the future in Arizona starting right now.
So that's something to look forward to. What happens when the Steelers go on the clock tonight? 21st overall, and seeing all the fans that are out there outside of Across Earth and what their response is going to be. I'm looking forward to the entire night. It's a beautiful night.
It's a beautiful weather night. This city is so beautiful, lit up at night. It's going to be looking amazing. Western PA shining like a big star in the draft night on NFL Networks coverage, ESPN's coverage as well, going down tonight. We're one big happy family now, don't you know?
Yeah, we are. And I'll be honest with you, just to be straight up. To be sitting here, and this is the show that is on ESPN right now, to kick off essentially ESPN's draft coverage of the day. With all due respect to everything that's been on before, the fact that we're here from Pittsburgh PA at noon straight up, right here on ESPN for the next two hours, is something I'm honored by. Certainly, having done Sports Center in Bristol just a few days ago.
Yeah, dude. I mean, just pinched me. I can't believe this is actually happening. Dude, congrats, soak it in. Have a great day.
It's going to be fantastic. And I appreciate that. And all of us are going to have a great day. Kurt Warner's about to join us here. But I do want to touch upon this headline and this story.
I'll be very honest with you, folks. I have avoided talking about this subject matter because it involves two consenting adults. It involves two consenting married adults and what they were doing in their spare time with each other, allegedly, whatever might have been going on. I didn't want to even talk about it because I have no idea what's true and what is not. And whatever was going on between Diana Rossini and the head coach of the New England Patriots in in Mike Vrabel.
Just didn't want to discuss it again. Personal lives, and I understand that there's professionalism at stake and professionalism on the line for both individuals involved in this story. And we're all left to assume what is going on. And I just didn't want to talk about it, didn't discuss it. But now the fact that Mike Vrabel's not going to be in the draft room, the Super Bowl Head coach of the AFC champion, New England Patriots, the reigning coach of the year, is not going to be in the draft room.
On Saturday, because he is taking a moment in time to seek counseling, apparently, with his family, over the weekend outside of the state of Massachusetts. After being in the draft room on tonight, apparently, and then on Friday, and that the weekend he is taking the weekend off. It is unique. I've never heard of anything like this. I don't quite understand what is going on.
Other than the fact, I just want to say this. Whatever both he and Diana need to do in their current Worlds or existences, whatever they need to do to live their lives in peace and in harmony. I tip my cap to both people that I've known for quite some time. Vrabel, obviously, longer than Diana, who's been a frequent guest on this show in her time with the athletic and prior to that with ESPN. Just wanted to say that, but I don't quite understand what is going on with Vrabel, where he's stepping.
There's eight choices that need to be made, but clearly he needs to focus on his family life and his personal life. And I just send my best to him and his family on that front. And whatever uh needs to be repaired, he's clearly taking time away in a way that I've never heard of before. To do so. Just wanted to say that, but I was kind of shocked to see that headline that he is stepping away to take time out of the the draft room, and there's going to be eight guys who get drafted who he's going to Essentially, what finds out on his phone, what he's going to follow along.
I don't understand what's going on, but clearly, some repair needs to be made in his personal life, and he's taking his time to do all that. Just wanted to address that to start our program here today from the draft city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Kurt Warner is about to join us. I see him right here. Let's bring him out here next.
We'll talk about Fernando Mendoza and then send him on his way because that's the only thing he gets to talk about on our draft cover. Just go ahead. I'm just kidding. Kurt Warner's next, right here, my Hall of Fame buddy, Rich Eisen. Rich Eisen here.
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Point, just looking to start and then all the way up to the number one pick. You know, I'm excited for him. I think there's so much stuff to like on tape with what he did this year. You know, a lot of times when you have bigger, taller quarterbacks, they can struggle to be accurate. He's a big, longer guy, but he's tremendously accurate, great technique.
