REShow: Troy Aikman - Hour 3

I just learned Discover credit cards do something pretty awesome. At the end of your first year, they automatically double all the cash back you've earned. That's right, everything you've earned doubled all the cash back from eating at your favorite soup dumpling restaurant. Doubled all the cash back from that trip where you sort of learned to snowboard.

Also doubled. And the best part, you don't have to do anything ridiculous to get it. Nope, Discover does it automatically.

Seriously though, see terms and check it out for yourself at discover.com slash match. It's Rich Eisen. Yes, indeed. Our number three, The Rich Eisen Show, live on the Roku channel, live on this terrestrial radio affiliate, Sirius XM, Odyssey and more. If you missed the first two hours, you missed a chat with both Bijan Robinson and Will Anderson, top 10 picks. I believe in the draft. I've got my mock draft, my top 10 mock draft, my annual mock draft where I say, come at me.

And we actually use the symbol for at because it's a social media world we live in. That's coming up. And we chatted with Carson Palmer, one of two first overall selections back in the day in the draft that we have on the show. It's now time to welcome in the next one, talk about a perfect delivery. In the commercial break, I go in the back, Liz Weild, the co-executive producer of The Rich Eisen Show, hands me just freshly delivered a box of eight beer.

And here is a can to prove it right here in front of me. And joining us here on The Rich Eisen Show is the man who created this brew, which is, I'm not, I'm more of a wine drinker than a beer drinker, but I drink this beer and I'm not just saying because he's on the phone line, it is outstanding. And I guess to talk about the new number eight in the National Football League, Aaron Rodgers, is in fact Troy Aikman here on The Rich Eisen Show. How you doing Troy?

Hey, I'm doing well. The old number eight, going to talk about the new number eight and talk a little light beer. There you go. This is, if this was Sesame Street, this would be sponsored by the number eight.

Aaron Rodgers wearing number eight because he wore that in college, Troy, unless, are you working a deal with Aaron? I don't know. There you go.

That might work. Yeah, I wish. Smart on his part. I saw where Joe Namath said that he would be fine if they unretired the number and I don't know. I know Jets fans are elated right now, as you are as well.

I saw your post yesterday about the trade finally occurring. It'll be great for the Jets, but I think it was a smart move by Aaron sticking with number eight. Well, I mean, how do you think this can work out? There is obviously so many question marks when you go from one spot to another, which is a sensation you never really had to go through. But what do you think about the setup, the whole concept, everything all put together, Aaron Rodgers with the Jets and how it might fair? Troy? Well, you know, I think that first of all, a lot of people look at the trade yesterday and then try to evaluate and say, OK, who got the better deal?

How does this look? And I never think those trades can you truly evaluate at the time that they take place. I think you have to wait and see exactly what happens if Aaron Rodgers goes out and plays like the four time MVP that he's been and then leads the Jets to the Super Bowl like Tom Brady did in Tampa. It doesn't matter what they gave up. It would be a huge win, of course, then for the Jets. We saw the commitment then, of course, that the Rams have made over the years with their number one picks. But I expect that it will work out well.

I anticipate that Aaron will play well. There's familiarity for him. And I think that's the real key. It's different.

And although I never went through it, I entertained the idea. But to go from a place where he spent all this time and it's very comfortable for him and then to go someplace different. He's now much like Russell Wilson last year and the others who have come before him that have made that transition as great players. You now have to prove yourself all over again because those people in the locker room, the organization. Yeah, they've seen it, but they want to see it up close.

And so there is some pressure that comes with that. But I think it'll be a great, great trade. I expect him to play great. I like the Jets. I like what they've done defensively.

It seems like whenever you say this is the missing piece, the story doesn't end so well. But I expect it to be and I expect the Jets to be really good next year. And I'm with you about evaluating trades, Troy. Perfect example trade between the Rams and the Lions from Matthew Stafford. At first blush when it happened, it's like, wow, all those number one overall picks for Stafford and who knows what he can do in Los Angeles. And you look at the trade right now and the Lions are sixth on the clock because the Rams had such a terrible season last year with the injury front. And you're like, boy, the Rams could use that draft choice. And that's how you evaluate that there. But evaluating it on the night of Super Bowl 56, it's like great trade, right?

I mean, for sure. And like I said, I mean, I touched on the Rams just because of how they've dealt so many first round picks over the years, as we all know, in order to bring in proven veteran star players. And that was, of course, to win the Super Bowl.

And now they're paying for that a little bit. But I've talked to a number of coaches. It's interesting, Rich. You pose the question of would you rather be relevant, like knocking on the door, get into the championship game, whether it's AFC, NFC, maybe an occasional Super Bowl appearance. You don't quite win the Super Bowl, but you're always there and you're always winning 11, 12 games a season and you're relevant. Or would you just rather win the Super Bowl and then just have these poor seasons the other nine years? And to a man, they say they'd take the Super Bowl. So, you know, that's that's what follows you on your resume.

