REShow: Albert Breer & Matthew Berry - Hour 2

No matter who they are or what job they do, you want to give your employees all the support they need. And UKG, with their HR, Pay and Time solutions, can give you all the tools you'll need to help you make your people, all of your people, feel like they belong. UKG. Our purpose is people.

To learn more about UKG, visit ukg.com. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Great first hour.

I gave you my top five performances of pre-season week number two. We discussed the Jonathan Taylor situation, as we say in the sports news media business. And then James Harden getting 500 grand for saying out loud what we all know. He doesn't want to play for the Sixers anymore. So, hour number two, Matthew Berry is going to join us right in the middle, talking fantasy football. Hour number three, Dan Soder, the actor, diehard 49er fan. We're going to chop it up with him when he stops behind studio The Comedian. He's going to tell us his tour dates. It'll be a lot of fun.

844-204-RICH is the number to dial. Brockman, TJ and MDT, you guys are all, you do remember Schoolhouse Rock, right? Oh, yeah.

I have it on DVD. I'm just a bill, conjunction, junction. What's your function? You know, one of the, you know, one of the Grammar Rock hits that doesn't usually get mentioned. Do you remember Interjection? Oh, Interjection. Interjection.

You remember that one? And the crowds starting to shine. You know, exclamation points, you know, exclamation points about how things change. Like, say, like, we're not going to trade somebody now or in October. If you just text that to somebody, that's one thing. But when you add the interjection at the end, you mean business.

We're not going to trade Jonathan Taylor now or in October. Like, you know what I mean? Like, there's a difference.

Infatic. Well, that interjection got changed to a query, a question, an open question. And the man who got that interjection texted him, had to get him on the phone. When Jonathan Taylor's now been shown the door to go seek a trade.

Albert Brier, Sports Illustrated, back on The Rich Eisen Show. How's that for an introduction, Albert? How about that? Hear me, Rich? I can hear you. Can you hear me?

I can, I can. I just had to walk outside the media room, so I'm all good. So, what happened to the exclamation point? What happened to that exclamation point that you got texted? Well, as you had said to me, I think it was a question mark right now.

Maybe it was a typo. I don't know. What happened? This situation hasn't gotten better, that's for sure. And I don't know that the back and forth back then, what was that three weeks ago, helped much.

And you do wonder if it's the point of no return now. And the trouble is, Rich, I know that the Colts are resolute, that they're not going to give them away. So, then the question becomes, what if he goes out and finds a team that's willing to give him what he wants monetarily, right?

And say that's, I don't know, $12, $13, $14 million a year. And then that team is not willing to go to where the Colts want them to go from a compensation standpoint. Wouldn't that make the situation worse?

Oh, yeah. Because now Jonathan Taylor isn't guessing anymore that they're keeping him from getting paid. Now he knows, right? So, that's what's complicated about this whole thing now. It's like this could bring it to a conclusion one way or the other. It could be that Jonathan Taylor finds that what he wants isn't out there for him. Or it could lead to a trade. But there's this in-between thing where I certainly think, having talked to a whole bunch of teams last night, overnight, I polled, I think, 10, 11 executives last night on what his trade value would be. And I can just tell you, when you add the fact that you have to give him a new contract to it, I'm not sure the trade value is quite what the Colts would accept at this point. Now, maybe that'll change.

But, yeah, this is definitely a very, very awkward spot. I kind of feel like we're getting bookends to our non-playing season, Albert. This rings similar to Lamar Jackson. Do we want Lamar? Sure.

How much is it going to cost? And two ones? I don't know.

Like, that's the way it appears. Obviously, Jonathan Taylor's not a free agent, technically, although he has been given the opportunity to seek a trade like he is a free agent, knocking on anybody's doors legally. But the question is, is compensation and compensation for the Colts.

So let's take this one step at a time. Why won't the Colts pay Jonathan Taylor something, or have they offered? And that's been part of the impasse as well, that Jonathan Taylor only wants a contract similar to what he might get on the open market.

What do you think, Albert? I mean, to this point, they haven't. As far as I know, and maybe things changed in the last few days. As far as I know, there hasn't been, like, a substantial offer made.

Now, again, that might have changed in the last few days, and maybe that's what prompted this. But it sounds to me like the Colts were resolute on saying we're waiting until next year. And part of that, of course, is the way this has gone over the last month, where he's coming off of ankle surgery to begin with. Another question whether or not he had a back injury is obviously one that's been disputed.