Ball's going to go where he wants it to go. I think, you know, a lot of stuff in their offense was more just, hey, you know, we've got it set up, pick a guy and throw it. But his ability to control the football at every level, especially down the field, I think is another huge asset for him. And then maybe the thing that jumps off the page the most, knowing that he's going to the Raiders and Tom Brady is going to be there, is he seems to have that big moment gene. You know, that when the game is on the line, when you need a play to be made, he made it over and over and over again.
And that's what Tom Brady was known for: in the biggest moments, making those plays in the moment.
So there is so much to like. I say it every year, though, with all these quarterbacks, they all have to. Get better if they're going to be great at the next level. Fernando's no different, but I'm excited about the pieces. I'm excited about him being around Tom Brady, Kirk Cousins, and that situation.
And I hope he just kills it. Yeah, that 50-50 ball he threw to wrap it up against Ohio State, the obviously run against Miami, where he put his body on the line and just got it in the end zone. Throw against Penn State to finish it off. He does have that big play in that whole entire drive down the field as well. Going into Oregon, throwing an interception, but then coming back and winning that game.
He does have that gene in him.
So when you did first meet him, come in your house as a kid going a cow, right? What did you think? Like, you're like, he's got a good head on his shoulders. Yeah, I mean, what was he? But more importantly, what did Brenda think?
I'm not sure if Brenda comes out. She's like, you go do your football stuff and then come in after. Here's the thing: when guys come to the house and train, especially when they're younger. Guys, my biggest thing to take away is how attentive are they to the process, right? Because you have some guys that we just get the opportunity, they come out, they just want to do their own thing, and then there's other guys that come out and go, teach me.
I want everything I can possibly get in these two or three days. I want to be a sponge. I want to learn. I want to take what I can. And then I want to build a relationship and stay connected.
And that's what I noticed about Fernando. Obviously, he was talented. He could throw the football really well. You never know what their future is going to be. But to me, it was more about being in the room when we were talking about plays and I was going through the process and what I looked at and why I looked at certain things and how I broke things down.
And, you know, he was always staying after those sessions and he was always asking questions. You know, he's reached out to me at different times through this process of just how to handle it, how to go into a situation with the Raiders and lead guys as a rookie number one pick. What does that look like?
So that's what I loved so much about him. Obviously, he's got the talent. We've all seen that. But, you know, everything you see in terms of wanting to be a student of the game and wanting to be great at his craft were the same things that I saw three years ago when we were working together. And that's what excites you: when you have a guy that wants to be be that, wants to do those things.
You know, when he's going to have access to Tom Brady, who's a guy that probably did that as well as anybody, continued to find ways to get better and better and better and get as close to his ceiling as he could. That excites me that you've got a young kid that is going to have that access, that wants to be great. You know, and I think it really bodes well for the Raiders and Fernando.
Well, you know, the cousins of it all, I want to hit that as well with you. I don't know if we're going to have too much time to talk about it tonight on NFL Network and one pick's coming after another, eight minutes every time, is what you think. Cousins has been told. We had John Spytech on Monday, the GM of the Raiders, and he basically said, May the best man win. Right.
Okay. And, you know, obviously there's one man who's got a thumb on the scale of being the first overall pick in the draft. But you also have a guy who's got such a breadth of knowledge and experience to allow the first overall pick in the draft to marinate in preparation, right, for as long as it's possible. But what do you think Cousins has been told? Because he's signed knowing this is going to happen.
I'm guessing he's been told that. It is going to be a competition and That when they deem Fernando ready to play, he's going to play, but They don't want to have to play him right away if he's not that guy. That's what I hope. He's been told. I'm a believer that you start young guys, you should start young guys when they're ready.
Don't force them into action before they're ready. Because we've seen too many guys that get swallowed up by this league because they're trying to survive and they haven't had a chance to grow and learn and be in a position to truly thrive at this level. And that's what I hope this situation is. If Fernando's ready week one, and he's shown that through training camp and every day. I believe you start Fernando Mendoza.