Once you've done it, then they can't take it away from you. And I think it then nobody really cares. And I wonder what the fan base would say to that. I mean, I've learned that the organizations and coaches and general managers, they lean towards, yeah, we'd have the one great year and win the Super Bowl. I wonder how the fans would feel about that.

Everybody wants to win the Super Bowl, but at the expense of not being relevant for the other, you know, part of the decade, it'd be an interesting poll. Well, the only rational thing we can do after hearing that is put it on Twitter. That's the only rational thing we can do, right, Chris? So, pop that on Twitter for a poll. Yeah.

And we'll use it as an indicative of the larger picture. So, one last thing for you on this, Troy, is nothing is more insightful, certainly, when two Hall of Fame quarterbacks talk to each other, one who's already there and another one who's going there. I've seen that in broadcast meetings myself, involving Kurt Warner and a quarterback who's getting ready to play a game that they're broadcasting. I'm wondering, is there any insight you could share, Troy, conversations with Rogers last year that indicate how he might view this as a fresh start or is this one last role for him, do you think, in 2023?

Troy? Well, I would say this. First of all, it's a fair question and the conversations that I've had, whether it be with guys like Aaron Rogers or Tom Brady, Drew Brees when he was playing, Brett Favre, you know, there's a number of those guys. There is obviously a level of respect and so those conversations, much like what you've heard with Kurt Warner and the quarterbacks he's talked to, it's good. I think there is a brotherhood and a fraternity, if you will, amongst quarterbacks. With that said, although I do consider Aaron a friend and someone who I think a lot of and have great respect for, he plays it pretty close to the vest and he doesn't share a lot and he's usually, whatever he reveals, I think he goes in knowing exactly how much he's going to reveal or what he's going to give himself or what he wants the message to be.

But as far as what happened in Green Bay or why he maybe felt that it was time to go somewhere else or, you know, all that has been reported and discussed ad nauseam, I really could not comment on. I do think, I think change is good. I mean, we all go through that. I went through it on a much different level, of course, last year going to ESPN and I think that when you've been doing it for a long time in one place, sometimes going somewhere else and seeing how they do it, does kind of re-energize you and I know that he had talked about retirement. There's been a lot of conversation about that.

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I don't think it means that he's less motivated to go out and play great. In fact, I think now that the trade has happened and he is going to be in New York and playing, I think that he's more committed than ever to prove that he's, you know, the best quarterback in the game today and one of the best who have ever done it.

And they also have the horses, I think. I mean, they really do have those kids and Quinnen Williams in the middle of that defense as well. I mean, he basically wore Quinnen Williams all four quarters when the Jets visited Green Bay last year. I mean, but the reason why I ask that is that does change the evaluation if he does play more than just a year or even two. Like, obviously that's rare to do into your 40s, but I mean, he seems tremendously engaged.

He seems tremendously in shape. That seems to be... Yeah, I think, you know, he can play several more years if that's what he chooses to do. I asked him years ago, I said, this was, you know, Brady was maybe 40 at the time or 41, 42, whatever it was, and was talking to Aaron. And I said, you know, for some reason, I just don't see you playing until you're 45 years old.

And he didn't comment. He just kind of had that smile that we've seen so many times, you know? And so I do think there's probably a feeling on his part. Maybe if they win the Super Bowl, maybe you say, hey, you know, what a great way to go out. But I do think there's a feeling on his part that the trade was made and he wants to give all that he has.

So part of me, although I don't have any insight, part of me would be surprised if he only plays the one season. But I liken it a lot, this situation, and it's a bit unfair, to when Tom went to Tampa Bay. But Tampa Bay wound up putting more pieces around them in addition to what they had. The Jets have done similar things, but the defense for the Bucks were a good defense. And I think the Jets are a really solid defense and give after people as well. So as a quarterback, you come in and you have that part of it.

That makes that opportunity look a whole lot better. When you don't feel like you're going to be in these shootouts week in and week out, you've got a chance to kind of ease your way into it, even though expectations will be high offensively. And I do think they'll be really good on offense, hard not to be when you have him as your quarterback.

But I think there's a lot of things in place. And when Robert Sola got to the Jets, and I watched him in a preseason game, I thought right away, I said, wow, this is a defense. They fly around much like what we saw when he was coaching the 49ers. And I said, this defense is going to be really good in a short period of time.

And I think we've seen that. I've got a can of eight beer in front of me and number eight on the phone from ESPN Monday Night Football, Pro Football Hall of Famer, three-time champion Troy Aikman here on the Rich Eisen Show. Do you have an opinion on any of the quarterbacks up for being drafted on Thursday night, Troy? You know, here's the hard part, Rich, is that I watch these workouts and if you can't look like a first-round pick in shorts throwing a football with no one rushing you, then there shouldn't be a conversation. I mean, I don't know how you evaluate a quarterback watching a workout, quite honestly.