But whether that's a question that's out there, that's something else that you throw another log on the fire. I think at this point, the Colts would feel more comfortable going through the year with him. And Jonathan Taylor knows. I mean, look, if you're Jonathan Taylor and you have all that mileage on your legs, and think about the amount of carries that he had over his first five years, then he gets hurt in year six, right? So his first three years at Wisconsin, his first two years at the pros, how much he carried the ball, he stayed healthy, he was consistent, reliable, all that.

Finally gets hurt in that sixth year of college and pro, right? And now he is probably looking around and saying, well, Saquon Barkley was patient, Josh Jacobs was patient, and it didn't really work out for those two, so why should I be patient? I'm sure part of it for him is the concern that if he gets hurt again, it's really going to damage his value. And that, by the way, doubles as the reason why maybe the Colts would be hesitant.

And that's what makes this thing a little bit, I would say, tough for both sides. And can you give me an indication? Is it Jim Irsay saying no, and Ballard playing shuttle diplomacy to make this work? Or is Ballard truly saying, we're not paying you any more money? Or did they put anything on the table?

Like, I'm trying to suss out why we have reached this point, Albert. Well, they've been pretty clear in saying that, you know, we're willing to talk about a contract after this year and not before the year. You know, I think if you look at their history, they have taken care of a lot of the guys that Ballard's drafted there, right? Like, so they made Quentin Nelson wait until after his fourth year, but they paid him at the top of the market. Darius Leonard got paid after his third year. So, like, they've paid guys that they've drafted there after three years, and then there have been other guys where they've let it run out, like guys that they really like. Bobby Okuriki is a good example of a guy who was a really good player for them for four years, and now he's in the Giants, you know, because they decided, we're going to let this play out, and we can't invest any more in that position.

And so we're, you know, we'd be happy to keep him, but we're going to see where this goes after a fourth year, and you see what happened there. So, yeah, Rich, I mean, the indications I've gotten are that at this point at least, the Colts have been in lockstep on waiting until after year four, and I will, like, I will, you know, plead ignorance. I'm not quite sure whether or not, you know, Chris has any sort of issue with his owner's public stance on that.

Possibly he does. I just haven't heard that. Well, I would just imagine, you know, Anthony Richardson's been drafted. Steichen's been hired, like, let's roll. Like, let's see what this can happen. Like, when you drafted Anthony Richardson on the night in Kansas City, you're sitting here thinking, all right, him, Jonathan Taylor, and our new coach that just did what he did with Jalen Hurts, let's go. Like, that's it.

Let's roll. And that's what I think so hard about it. Like, to me, it's, you know, you look at the position Shane Steichen's been put in, you know what I mean? I mean, he's trying to establish a culture and build a program and all those different things. And now, like, the owners at loggerheads with, with maybe the most, or one of the most respected guys in the locker room, one of the best players in the team, you know, it's hard, you know, when you're trying to set standards and say, like, this is what we'll reward, and then you've got this guy over here, and I was at the practice today, and he's standing with a hoodie pulled up over his head, and, like, just looks like uncomfortable being there.

You know what I mean? Like, it's just, it's really hard when, you know, like, players look over again, like, one of the most respected guys in the locker room and see that. And then, like you said, like, what better friend would there be for a young quarterback than having Jonathan Taylor next to you? When we saw what having Todd Gurley did for Jared Goff in L.A., we saw what having Zeke Elliott at the peak of his powers did for, did for Dak Prescott in Dallas when they came in together. You know, even, like, Ryan Tannehill, who's a veteran, but having Derek Henry next to him did a lot to help resuscitate Ryan Tannehill's career in Tennessee.

You can talk all you want. You can talk till you're blue in the face about running back value and the risk in paying guys and everything else. If you're paying $12 or $13 million to put a premier player right next to your quarterback that's going to help you take the burden off of that quarterback and help you develop that quarterback, I think it's an investment well made, but, you know, obviously there are some people that disagree with that. Albert Breer here on the Rich Eisen Show. Do we know, like, whereas you're sitting here assuming what Jonathan Taylor's going to want, he's going to want McCaffrey money, certainly if the Colts want McCaffrey capital in terms of draft picks back, and if a team does that, you know, they're going to want more than just one year of certainty. You can't just do what I guess Dalvin just did with the Jets and vice versa. So, man, there's a lot of moving parts here. How's this going to work, and who might be interested best in your reporting? Yeah, well, the Colts, you know, the Colts have said that they want the equivalent of a first-round pick.