But if there's anything there that says, hey, we want him to grow in this area, we want him to do this. We want to take a little pressure off of him. I think it's a perfect opportunity to have a guy that's been there, that's done it, that is a pro to show him the way. And so that's really what I hope has been told. Kirk goes in not expecting to be the starter, but at the same time, believing he's going to be the starter at the beginning of the season.
Can hold off Fernando as long as he can, or, you know, until Fernando takes that position. But I love that aspect of things. Too many guys to me are drafted to be the savior, thrown in right now. And I don't think everybody has the makeup or is in a position to do that. And I think now the Raiders are in a great position to not have to do that if Fernando is not ready.
Last question on this subject matter: the Clint Kubiak system. Uh how Easy might that be to, or difficult would it be for a rookie to pick it up knowing. Fernando, as long as you have without telling me you've known him for as long as you have. Yeah, this is such a hard thing for me because it's hard to make that about me a little bit of the show. I believe every NFL quarterback should be able to do everything, like take a snap under center and run play action and turn your back to the defense and play in the shot.
Like, you should be able to do all of that stuff. And so. If you're able to do that stuff just from a physical standpoint, I don't think it's a huge transition to what Click Kubiak does. His offense, they love to run play action in the naked bootleg game, which to me is pretty simple. It simplifies things down.
Well, you don't have to see the whole field.
So that's not real hard as long as you can do the mechanics of it. They run very much a pure progression type system.
So that's something that I know Fernando has done before. It's all over college football.
So I think it's really just a mechanical thing, and I don't think it's going to be a problem. I don't think it's something that Fernando can't do. I don't look at this and go, oh, it's going to take him some time to get used to playing the way they want him to play. I don't think that's the problem. I think it's going to be a matter of: can he play at the level we want him to play at?
Can he succeed early or quickly where we feel we can put him out there and start building this thing? Or does he need a little bit more? Time to grow into the player that we think he can be. I mean, you know, Cousins is. gotta be sitting there thinking All right.
I'm happy to be the mentor to such a nice, decent. Awesome kid, and I'm willing to do this, certainly with the amount of money that they're going to be paying me and the contract that they're going to give me based on my knowledge that. Clock's ticking the minute I show up there for Mendoza, but uh I've been at this for a long time. I mean, this is the Shanahan system pays fealty to Kirk Cousins. You know what I mean?
Like, that's the guy that everybody's been talking about, from Papa Shanahan to younger Shanahan, right?
So he's got to be sitting there thinking I'm beating this kid out if this is the way we're going to go here. I'll be a week one starter and I'll take most of the opportunity I can get, right? I mean, that's what he's thinking. I would liken it to my situation with the Giants when I went from the Rams to the Giants and I knew they were going to draft Eli. But I felt the same thing as I was hoping for at that time 16 games.
And again, I don't know what Kirk's idea is for the future. Is he trying to parlay this into another starting spot like I was? But yeah, I think you go in and go, okay, I know the system. I've played at this level. I'm going to be better than Fernando is, just like I was better than Eli was in that process.
And so you're going to get as many games as you possibly can, hopefully a full season. And so, yeah, I don't think there's any question. I mean, I always took that approach. Like, hey, I want to share everything I can with these young guys. I want to give them every tool to be able to be as successful as they can.
And then I'm going to beat them out and I'm going to play. But that was my approach. And, and I, And I felt like that. And so I would have to assume Kirk feels the same way: if they tell him best players going to play, oh, great. I'm happy to mentor this kid.
He's going to be great. I look forward to helping him, but I'm going to be the better player for this entire season. And so I believe I'm going to hold on to the job. The one thing that I know is that that's all fine and swell unless the team doesn't do well. And if the team starts to struggle and you're not winning no matter how well you're playing as a quarterback, That's when you start really thinking about: is it better just to cut ties with the veteran now, get our young guy in, take our lumps, and so, kind of like the Giants, two years from now when this team is ready to compete, our quarterback's ready to compete, and now we have a chance to win championships.