You know, yeah, you see the ball. I think arm strength is often overrated. I've heard people say, hey, this guy can make all the throws. I still don't know what that means because what quarterback, what throw can not a quarterback make? I mean, I want to hear, rather than he can make all the throws, I want to hear someone say, this quarterback cannot make this throw.

There's only 32 of these jobs and if you can't make the throws, then you shouldn't be talked about in the first round either and you're not going to play. And so what, in my opinion, defines whether or not a guy is going to be effective, one of the things, first of all, you got to have good players around you. So if you go to an organization like we were talking about just now with Aaron, if you go to a team that has good things around you, like we saw with Brock Purdy going to the 49ers, you have a chance to play well and play well early. I was a much better quarterback when we had more talent than I was early in my career when we didn't have much.

So it does take some time, but it's of the things you can control, you know, all of the measurables, those are the easy things. I mean, that doesn't define how great a player is going to be. Tom Brady is a classic example of that. What, in my opinion, defines it is, does he make good decisions under pressure? Does he want to be great? Is he a good leader? Can he get along with his teammates?

Is he going to be the first guy in the building, the last guy to leave? You know, all of those things and none of that, you can't measure any of that. So, and it's sometimes hard. I think oftentimes you can sit and talk to somebody.

There's no foolproof way. And that's why, you know, it's a flip of a coin as to whether or not a first round pick is going to be successful. But I think you have to be in the room and talk to a lot of people and really get to know the person as to whether or not then do you like the guy. Now, me just looking at these players and saying, OK, well, I see this, I see that. You know, I mean, I look at Bryce Young and he's played against top talent. He's played well.

And the height thing I know has been talked about are his size. And I don't think that's as big of a factor. The game has changed.

It's played differently than it was. And then you tend to think, hey, I've heard he's a great guy. I've heard all the things that I just said.

I've heard he has and he possesses. You say, OK, he's done it at a high level where he's been. You'd probably bet that he's going to play at a high level, you know, than in the NFL. But I heard somebody say that at number two, Houston has to take a quarterback because they're in desperate need of one. And I say if they don't like the quarterbacks, then you don't take a quarterback. I don't think you take a quarterback just because you need a quarterback if you don't think the guy can play. And then that becomes the evaluation process.

And the last part of this is this rich thing. But then it's a long time. Every year there is a top quarterback in the NFL. But that doesn't mean that every year there's a franchise quarterback in the draft.

You know, so that you have to you have to I don't know. But every year there's a top quarterback in the draft. That doesn't mean that every year there's a franchise quarterback in the draft every year. But every team, as we know, that is starved for a quarterback.

You tend to get a little over anxious and you feel like you I think sometimes you talk yourself into it and say this guy's the future for us. And we've all seen so many of the quarterbacks that haven't had the success. Is that all on them? No, it's not.

Like I said, a lot of times it's on the organizations as well. In the few minutes I have left with you, Troy, let's talk about your drafting. 34 years ago I saw your post as well. 34 years ago you were Jerry Jones's first draft choice, weren't you?

Right? I was. What was that? It was interesting when I came out because my senior year at UCLA, I played in the Cotton Bowl here in Dallas. And so Tom Landry and Tech Schramm, they were at every practice.

Gil Brandt was at every practice. So that was the old guard, as you know. And then after that game, about a month later, Jerry Jones buys the Cowboys. And now all of a sudden Gil was still involved.

But yet, you know, he was kind of taking a secondary role to some regards. And then I'm getting to know Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, who I'd known about. I've known Jimmy since I was 14 when I went to his football camp. He was recruiting me at Oklahoma State. And then I was drafted, yeah, number one overall.

And it's crazy that 34 years ago, I think, man, I don't know where the years have gone. But yeah, it's something I'm very proud. I'm proud to have been the number one overall pick. But I'm also proud to have been Jerry Jones's very first draft pick.

That means a lot to me. So there were no cell phones. Did he get on the phone to you, like in the green room, a landline in the green room or something like that? No, great question, Rich.

Yeah, really great question. It was different then as everything was. But back then you only were in New York. The draft, of course, was in New York. You were only in New York if you were the number one overall pick and you were already signed.

And so I signed two days before that draft. I flew to New York. I was in New York. I was there. Steven Jones and Charlotte Jones flew with me and my agent, Lee Steinberg. We saw Phantom of the Opera the night before the draft.

I walked out. That's the other part of the draft that means a lot to me was Pete Rozelle. That was his last year to preside over the NFL draft. He only did it for the first round, of course. And so I came out, first overall pick, took my picture with Pete Rozelle. And then Paul Tagliabue took over right after that as the commissioner of the league. So a different time. Now you've got, I don't know, 30 players or however many it is that are in the green room, as you well know.