Now, it doesn't have to be a one, you know. It can be a mix of players and picks. It was interesting because, again, I fired off the airport last night, and I fired off a bunch of techs and said to pose the question to a bunch of, you know, GMs, assistant GMs, vice presidents, player personnel, and I asked them the question, like, what would it, if you were giving Jonathan Taylor a contract, what would you pay in a draft pick on top of that to complete a trade?

And the answer I got back was almost uniform across the board, which was somewhere in the day-two range, second or third rounder, maybe a third package with something else. Like, almost all the responses I got back were right in that range, which right now is less than the Colts are willing to take. But, you know, if somebody comes with, like, a two and a five or two and a four, maybe the Colts do it.

I don't know. I mean, I think you could look at that and say, if you're the Colts, well, we're getting back the draft pick that we gave to take them in 2020. Again, I don't think that's great value based on what it means to your team, but if they're just looking to get out of the situation, then maybe, you know, you can feel okay about that. And as far as teams that would be interested, you know, the two that really stick out to me, like, one would be Miami, just because of how aggressive they've been with Mike McDaniel as their coach the last couple of years. They were, I mean, on the doorstep of completing a trade for Dalvin Cook back in March.

I think we've talked about this. They backed out at the last minute. There were a few things that gave them cold feet. They drafted a kid, Devin Achain, from Texas A&M to sort of be, like, the big play guy at their back.

And now he's hurt. So, you know, I think the Dolphins have cap space. They have draft tech space. They could do it, you know, so the Dolphins would be one. And imagine Jonathan Taylor and Mike McDaniel's run game. And then, you know, the other one that's sort of interesting is the Bears. Matt Eberfluss was with Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis. The general manager in Chicago, Ryan Polz, worked with Chris Ballard for years in Kansas City.

They're very close. And if you look at the way that they played offense last year, they got a cut down on the amount they're putting on Justin Fields in the running game. They just have to, you know. And what better way to do that than bring in a top five running back, you know. So, and the Bears have all that draft pick capital now from the trade back in, you know, back in March, when they traded out as the number one pick. So those would be the two teams that I would just sort of keep an eye on, and I think would be interesting at least. And again, like, I think, you know, for Jonathan Taylor it would be a pretty good fit. Wouldn't it be ironic, Albert, then, or coincidental, I don't know, that the Bears use the capital that they got from Carolina, that they got in the McCaffrey trade for Taylor to the team that's looking for McCaffrey value.

And, you know, I mean, like, that would be wild. And obviously Miami being able to say, all right, New England, you got Zeke, and all right, Jets, you got Dalvin, and all right, Buffalo, we're coming for you too. We got Jonathan Taylor. But the question is, is are they, like, what is Taylor asking monetarily? We know around what the Colts might be willing to accept to, as you pointed out, get out of this. What do you know about what Jonathan Taylor is potentially asking for, Albert? I don't get the sense that it's, like, crazy off the board, like, you know, what Le'Veon Bell was hoping for, you know, all those years ago.

But I think you have to tamper the market deal, right? Like, so, look at what Alvin Kamara got, look at what Dalvin Cook got. You know, Zeke Elliott and Christian McCaffrey, I think, are two, probably the two guys that were the outliers. And they were, I think, at about $16 million per. And in both cases, those guys wound up getting hurt, you know, and, you know, I think, you look at how that played out, and the Panthers, I think, probably have some regret over doing it, doing what they did as good a player as McCaffrey is, and the Cowboys too with Zeke. So, you know, I do think, like, in this situation, my guess would be he would settle for something maybe a little less than what Zeke or Christian got, but certainly maybe a notch above what your Nick Chubb's, your Derrick Henry's, your, you know, your Dalvin Cooks, and your Alvin Kamara's got. So, in that $13, $14 million range, I think you'd have a hard time walking away from that. Albert Breer here on the Rich Eisen Show. You know, I know you just mentioned before, too, that, you know, the Colts have opened up the door for this to be hitting the point of no return if Jonathan Taylor finds the team willing to pay him what he feels he's worth, and the Colts won't pull the trigger because they feel the compensation they're going to get back for Taylor isn't what Taylor is worth.