Kurt Warner, our Hall of Fame friend, QB Confidential is his must view and follow and subscribe to YouTube channel right here on the Rich Eisen Show.
So, Ty Simpson is QB2 on your chart here. Yeah, for sure. What do you like about him?
Well, I mean, you know, I think you hear all the talk about when you pop on the tape. I think there's times that his tape is better than Fernando Mendoza, just in terms of seeing the high-level throws, seeing what we call NFL throws, NFL-type offense where you have to read plays a certain way. And so, there was a lot to like. You know, you talked about this Kubiak system, but McVay, Shanahan, the system that's kind of taking over the NFL. I believe Ty Simpson.
Is the best quarterback in this draft in terms of his movement skills, his ability to run the naked bootlegs and buy time out in space and make those plays.
So I think he fits in a lot of systems from that standpoint.
So there is a lot. To like about him. There are also a lot of questions about him and why there's all the speculation. Where does he go? When does he go?
Is he a franchise guy? The time, the amount of time that he's played. I think you always need two or three years. I would say three years to really know who a player is.
So to have 15 games, it's like. Especially the up and down of those 15 games, who is he really? What can we expect from him? Because we've seen high moments, no doubt, but can we expect that? We've seen some low.
Do we expect that? What kind of player is he? And then I've talked to a lot of people that said, you know, when they're up close to him, that the physical stature worries them. You know, that there's some guys that, you know, can be smaller from a height standpoint, but they just have something to the body, some thickness to them that they believe the wear and tear. Guys like, you know, Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson that are built a little bit different, even though they're smaller guys.
Brock Purdy weighs in the 220s. Where, you know, with Ty Simpson, they feel that he's very slight from a physical standpoint. And so that's a concern with a lot of people.
So lots of like on tape, some really, really good tape, but I fully understand the concerns and I'm fascinated to see how this will play out. You know, a lot of people, just with the fact that 15 games is. Is it a team that has a guy that's been a starter in the league that they believe he can really sit and learn? Or is he picked by a team that has to thrust him in right now and play? And is he fully ready for that?
Well, Arizona selects him the LaFleur. Offense coming from the McVeigh offense.
So it's a fit, right? I mean, I definitely think it's a fit. What he does, and what I saw on tape, I'm not sure there's a lot of systems that I say, oh, he can't play in that system. But you talk about the Cardinals, you know, right now they have Jacoby Prissette, Gardner Minshew, two, you know, technically backup guys.
So my concern there would be. Rich Eisen here. PayPal is now the official peer-to-peer payments sponsor of the NFL, which means all the money moments that fandom creates, whether splitting tailgate costs or chipping in on tickets and game day food between friends, are covered. Wherever the game is played or watched, PayPal moves with fans. You can send money through text, email, or directly to your friends with eligible accounts on Venmo.
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And is he ready for that? Because you don't have that bona fide starter. You know, if you look at the Jets, you got Geno Smith, who you know has been a starter. You can let him sit. Obviously, the Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza, or you talked about the Rams.
I think those would be great spots from the standpoint that staff's got another year, two years left. Young guy can come along and he can grow into it.
So where he gets picked, and we talk about that all the time, where you get picked, what the situation is with the team that picks him, I think is really, really important. Who is beneath the radar on the quarterback front right now? The radar has been looking at it. You know, I think the next three guys are interesting. When you talk about Carson Beck, you talk about Garrett Nessmeier, and you talk about Drew.
Waller. They're all fascinating. I think. Teams look at them right now and say, We're not drafting them to be our starter right now. Can they be a starter?
Maybe, but I don't think you draft them to be a starter. Carson Beck, huge fan. He's actually been training with EJ, and EJ raves about how smart he is, how well he knows the game. He's not my son E.J., who's obviously hoping to get an opportunity as well. But they've been training together, and he's like, this guy's really smart.
He understands the game. And so I'm not sure he's got that one thing that separates him as a starter. But when you start to hear that, big moments, he's played in a lot of big moments. A lot of success both at Georgia and Miami. Smart guy.