Much different. Was there any stickiness to the negotiation with Jerry? I mean, that's his first NFL negotiation was with you, too.

Yeah, it was. And I will say this, that Lee Steinberg, who, you know, the best there is and had negotiated a lot of big contracts, he marveled at how smart Jerry Jones was. And then a guy named Mike McCoy, who was also involved in the negotiations. For a guy who had never done an NFL contract, I mean, they were really smart.

They've proven how smart they are, of course. There's a reason why they were able to buy the Cowboys, Jerry Jones was. But yeah, at one time, when I was asking Jerry, even then, before he had ever been the owner of a team for one game, was telling Steinberg that I should be willing to play for half the amount I would play for anywhere else because I was going to get to play for the Dallas Cowboys. He was selling the Cowboys and he threatened, if I didn't lower my asking price, he threatened that he was going to draft Tony Mandridge, you know, the offensive tackle, who became a good friend of mine during the draft process. But then, you know, that draft in itself was a great class and proud to have been a part of that as well. So you were not only Jones's first draft choice, you were his first NFL negotiation and his first threat as well towards a player. And his first what, what was the last part? Threat, threatened you. You were the receiving end of his first threat as an NFL owner as well.

For some reason, I'm not, I'm not going to guarantee I was his first threat. That's funny. That's funny. So tell me about the beer. How can people get your beer, Troy?

Because it is awesome. Well, you got to be in Texas. We're all, we're all, we're still only distributing in Texas.

You can go to 8Beard, E-I-G-H-T, 8Beard.com and type in your zip code. It'll tell you exactly where you can pick it up, but it's gone fantastic. We're in year two, 90 calories, 2.6. It's the healthiest. I say healthiest. It's the cleanest beer on the market. So if you like light beer and you like the taste, I don't know why you'd drink anything else.

By the way, I love it. Elite Light Lager. You're an elite quarterback making elite light lager.

I love the use of elite with the number eight. And again, the can is awesome. The box is great. The packaging is awesome. And I appreciate the time always.

I do not, I do not take it for granted. Thanks, Troy. Appreciate it. Appreciate you, Rich.

Thanks so much. You bet. That's Troy Aikman, Pro Football Hall of Famer. Yeah, he is. Tony Mandrych wouldn't have worked out. I'll be honest as well.

I love Troy. I'm just going to say it. You got zero rings if you take Tony Mandrych. But we didn't.

I love that he can't. Well, we didn't. Not only was his first negotiation, first draft choice, first threat. He's like, can't guarantee I was his first threat. Probably threatened somebody in the ownership negotiation, right?

Probably. How about that? He's never owned the Cowboys more than just a week or a month.

And he's selling the Cowboys brand saying you should take you should take half. Funny. Love it.

All right. Great stories. I love it. Let's take a break. Stories like that, I just turn my mic off and sit back and listen. It's great.

Troy is obviously a world class storyteller as well as a world class individual. Hey, I'm going to tell you the first 10 picks of the draft. Hey, hey. And it's a mock draft. Call your guy, bro.

It's a mock. Which guy? Which guy? He's got a guy. How dare you say such a thing? On Reddit. Put it on the Stu Gots boat.

Take it offshore. You know what I'm saying? Let's just roll your break. Men, do you get distracted during the day thinking about your underarms sweating, itching or emitting an odor? Do those thoughts keep you from showing care when it counts? New and improved Dove Men Plus Care Antiperspirant with 72 hours sweat and odor protection and one quarter moisturizing cream helps you forget about your underarms so you can be present for the moments that matter. Don't let underarm insecurities keep you at arm's distance from the ones you care about.

Buy new and improved Dove Men Plus Care Antiperspirant wherever personal care products are sold. Let's talk sleep number people, because no matter who you are, you want to reach your full potential. And the way you do it is because you get next level sleep thanks to sleeping on a sleep number smart bed. When you do that, you're finally harnessing your unique potential in your sleep. You're finally harnessing your unique potential every night.

That's what I do. My sleep number setting is 60. My wife's is 70. It's just 10 numbers apart, but it does mean the world of difference because I get to choose my ideal comfort and support on my side of the bed and change it whenever I like. And my wife gets to do the same on her side of the bed.

It is nothing short of awesome. And that's why sleep number makes sure that you get the quality sleep that you need. Sleep Next Level, folks. Unlock your unique potential with a smart bed that can perform as well as you.

And now save $500 on the new Next Gen Sleep Number Smart Beds, plus special financing for a limited time only at Sleep Number stores or sleepnumber.com. See store for details. Susie Schuster will be sitting at this desk tomorrow. Amy Trask will be, yes, you can applaud.

You can turn on your microphone and applaud. That's fine. I love Susie. She feels the same way. She thinks we're too tough on you. Yeah, and in all honesty, you are. Does she express that when I'm not here too? Yeah, yeah.