And I'm, like, thinking that horse has already left the barn because Taylor is like, all right, you won't pay me what I think I'm worth, but on the trade market, you'll value me what I think I'm worth. And, you know, and I think it's ugly. I think it's there, though. I mean, uglier, I guess.

It's already ugly. Right? That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. I think it is there because he's like, pay me like the top talent.

You know I am, and I know I am, and we know collectively I am. And now it's time for after they say no, and they're like, go seek a trade, and then we hear what they're eager to get back for him. That is what you would value somebody that's paid a certain way, and they won't pay him that. And I think the fact that he's standing there, too. And again, I understand, you know, the Colts have their ways or standards or whatever, but you got a new coach and you got a new quarterback.

Don't you think it is worth the money just for that alone? Like, all right, I understand you have the leverage and you don't have to pay him, and you do want to wait for the ultimate leverage of the franchise tag next year, and that's the way it's normally done. But it's, the rubber's meeting the road with your new coach and your new quarterback.

Having Jonathan Taylor out there with his infectious personality rather than standing, that photograph you took today is so jarring. You know, don't you think like it's time to do that, and maybe, just maybe, the Colts will come to that reckoning in the next week? Yeah, and I think what's smart about doing a deal now, and that is just me, right? But, you know, I understand people don't, teams don't want to pay for past performance, right? But the guy has definitely outperformed what you say to him. No question, right?

No one would argue that. And, like, if you do a deal now rather than a year from now, you actually might be mitigating some of the risk. Because you know how these deals work, it's the first two or three years, first two or a portion of the third, whatever it is, is guaranteed, then you get out of it. Well, if you do a deal now, yes, you're paying him some money up front that you wouldn't have otherwise, but then you're also, on the back end, probably going to be out of the guarantees earlier. So, if it is your intention to sign him long-term after this year, then, you know, I think you're actually running more risk that age is going to catch up to him, and it's going to look like a bad deal three or four years down the line than if you did it now.

Because you have an ability to escape from the deal earlier. So, again, to me, I look at what the Browns did, right? And the Browns, to me, and I'm not saying the Browns are the model franchise, but I know I brought this up to you before, but they're the most analytically driven franchise in the league, probably, right?

Like, what Andrew Berry and Kevin Szczepanski do, Paul Diepides, all that. So, like, they, on paper, would be the team that would be least likely to pay a running back. Do you know what they did, though? They paid a running back. And why did they pay a running back? Because Nick Chubb was just that important to who they are, and was just that important to what they do, and was just that big a part of their identity.

I think Jonathan Taylor's that guy for the Colts, you know? So, I, you know, I look at it, and it's like, if there's an exception to be made, I think this is a guy who is worth making the exception for, even to the point where, if he came back to me, and he said, okay, the Dolphins are willing to give me a $14 million a year deal, but they're not going to meet your draft pick compensation, you know what I would say? I would say, well, maybe we'll do the deal that they offered you, you know what I mean? And then they've negotiated an extension for you. Again, I don't know if the Colts would even consider that, based on how ugly this has gotten, but it would seem to be one way out of it, where you're keeping a very, very important player on your team, and Shane Steichen in year one is showing that he's going to reward people who do things the right way, which is exactly how Taylor handled his first three years in the league, and everything up until his contract dispute.

Well, then again, I hope this isn't like the Lamar Jackson part two, in the fact that teams might not want to do that for fear of negotiating the deal for a team, and you just laid it out, that other teams might be like, yeah, there's no reason for us to offer a contract, so Chris Ballard just matches it, and we just unzipped our you-know-what three weeks before the beginning of the season. It's unbelievable. Albert, thanks for joining us in the middle of the day, watching this all play out in front of you.

We greatly appreciate it. Yeah, it was definitely a weird one. I can't remember the last time I had a guy with a trade request who wasn't practicing, who was standing there five feet away, but I guess every day is a new day. So I guess in the last couple seconds I have here, Phil is physically unwilling to perform, and the Colts have him on physically unable to perform because they're not going to NFI him.

I mean, seriously, that's what's happening, right? He's redefining the PUP list. Okay. Thank you, Albert. Greatly appreciate it.