I think he's got the potential to maybe be a starter. He could be number three off the board. Garrett Nussmeyer, again, depending on what tape you look at, I think you're going to go, okay, is he 24, Garrett Nussmeyer? Is he 25? What were the issues last year?
But you can pop on the tape and you can see some of those same things. You know, his dad played in the league. His dad's a coach. He looks like a coach's son. He understands the game.
He's got good physical ability, especially when you look at times when he wasn't injured.
So I think he could excite people. He could be the number three guy. And then Drew Aller is, I think, the outlier here because physically. He's probably the most gifted thrower of anybody in this class. Like, it just comes off his hand.
It's easy. He's got the big arm. But his play at the quarterback position doesn't match the physical part of it. But you and I have been doing this long enough to know: hey, we can teach playing quarterback. We can't teach those physical things.
So I'm fascinated to see who jumps at him and thinks they can turn him into a really good quarterback because of the physical skills.
So those next three guys, I think, are drafted as. Backups, maybe potentially starters at some point, and then they're going to have to prove that they belong in that role. Did any of them come to your house to work out? No, none of those things. I feel the need to have to ask these questions now.
Like, I got to pull it out of here, man.
Well, you know, I like to let those guys share those nuggets, not me, but it just kind of seems to fit here with Fernando just because I've known him for a while. I'm not talking about bringing it to the rich eyes and show public. I'm talking about I sit with you in foreign countries, man. Like, you know, we spend time together. And there's times when I am talking Big Ten football with you.
You know, like there's times we're talking about Signeti and Indiana. Do you see this game? Oh, you know, Fernando worked out at my house. Yeah. Like, none of that.
Yeah, Kurt, for being such a cerebral player and now a cerebral analyst, you should have seen this coming from him. I mean, you know. You know, he's got his own show.
So you don't know where it's going to go. It's about him and his feelings.
So you should have known about me. My mom's not always about you.
Sometimes it is. Excuse me. No, excuse me. I'm here for Kurt as much as. I am here for you and anybody else in my life.
That's a perfect example the other day. The other day, and again, this is what we're all learning here with the ESPN learning us, us learning them, and we are now in their care. The merger is complete. I know. We're on ESPN right now.
Literally right now. Right now. And the folks in the ESPN PR department. They're terrific. They're awesome.
I know some of them. No, I'm seriously, but they need to learn us as we need to learn them. This is the window. Did you see the graphic to support us from ESPNPR to say, hey, the NFL network draft coverage is coming? You saw about?
Ian and Daniel have shoulder on you. Like, what's going on there? I was complaining about that for you. Oh, what? I appreciate that, but I also know where my role is.
I know what my lane is. This is not my lane. This is the draft lane. I'm not talking about it. I mean, DJ and Ian, this is their deal.
This is your guys' deal. This is my lane. Ian's not your height. Yeah, that's the thing. I think if I'm your lane, that's true.
I'd be probably offended at that. But yeah, I understand my role with the draft and we're in war on it. You know, I'm just not going to let DJ have shoulder on me when we talk about game day morning and those things. Oh, interesting. That's my lane.
All right. And then let's talk about EJ here.
Okay. Do you mind? I mean, no, not at all. Tell me about him and what's going on with him and everything. I'm excited.
You know, he's just like dad. He's just looking for an opportunity.
Somebody to give him a shot to play. I mean, you know, he comes in. I mean, he's a really good player. And, you know, I know it's like, oh, dad bias and all that. But, I mean, With this class, he has more passing yards in the regular season than anybody coming out in this class.
So, this kid has played really, really good football. He's got challenges like all these guys do. You know, he's a smaller guy in terms of being about six foot tall. You know, so those are the challenges that he faces. But he's a really good player.
And during the process, it's been fun because you hear all the people talk about all the things. Can he do this? Can he do that? You know, I've had a chance to talk to a number of people that have been a part of this process that have watched him throw, have been around him. And everybody's been really impressed.