But I like it. Keep giving me crap. She sticks up for Mike if we go.

Amy Trask will be her in studio guest and more to come on that front. And Kirk Morrison will be here on draft day and then the day after the draft. Talking about his draft experience.

The draft is great. I am. I believe there's a, do we have that photograph? I received this photograph from the King of Spring, as he likes to call himself, Charlie York, who is now in charge of the entire production operation of NFL Network. He sent me this, he sent Joel and Joel Klatt and Charles Davis, Daniel Jeremiah, and yours truly.

He texted all four of us since we're sitting on the set. There it is. Look at that, Rich. There's our set in front of, that's the Union Station, famed Union Station train station in Kansas City and the fountain in front of it. That's the draft hall behind the fountain. And then the area around it will just be filled with people. And I've been told it is a record crowd.

They're expecting more people to attend the draft in Kansas City than this Super Bowl parade. There it is. Look at that.

I imagine that's ESPN in one of the tents next to ours. That's set up. That makes sense though. I mean, the Super Bowl parade is one team spam base. That's true. Yeah. And now these people come all over the place.

Right. And it'll be amazing when, you know, the Denver Broncos get booed on the clock. That never happened in Radio City Music Hall, for instance. You know, the Raiders, they will be booed on the clock. And the Chargers will be booed on the clock. Who else? Who else? Who don't the Chiefs like? Well, the Jets. They don't like the Jets because Aaron Rodgers is now in it now. City of Fountains, Rich.

Kansas City. How about that? Look at that.

I guess last year in Vegas, that's two years there'll be a fountain behind me. That's true. Yeah, just be no Blue Man group.

Be no band player either. I don't know. I don't know. That draft hall is pretty close, but I don't care. It'll be fun. It'll be great.

It's gonna be epic. Epic. Phenomenal.

Hilarious. Anthony in Ohio. Let's take your phone call.

We've been hanging on for a while. What's up, Anthony? We're Anthony. What's up, Anthony? Hey, what's going on?

I just want to say hi to everybody. I'm going to be in the hospital for a couple of days. I got a procedure done.

That's definitely to do with disabled vets. They got to make sure that we're all right. Well, I hope you are all right. And we send our best to you. I just wanted to holler at you guys before you left for your trip to Kansas City. Thank you. Congratulations again on finally getting that guy.

Yeah, we got him finally. We'll see what happens from here on out. Yeah, I'm from Chicago. I'm born and raised. I'm from Chicago, so I'm a sports fan. I just wanted your take. I don't want to keep you guys long.

Go for it. I want your take on what do you think that what my Bears are going to do to distract? Well, that's a perfect lead into my mock draft, I would think. But personally, I think the Bears are looking to trade out, depending on how it goes. I think they'd love to trade down and keep getting more people. And if an offensive lineman that they like is there, though, they might pull the trigger.

That's my two cents on that. Yeah, I'm not looking at a quarterback. I think we got the best one. Yeah, if you did, you'd have stayed put.

If the Bears are looking at a quarterback, you'd have stayed put. So I appreciate the call, Anthony, and I wish you good luck with a quick, painless procedure and. Call us when you're out.

Yes, call us when you're out. I've done this. How many years in a row have I done this?

I forget. It's always two or three. Look, it is the only time I wade into the pool of the mock draft. And I just have to let everybody understand going into this, this is the most wide open draft, one of the least predictable drafts I can recall that involves quarterbacks, too. And I would take a 30% hit rate on this. That puts me in the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, right? We'd make some money on this. You just want three picks, right? I don't, this is not about money.

I feel like I should be like David Letterman with the stupid human in Petrix. Please, no wagering. Nobody said every single time before introducing that? I thought you said bet the farm on it. No, no, I don't approve. So I need NFL Films Music, Mike, or for you to stop doing whatever you're doing on your phone. Thank you. I was waiting for you to say it.

I'm ready. And just please understand, this is not the real draft. I understand. Oh, Rich is talking in the draft, draft picks on TV. It might be the real draft. No, no, no.

There's no Kansas City Fountain behind me or Union Station behind me. I'm just mocking it. Yeah, sure.

Why not? Thank you. Here you go. That's what Mike was looking at. Number one on the list. I guess. Carolina Panthers traded all the way up to go get Bryce Young. That's it.

Minus 800. That's it. I don't care that Will Leviss has a Reddit stream or a friend that put on Reddit that he's already been told he's going to be the Carolina Panthers choice. They traded all the way up. All those draft picks to take Will Leviss over Bryce Young.

That didn't happen. It's Bryce Young. I believe it was Bryce Young at the combine. There was a hot minute with CJ Stroud. It's Bryce Young.

Number two, the Texans. It was definitely going to be whoever the Panthers didn't take of Young or Stroud, right? Until about a week and a half ago, suddenly Schefter saying, wouldn't surprise me if the sources say.