Thank you. That's Albert Prear of Sports Illustrated. Follow him, Matt Albert Prear. Must follow. Love chatting with him. That's the latest in reality football. When we come back, fantasy football.

Matthew Berry himself next on the Rich Eisen Show. Let's talk about AG1 people, a new partner of the Rich Eisen Show, a daily foundational nutritional supplement that helps support whole body health. And if you're like me, then it's so hard to keep up with a supplement routine throughout your busy day when it comes with a bunch of products on top of it. So when you drink AG1, you notice an overall feeling of health. It can help support your mental clarity, improve digestion, focus, drink it in the morning, drink it in the afternoon, before working out in the morning, before making your coffee, starting your day.

Makes you feel unstoppable, ready to take on the day and anything that comes your way. If you want help taking ownership of your health, and of course you do, try AG1 and get a free one-year supply of vitamin D and five free AG1 travel packs with your first purchase. Go to DrinkAG1.com slash Eisen. That's DrinkAG1.com slash Eisen. Take ownership of your health right now. Check it out.

DrinkAG1.com slash Eisen. NFL Sunday Ticket is now on YouTube and YouTube TV, which means that it just got easier to be an NFL fan, even if you live far away. Like, maybe you like the Bears, but you're hibernating in Panthers territory. But with NFL Sunday Ticket, your out-of-market team is never more than a short distance away.

Specifically, the distance from you to your remote control. NFL Sunday Ticket, now on YouTube and YouTube TV. Go to YouTube.com slash presale to get $50 off. Terms and embargoes apply. Offer ends $9.19, no refund.

Subscription auto renews. Are you still playing fantasy football? You still doing that? Not really. No, I'm in a league, but I don't control it when my buddies control it for me. Well, because I know we've had conversations about this before and that there are some interesting, I guess, tasks that the loser of this league must undertake. So are you, if you lose, even though you're not part of the day-to-day. Oh yeah, they'll hold me to it. Absolutely. I don't even know if I could tell you who's on my team right now, but if I were to lose, they would, they would absolutely hold me to it.

And we'd have to go take care of business. What are some of the fails that I guess that you have to put some of the responsibilities of the losers of your league? What is last year? The loser had to go to Alaska for a day. What do you mean? Like for a day? Yeah.

Okay. They went to a place called Nome, Alaska. That's where the Iditarod, it goes through there, I think.

So the loser, regardless of the geographic spot in the United States, would have to for a day, get on a plane and prove proof of purchase of the ticket and then take a photo. I mean, there's, there's tasks involved. There was, I think he went in March.

Okay. But it was, it was, yeah, it was a whole thing. And that was just one year. That was just last year. This year it'll be entirely different. What other previous years? Any other examples? Because that's amazing.

You have to go to Nome, Alaska. The year before the loser, you know, Parcel Sports does the rough and rowdy, the boxing deal. He fought in that.

At the Super Bowl, the year we were there, he was, he was fighting in the, in the, in the boxing on Friday night before the game there. Oh my gosh. This is, you do not want to lose your fantasy league. No, no, no.

That's why I try to, I try to put a lot of faith in, in, in my body that's around the corner. That's Jared Goff during the old pandemic in the history of our show. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show radio network, sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry.

Grainger is the right product for you. Call clickgrainger.com or just stop by. Very rare that we have somebody on this program who occupies the noon Eastern time slot on Peacock because that's our old time slot. But we make an exception for this man because he's an outstanding individual on planet Earth. One of our favorites talking fantasy football with a man who hosts the fantasy football happy hour weekdays at noon on Peacock. And every single NFL Sunday is the host of fantasy football pregame with Matthew Berry at 11 a.m. Eastern time on Peacock.

None other than Matthew Berry. How are you, sir? How you been? I'm good. I'm good. I'm hoping I'm doing the time slot proud, my friend. You are.

You are. You know, like we have started tradition together, you and I, for the, for Peacock. You know, I appreciate you coming on. How have you been? You good? I've been good.

That's great, man. Well, you know, we're in the thick of it. We're in the thick of it, indeed.

Yes. So how do you, let's just jump into it because the running back market is just a fantasy football conundrum, to say the least. How do you view Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott in a fantasy draft, Matthew?

You know, I like both of them. I think both of their upsides are limited, obviously, because of Reese Hall for Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott with Ramondrae Stevenson. So let's take, let's take Dalvin Cook first. So I have Dalvin Cook at running back 26.