And I think he's really going to impress whatever team gives him that opportunity to realize not only is he cerebral and he understands the game and he processes the game, but he's physically really talented as well. And so, you know, we're just sitting back and waiting. You know, I remember my time with the draft, as crazy as it sounds, I remember watching the draft from first pick to the end and thinking the next pick was going to be me. It didn't matter if it was one or two or The last pick in the draft. And, you know, it will be that kind of fun for us this weekend, even though not in an expectation that he's going to get drafted, but you're just hoping for an opportunity.
And then from the opportunity, you got to go earn it. And he knows that, and he's been working hard and he's ready for that opportunity. And he's worked out at your house, right? He has a couple times. A couple times, yes.
In all honesty, though, I mean, like, if his name is called, you know, trust me, I'll be texting you literally on live television or calling. Right.
And if not, all we have to do is just, you know, look at you and your career and go to the movies, rent American underdog, you know what I mean? Yeah, and I think that's the fun part for us is that we all want it to go a certain way and we all have these dreams of what the path looks like. But you're right. I think he's got an example of. It doesn't matter.
I mean, and there's other examples. I mean, look at Brock Purdy. You know, he did get his name called, but I mean, he's the last guy there. And, you know, there's guys, I mean, I even tweeted it yesterday. You know, somebody said, you know, Hall of Famers by round.
And, you know, there's 50 Hall of Famers that have technically been undrafted guys. There's 60 Hall of Famers that have been drafted from rounds three to seven.
So, I mean, it just goes to show that you get to a certain point beyond the first round, and it's like nobody really knows who these guys are until they get a ball in their hands between the lines in the NFL. And then you have to go prove it. And that's what he's hoping for: an opportunity to prove it. And I look forward to that. Last question for you in watching all this tape, grinding all this tape on quarterbacks: who's flashed?
Not a quarterback on watching this film where you're like, okay, like, I see it could be a defensive play, could be an offensive play, anything. Yeah, you know, I mean, because that's what I always do. You know, again, not necessarily my wheelhouse, but I watch kind of the top 50 guys as Daniel gives them to me. And I'll say a couple guys that really intrigue me are going to be Jordan Tyson, because I think. On the tape, you go, I see why he could be the number one wide receiver of all of these guys.
There's some really good players, but I'm intrigued to see, does somebody jump at that? guy with the you know with with the injury history and and what he went through does he drop because of that right uh jamaud mccoy the cornerback who obviously missed all of last year with the the injury but i thought he was the best corner that i watched on tape yeah i thought he was the like when i watch it i'm like man this guy's the real deal but you know coming off the acl how does that affect him right um but those were two guys that again just because they're intriguing because good players tape was really good but there's some questions about them that that I'm fascinated to see where they go tonight do they go tonight and where they end up love you man all right but I'll see you tonight all right I'll see you tonight yes and I won't forget that you're there What's that? I won't forget that you're there.
Okay. You know what I mean? After Mendoza goes, and then, like, hey, you'll bring me back in just a couple of days. No, I will. You'll throw something my direction.
I will, all the time.
Okay, that's right. Because I am a little worried about that. I will. Yeah, my work's done after the first three minutes. And after everybody, did they work out at your house?
Did they work out at your house? I'm going to drop it. See, see, DJ's already like, what am I doing here, right? Oh, he's here already. There he is.
Yeah, it's his gig. He's wondering. See? Right here on ESPN. I'm going to show down.
Kurt Warner here, Daniel Jeremiah coming up next. Love being on ESPN, Disney Plus, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM. You can't avoid us basically from the Steel City. What? What?
The Rich Heisen Show, the podcast. Archive. PayPal is now the official peer-to-peer payment sponsor of the NFL, which means all the money moments that fandom creates, whether splitting tailgate costs or chipping in on tickets and game day food between friends, they're all covered. Wherever the game is played or watched, PayPal moves with fans. You can send money through text, email, or directly to your friends with eligible accounts on Venmo.