Whenever you imitate Schefter, you got to imitate Caliendo imitating Schefter. It could be. Right. So it might not be a quarterback. It could be somebody other than a quarterback. And Breer echoed that sentiment. Breer came on.

He echoed that sentiment. And so when the Texans get on the clock, it'll be a big mystery Thursday night. And then they're going to take CJ Stroud anyway. Let's get out of here. Don't think too hard on this. Get out of here. What are you going to let him? What are you going to let him show up in Indianapolis?

Really? And face him two times a year. Just turn the card right here.

Get out of here. How is it not CJ Stroud, please? I mean, it could be Will Anderson. It could be Tyree Wilson.

It could be. Well, this is the favorite. OK. All right. Fine. That would be great for him. You might not hear his name in the next few minutes.

As far as I'm concerned, I don't know. Number three, overall, again, my mock draft doesn't have trades. I'm not going to sit here and say this guy's trading up because honestly, the only trade I'm concerned about right now is the Rogers trade.

Having T's crossed and I started already. OK, Will Anderson Jr. is going to be the third overall pick. Arizona is going to take this kid out of Alabama and tell him to go hunt the NFC West quarterbacks for a decade plus. That's who I got third overall.

Now, what happens at four? I'm hearing a ton of Will Levis here. I'm hearing a ton of Will Levis here. But if I'm going to go basically chalk coming out of the combine and say everything that's happened over the last six, seven, eight weeks has just been smoke line season stuff and the way that you evaluated them coming out of the combine through the pro days and all that stuff means Anthony Richardson's in Indianapolis cold taking him fourth overall. I want to talk about an upside.

You want to talk about a ceiling. And if this means Gardner Minshew's got to play a year in the in the AFC South, count me in, count me in with all his Burt Reynolds memes and his jean short shorts, short, all of it. Let's go. But I think Anthony Richardson's too good for the guy who just was coaching Jalen Hurts to pass up and take him. Number five on this list means this would be the Jalen Carter spot to land. And Daniel Jeremiah came on yesterday, said he had one highly well-placed source, knowledgeable source, saying Seahawks are taking Jalen Carter and another one saying no chance to take Jalen Carter. I say they take Tyree Wilson and stick him up there to go hunt. He might be number three overall, which means Will Anderson can wind up here. You heard how Seattle went and chatted with Will Anderson, too. But I go Tyree Wilson here and Seattle takes that kid out of Texas Tech and tells him to go hunt in the NFC West, just like the Cardinals do, Will Anderson.

Number six, this is where things are going to get a little bit, you know, off the reservation or not. I say with the Lions holding on to the pick, you heard how Bijan Robinson went and visited him. You've heard how, you know, Jalen Carter went and visited. I say they go Devin Witherspoon. I say they go corner out of Illinois. I think he's going to be really talented in the NFL. I think the Lions believe it. And I think that they could use him. Right.

So a coup to out Witherspoon in. Let's roll. Number seven on the list.

The red. Thank you. Oh, look at you, Mike. You think I don't pay attention?

You do. Oh, Mike. Way to go, Mike. Good job. Attaboy. Del Tufo. Magic hands. The autumn wind is Del Tufo paying attention.

Yes. Even though it's the spring and it's his job to pay attention. True. Technically, they're going offensive lineman here and they're going to take the kid out of the Ohio State. Paris Johnson Jr. is going to be a Raider and he's going to protect Jimmy Garoppolo or whoever they choose to put back there once Jimmy G hands the reins over to who knows. But the autumn wind is Paris Johnson Jr. and he can protect the blind side of Jimmy Garoppolo as he tries to take the Raiders to the promised land and music staying attaboy. Number eight.

Look at you. I'm going to make Sarah China happy. Chris, I'm putting Bijan Robinson in Atlanta. It's a favorite there.

Why wouldn't they do this? Thanks too much. They get the hell out of their defense on in free agency. Sure did. Let's go. Desmond Ritter, help him out.

Let's go. Bijan running a ball, running a rock, controlling the clock. Arthur Smith. Look what he did with Derrick Henry and his offense. I'm not saying the kid's Derrick Henry.

I'm just saying he'd be a really good asset right here. And I think they're going to go wait for him. Number nine. Number nine coming out of the combine, at the combine, just fresh out of the combine.

It was this kid from Northwestern, Peter Skoronski. Holding down the fort for Justin Fields. I mean, he's exactly what the Bears need. I've been told the Bears covered him. He's, he's well known to the fan base, obviously they're in Chicago.

And how do you not want to hear Bears fans say the word Skoronski? Like literally we would have to call up George Wendt. We would have to get Joe Mantegna back on the show just to say that word and then send him in a courtesy car back home.