I'm as a mid-tier flex. And I think a good thing to look at is sort of go back to 2021 when Aaron Rodgers was the quarterback of the Packers and Nathaniel Hackett was his coordinator. Right.

And so that's the last time we saw those two together. And in that year, Aaron Jones for the Packers averaged about 17, 18 touches a game and AJ Dillon averaged like 11 to 13. And even though obviously Jones and Dillon are very different types of running back than Cook and Hall, I think that's right. I think in terms of usage, that's a pretty good barometer for us because Hall is so explosive and maybe Cook has lost a step, but still very effective. The reason he's not in Minnesota is entirely financial.

It's not about the effectiveness of the play. There's a reason why Aaron Rodgers gave up some money from his contract, restructured his deal. He's like, you know, hey, I'm not giving money back to the Jets.

Get me some guys in here. Michael Carter's and Bam Knight, they're nice players, but they're not Dalvin Cook. And so I think it makes sense to take some pressure off of Rodgers. This is an all in year, obviously, for the Jets. So I think you will see, look, it's going to be a good team. They're going to be in scoring position often. So that's my expectation is that I have Reese Hall as kind of the mid-tier RB2.

I'm at 16 overall. And then I have Dalvin Cook at 26. And Ezekiel, you know, we have no idea. I'm just assuming Bill's going to use him as that inside the 10 battering ram or somebody who's going to be an outstanding four minute offense guy. But so is Remondre, right? I mean, it's your guess as good as mine what happens inside the 10 for the Patriots, right?

Don't you think? My expectation is you'll see a lot of Ezekiel Elliott, who is still very effective in short yards, still very effective at the goal line. Last year, in terms of among all the running backs that got the 25 most goal to go carries and carries inside the five yard line as well. Running backs with carries inside the five yard line last year, Ezekiel Elliott was fourth in the NFL in terms of touchdown success rate.

Remondre Stevenson was like 23rd. So, again, very effective short yardage back. But that's the role that Damien Harris had last year for the Patriots. And even with Damien Harris taking some of the touches away, Remondre Stevenson was still a borderline, still, you know, a top 10 fantasy running back. I think as it relates to Remondre Stevenson, to me, this is actually the best case scenario for Remondre Stevenson's value in this sense.

The Patriots weren't going into the season with just, like, Pierre Strong and they were always going to sign a veteran. And I think Ezekiel, who hasn't been used in the passing game that much at this stage of his career, that's a better sign for Remondre Stevenson than Leonard Fournette, who they also had for a tryout, right? Stevenson's going to get all the passing down work and some of the touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliott's going to get the short yardage stuff. He's going to get some touchdowns. I have Remondre Stevenson running back 15.

I have Zeke at 40. So, look, in a scenario where Stevenson might get hurt, all of a sudden Zeke is a top 20 running back. But it feels like he's not really going to get that much passing down work and that Remondre Stevenson is still going to get the majority of the running back touches in New England. So, for Remondre, I think it limits his upside. Zeke being there and taking touchdowns means that Remondre is not going to be a top 5 fantasy running back.

But his floor is still safe because the passing game work is going to go to Remondre Stevenson. Are you in the middle of a draft right now, Matthew? I'm not. Okay. I am not. Just want to make sure. I'm in the middle of a crazy podcast run.

I'm doing, I think I have, not including my own show, I have like 5 different interviews slash podcasts that I'm doing a day. I'm sure. I'm sure. I just want to make sure that, you know, that you're not, you know, every now and then in the middle of your answer, like sneak at a peak if you're on the clock or answering a text from somebody saying, I'm on the clock, help me out. I mean, your phone must be buzzing like crazy this time of year.

The phone does certainly blow up and I am actually in a slow draft, so there is a chance, but I blocked it out. No, no, Rich. Okay. My attention is fully on Rich and the Rich Eisen show. I'm not saying your attention is split here.

I'm just, you're a multitasker of multitaskers, Matthew, that's for sure. But I'm just wondering if you're in a draft right now. So, you know, right now, if somebody is going to be in a draft tonight, tomorrow, end of this week, and Jonathan Taylor is definitely going to be sitting there at the end of the first round. Let's say you've got an eighth overall, ninth overall, tenth overall pick. People are going to be staying away from Jonathan Taylor, but he's just going to be staring at you.