Just download the PayPal app, PayPal account is required, and then you share all the moments that matter, not available in all regions where PayPal operates. All right, I'm going to say something that sounds a little irrational, but how's that for a setup? By the way, I'm intrigued. Go on. You know, my role I view for the combine in the NFL draft, which is, you know, obviously know the players best I can.
Right.
But I'm not the all-22 guy. I'm not the film guy. I'm not breaking down. I'm about storylines. I'm about knowing what fans are interested in.
This show helps with that. And what each team's needs are and what the fans' expectations of meeting those needs are, this show helps for that. And in terms of getting ready for the draft, the Combine helps for that. Because on average, the drafted players 98% of the NFL draft are players when they're drafted come from the pool of those who were at the combine.
So I've seen in calling every day and every second of the combine with Daniel Jeremiah, who's coming up top of hour number two. Um I've seen the draft just out of order. At the Kanban. Sure. Tonight, we ordered them.
So I say all of that as a setup to say. I you know, we just heard again um Kurt Warner is saying in watching the film of quarterbacks And everybody else, what flashes, who flashed? He mentioned Jordan Tyson flashing. And you're hearing over and over again that Carnell Tate may not be the first receiver taken. It may be Jordan Tyson.
And I have not watched Jordan Tyson film, okay? And I haven't seen much Arizona State action since. Um Scataboo left. Right.
Okay. I'll be honest with you.
Well, they weren't really on the national stage last year. Right, but I did want their coach when Michigan was shopping for a coach. You very much did. But. This is all a setup to say, I don't know why I'm irrationally upset about hearing that Carnell Tate might not be the first receiver take.
I have a theory as to why. Because and that is. You don't want to think that Michigan got torched by the number two receiver in the draft. No, he got the number one. Excuse me.
They got torched by the number two receiver on Ohio State. That's Carnell Tate.
Okay. So, yeah, this moment. Thank you, Hoskins, for putting it up again. The are you not in? Is it the last time we get to use this photo?
No, I'm sure it'll be different times to use it. He's not an NFL player yet, and it'll take some time for him to get in his new uniform. But no, no, obviously, you want to be beaten by the best. Like, once upon a time, I'll share this back, you know, when I was an intern at the Staten Island Advance, long before I met Susie. There was somebody who was a co-worker of mine.
I, you know, got the Heisman Trophy delivered from her. She wound up marrying somebody else on the staff.
So at least I lost out to the guy who won the championship. You know what I mean? Like, I don't care. It's one way to look at it. It's one way to look at it.
It's a bad, inartful way of describing it, potentially, but it's the truth. I do want to lose to the guy who's number one, obviously. Yeah. But I've just seen him play, man. And here I am, like caping for an Ohio State.
Trust me, I tell you. I am so trying to prepare myself tonight for hearing Ohio State four times in the first ten picks. That will not be a great professional moment for me. I'm going to fight through it. Great personal moment for me.
You've been writing yourself for that for a while. I'm just saying, no, but I don't understand it. I don't get it. I guess I'm irrational because I have not seen the body of work of the other guy. Right.
Who may be him, and the guy on the screen who I have seen the most, he may wind up being the other guy. But i I'm hearing now like that that tape Tate could be available all the way down for the Jets at 16. Whoa, really? Yeah. Well, Matt Miller kind of set us up yesterday with, you know, he had Jordan Tyson in his mock draft going five.
I don't know. It just seems like it also has come kind of out of nowhere in the last week or so. But, you know, it comes out of nowhere in terms of us talking about it or us hearing about it. But, you know, evaluators have been drilling down tape on Tyson. And the minute that he starts working out and looks fine, and everybody isn't concerned about the red flags about his.
His health, off you go. Maybe there was something to the Carnell Tate 40 time. Remember that from the coming out of the Kanban? That should be nothing. I mean, Terrell Davis ran a slow 42.
And he's in the Hall of Fame. Daniel Jeremiah coming up in hour number two. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Mm-hmm.