Worth it. And then number 10 on the list, he's fallen all the way down to him. And you know, the Eagles would just jump all over him. Jalen Carter is a Philadelphia Eagle would be a shocker. And I just wanted to just go really off the reservation and just have this kid drop right into Philadelphia and be teamed up with Jordan Davis again.

That's just, wouldn't that be sick if that happens? How do you move the ball on that? I don't know. But as you know, that's what the Eagles do is they covet players for their defensive line and right in the middle and go for it.

Jordan Davis and Fletcher Cox and this kid. So come at me is what I'm saying. Oh, nice photographs, Mitch. I appreciate it. Look at that. Oh, what the point. Yeah, I look smug. Like I know what I'm doing. Wow. I look smug. That's great.

I'm not going to lie. So that's, you know what that, that phrase says, come at me. Come at me on Twitter. You know what? All you folks who paid for Twitter blue, come at the guy who got it for free because Elon Musk is clearly not knowing what he's doing. The hell going on?

That's right. That's my come at me mock draft. What do you think? I'll take criticism.

Concerns. Will Levis drops out. Jalen Carter drops to 10. That's why I'm saying I'll take a 30% hit rate. Look, I'll take three out of 10 being right. There's as much chance of being right as anyone else who's putting out multiple mock drafts. So you know what?

I'm on board with yours, actually. Chris. I don't think Anthony Richardson goes that high.

I'm hearing he's dropping all the way down to the twenties. Yeah. I think the, you think Will Levis goes there, huh?

I think we'll love it. So you could swap in Will Levis for Anthony Richardson and Richardson drops out. I think, and it seems like what else?

What else? Jalen Carter goes to Seattle instead of Tyree Wilson. That's what I think there. What do you think of Devin Witherspoon for the Lions? That's the favorite there.

Is it really? Yeah, that's minus money at number six for Devin Witherspoon. So I'm doing minus money stuff. I think you kind of nailed that one. I had no idea. Okay.

You kind of nailed that. Okay. I don't know what the Raiders do at seven.

The favorite is Christian Gonzalez. Yeah, I know. Right. I just think.

So I'm not sure. How do you not get a lineman? How do you not get a big, huge left tackle? Well, they need just, I mean, they need a tight end. A big tackle. Huh? They're not taking a tight end top ten.

No, I'm just saying they need one. And Bijan at eight. Oskaranski, I think you nailed. I think that's the pick there. Okay. Okay.

And then I think you nailed Bijan too. Hey, thank you. I'm going to put a dollar on all these picks for you. I don't want that. Oh. As a matter of fact, I must request you don't do that. Got it. Just do it for your boy. Thank you. And I don't mean me. I mean Cage. I was about to say, you are his boy. No, no. His actual boy who came to watch my youngest boy pitch a little league.

How about that? Yesterday. He was screaming at the catcher. He was screaming at the catcher. Seriously, like he almost went after blue.

Cage was? Yeah, he almost went after the hump. Understandable. Sometimes you feel like that. I noticed that even though I was pacing.

Rich is pacing. He was nervously eating peanuts. How does one nervously eat peanuts?

Tell me, honestly, how did I look? Okay, it wasn't just like the normal, like, crack, eat. It was like a lot of really fidgety and then you're just kind of kicking the shells on the ground. Oh, I was shell kicking? Shell kicking.

Really? Shell kicking. Are you calling me a shell kicker?

Shell kicking. You were tense. You were tense. You were tense.

Was I? The Sherman Oak shell kickers. Coop was pitching.

Coop was pitching. Sherman Oak. The Sherman Oak shell kickers.

Sounds like a band. That's O-S-K. All right, let's take a break. My favorite general manager of all time, Joe Douglas, has spoken. Hey, favorite GM of all time. Is that too much?

Make it a little early. Laughs lines with Juvederm Velorex-C. For important safety information and to find a licensed specialist, visit Juvederm.com. That's J-U-V-E-D-E-R-M dot com. Not for people with severe allergic reactions, allergies to lidocaine, or the proteins used in Juvederm. Common side effects include injection site redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, firmness, lumps, bumps, bruising, discoloration, or itching. There's a risk of unintentional injection into a blood vessel, which can cause vision abnormalities, blindness, stroke, temporary scabs, or scarring.

Talk to a licensed specialist to find out if it's right for you. I just learned Discover credit cards do something pretty awesome. At the end of your first year, they automatically double all the cash back you've earned. That's right. Everything you've earned doubled all the cash back from eating at your favorite soup dumpling restaurant, doubled all the cash back from that trip where you sort of learned to snowboard, also doubled. And the best part, you don't have to do anything ridiculous to get it. Nope. Discover does it automatically.

Seriously though, see terms and check it out for yourself at Discover dot com slash match. It was right around a year ago next week. How about that? When we had Joe Douglas of the Jets, general manager on the show, and I turned into Chris Farley from the Chris Farley Show. Remember that time you took sauce gardener? That was awesome. That was awesome.