How do you view him right now with everything that's going on? I'm nervous. I'm, you know, I'm nervous to just, I get bad vibes and it sort of depends on what kind of fantasy player you are and what kind of, and how much this is, let me put it this way. If you're in like a bunch of different leagues and this league is a work league and you're like, yeah, sort of, why not? Then sure, the upside of Jonathan Taylor is enormous. But if you're like in one league, if you're in, you know, you're in the league that we opened the segment with, like Jared Goff, you're like, hey, if I lose this league, I'm on a bus to Nome, Alaska or whatever. Right?

And you need, like, I cannot screw this up. Like there's just too much bad vibes around Jonathan Taylor. They've said, you know, he can seek a trade.

We'll see if he's successful in that. He still, we still don't know if he can run. We just have no idea, Rich. Like, you know, the guy hasn't been, hasn't been out there playing and, and I don't want to accuse anyone of anything, but I don't know how serious this injury is. I don't know if he's just, there's clearly bad blood, you know, it's things have deteriorated the relationship between the Colts and Jonathan Taylor. So like if I'm Jonathan Taylor, you're like, you're not like, Hey, let me, let me rush my rehab and get right out there.

Right? I mean, he's made it pretty clear. He doesn't want to play for the Colts this year. He doesn't, you know, so we'll see how it all plays out, but it, it certainly makes you nervous. So, uh, I certainly am not using a first round pick on him into the second, third round.

Like that's when you start thinking about it. Like when you start getting into the Najee Harris range, like you're definitely taking Jonathan Taylor, but he makes me nervous. Like he's a phenomenally talented player, but I just, the help is the biggest question to me is like, could you see a scenario, Rich? And I'm asking you, you know, I mean, you cover the NFL as long and as well as anyone, could you see a scenario where he doesn't find a trade partner?

He's there. He wants to accrue time, obviously, to help towards free agency, but he's also, maybe he's just like, how are you feeling, Jonathan? I don't know. I'm feeling a twin still. Anchor's a little tender.

I don't know. I don't want to see anyone of anything, but I'm just saying like, I know a scenario where he's not rushing to get out on the field to play for a Colts team that might struggle this year. I'm with you.

I just don't know how it's going to play out. I'd be terribly concerned if my draft was right now. That's why in the so-called draft in my life that I want to win more than any other, we draft on opening night. We draft during the opening night game and just have some sort of a rule that, you know, just because somebody just scored a touchdown in the first quarter of the middle of our draft, we're not just going to draft that guy.

You know, like that's the way we wait till the last possible second because there's too much up in the air. I've got Matthew Berry, the host of Fantasy Football Happy Hour on Peacock every noon Eastern. And then every NFL Sunday, you can check him out at 11 a.m. Eastern on Peacock for the Fantasy Football pregame. It'll be in Kansas City with the Football Night in America teammates to kick off the season.

You can watch all of that right here on Roku. So let's jump into the draft strategy. Let's just say everybody follows the concept of running backs, wide receivers and maybe top tier tight ends like Kelsey all day long and hold out like Braveheart for that quarterback. You know, don't don't take Mahomes or Hertz or Allen or even Justin Fields too soon. Just keep on drafting running backs and wide receivers.

Let's just say that's the strategy. And then you've got guys like Gino, Goff, even Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Sam Howell, the rookies, Kenny Pickett, maybe even Deshaun Watson sitting out there. Which quarterback, even with Tua maybe, do you trust?

Who do you hold out for and go for? Jimmy G, that's the type of guy that I'm talking about. Who do you say that's the guy that can win your fantasy league with? So if you're saying like, I mean, I'll tell you, like, it depends on sort of where you're where you're at. Like, I mean, outside of the big, big names, like, so I love Trevor Lawrence's here, but I haven't quarterback eight.

So if you want to go deeper than that, if you want to go deeper, yes, we can go deeper than that. I'll give you a couple of guys. So number one is Anthony Richardson. Again, like Anthony Richardson, wide range of outcomes for him.

And so you might want to, you know, he's a better play in a one quarterback league where it's going to be easier to replace him. But the upside of Anthony Richardson is just is so massive. You think about Jalen Hurts or Lamar Jackson's rookie year, both of whom still need to develop as passers. And each of those guys in their rookie year were top nine fantasy quarterbacks on a points per game basis. And so I think Richardson has that upside. Now, they need to design some runs for him. But Shane Steichen, Jalen Hurts under Shane Steichen was a top two fantasy quarterback.