And then remember you got Garrett Wilson? That was awesome. That was awesome. Remember you traded back in for Jermaine Johnson?

That was awesome. And then you drafted Breece Hall, second round. Without those picks, maybe Aaron Rodgers isn't as interested in coming to the Jets as he clearly was. Just throwing it out there. Just spit balling.

Not just coming to go to New York. It's a pretty damn good option. So my favorite general manager of all time. Yeah.

Go for it. Well Del Tufo has been playing the other options, the other option all day long. I'm the general manager of the New York Jets. That's the floor. Yeah, that's not good.

Or wait a minute, that's the ceiling in many ways. All right. It's a struggle. Oh God. Wow. Honestly, John Isaac's voice is a chalkboard to me. We won't judge job status in the season. Oh God. And Mike Tannenbaum obviously could be sitting there going, well, wait a minute.

What are you talking about? So Isaac is the floor. At any rate, Joe Douglas. He gave up a lot for somebody who's pushing 40 and said, I don't want to play anywhere else and I'm definitely not going back to the team that has me. He did give up two spots in the first round and he gave up a second round pick in my estimation that I didn't even pay attention to.

I didn't think they were using that thing, period. And then it's next year. It's rolling the dice. You want to perform as well as you possibly can this year. So next year's first round draft choice is easier to swallow.

Certainly it's very easy to swallow when you're staring at something very shiny in the case. That said, when Zach Wilson was clearly struggling last year and clearly exiting the season as, in my mind, non-viable as an option to start the season for the Jets in year three, why Rogers out of all the other options? As we all know, they told Derek Carter, you could be a first-powel Hall of Famer if you come here. And we all know there's Lamar still sitting out there, eager, I would imagine, to be signed to an offer sheet.

Instead, they go, Rogers, why is that? I mean, obviously, Aaron's one of the best quarterbacks to ever play this game. And to have an opportunity to add a player of that caliber, you're always going to look into it and how it fits within the game. You're always going to look into it and how it fits within our culture, within our team. And obviously, it goes back to something I said to you guys in Phoenix, it's a real credit to Robert, his staff, and what he's been able to implement with our players and with everyone here that a player of Aaron's caliber would even want to come here. And so we're all excited to add someone of his character and his ability. That's right.

He wants to go there. You know what? That's the Offensive Rookie of the Year. That's the Defensive Rookie of the Year. That's an all-pro, Quinnen Williams, grown ass man in the middle.

That's Bryce Hall hopefully coming back from a knee injury. And by the way, Mike, apropos of nothing, you're the Rich Eisen Show audio expert. Strong mics or just really heavy fingers on the typewriter on the keyboard? Strong mics and heavy fingers.

So it's both? It's like when I do this and you yell at me. Somebody's a very heavy typer.

Every now and then you can hear Mike. My goodness. Well, I mean, you're a very heavy typer and a breather as well.

Do I breathe heavy? Yeah. But I wish Joe Douglas could use a visual aid because I would have helped him. Why Aaron Rodgers?

Put it up! Why Aaron Rodgers? The rest of the 10 years. Look at this list.

Stack one on top of the other. And what do you got? You got one Super Bowl ring from over a decade ago with Joe Flacco and a whole lot of wanting somebody like Aaron Rodgers to show up. This was good. So good he's on Amazon a couple years later and they didn't even make the playoffs. And I love Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Get out of here. And I don't imagine Aaron Rodgers is going to throw. How many interceptions did Fitz throw in Buffalo in that last game when they needed to win to make the playoffs?

I'm sure Mike Hoskins must know because he probably remembers that gift of a game against his beloved Bills. Now, here's the last question. What about Zach? Really? That was asked today.

It was. Yeah, I feel like this is going to be a great thing. A great thing for Zach. And, you know, I spoke to you guys at the combine and, you know, Zach stealing is unlimited and no one works harder. No one loves ball more than Zach Wilson and him having the opportunity to really shadow and be with a first out of Hall of Fame quarterback every day. Every hour he's in the building.

That's a great opportunity and a great experience. I'll say this as succinctly and respectfully as possible for two reasons. One, we only have a minute to go and two, it won't take much very long. Zach, appreciate what you did for the last two years. If we find out that you still are a viable quarterback in the NFL for the for the Jets, then something's gone wrong with Aaron Rodgers. He's got to play two years to make this trade work and they're not going to make some decision on picking his fifth year option up based on having him back up Aaron Rodgers. I don't want to see Zach. I want Aaron in there and I want to make the playoffs and I want to win the big one.

That's what this is about. With all due respect to Zach Wilson. We better not see him play for the Jets in his first contract again. And I don't know how you sign him to a second one. I want Rodgers playing until he's Brady's age.

How does that sound? Here endeth the show. I'm fired up. I'm going to Kansas City. Kansas City, here I come. Just search podcast heat wherever you listen.