And, you know, both years that they played together on a points per game basis. So massive upside with with Anthony Richardson. And by the way, if the Jonathan Taylor thing plays out in a negative way and we don't see Taylor on the field for the Colts for one reason or another.

Like, effectively, you would think Anthony Richardson becomes their goal line back. But I'll give you one. I'll give you one of the guys. How about Jared Goff? You know, I mean, like, you know, friend of the friend of the show, friend of the show, Jared Goff. But I mean, the thing about the the thing about Jared Goff is like he is really, really good when he plays indoors. Right. Like last year when he when he played at home, just to give you an example.

Yes, sir. Twenty one fantasy points per game. Two hundred and seventy four yards per game.

He was nothing short of fantastic. Well, seven of his final eight games this year, fantasy playoff time are in a dome. He's got a December 30th game at Dallas, which is a retractable roof, but December 30th probably. It's going to be you know, he's going to be in a dome for seven of his final eight games. This is a guy who last year was top five in touchdown passes, top five in completion rate on deep passes, had six different games with 20 or more fantasy points that was tied for the fifth most among quarterbacks. And he's going like his QB, like 14 or 15. And so I think having Ben Johnson back as his offensive coordinator and having that offensive line. I mean, I think one thing that's really underrated about Detroit is that's one of the best offensive lines in football. So really good offensive line. And when Jared Goff has time, he's really good. He's really good. So I think I think Goff is a very underrated fantasy option this year. I'm stroking my beard. You can't see Chris Brockman stroking his beard. He doesn't have one.

So that's a fascinating stat. So then give me the quarterback, even in a PPR league that you would take over a wide receiver to or running back that can catch out of the backfield where you're just like this. This quarterback is too damn two way of a threat for me to let sit on the board and keep on amassing wide receivers and running backs.

Would you pull the trigger on that? For me, it's the big four. So it is it's Jalen Hurts. It's Josh Allen. It's Patrick Mahomes. And it's Lamar Jackson.

Those are the four. I think Herbert has a big year. And I think, you know, Justin Fields, obviously tremendous upside there as well.

But those four and Burrow, of course, obviously, Joe Burrow can't forget Joe Burrow. I have Joe Burrow at five. You take those you take those guys over a wide receiver to or maybe even a borderline wide receiver one or right. You know, it all depends on sort of how your draft board falls. I don't like to go into a draft saying like, I've got to do this in my first two rounds. I'm definitely going running back, running back or I'm going, you know, I'm definitely getting a tight end by round three.

Yes. You know, I'm definitely waiting on a quarterback until round eight. I don't like to go in with any of those rules. I just I I have my ranks and I sort of I'm a big best player available. Let the draft fall to you. I was in a draft the other day and I didn't expect to go wide receiver, wide receiver, wide receiver. But that's how it started, because I got Tyreek Hill and then C.D. Lamb fell to me in the third.

I'm sorry, C.D. Lamb fell to me in the second and Devante Adams was there in the third. I'm like, what the hell? What? Devante Adams in the third?

Who are you? Yeah, I was I was on the I was on the pick and it's a it's kind of the scoring is a little bit weird. I was third on the on the. But yeah, I mean, it was sort of three team league and it's like you're like Kramer in the dojo with the children.

What is that? Come on. For whatever reason, for whatever reason, Devante Adams just fell. And so the 12 team league, too, it was a super flex league.

And so anyway, but so I actually think I started Mahomes and then Hill, Lamb, Adams. And so is this. But the point is, is like it just OK. You never know.

Right. It's like my point is, is like just for what a reason that people just don't like Devante Adams. They're worried about Garoppolo. It was an early draft. Maybe the Garoppolo injury had come out and Adams had a toe thing or whatever.

But like, you know what I mean? That's all I'm saying is, is to let the draft come to you. So I wouldn't go in and say I definitely would take a quarterback over this or this. But if you're asking me who are quarterbacks that are worth reaching for, that if you want to go elite, those four. OK, I think the big three plus Lamar Jackson and a Todd Monk in offense, he's gotten paid. With, you know, with Beckham and Bateman back and Dave Flowers, you saw him last night, he looked great. Obviously, Mark Andrews is such a superstar.

So I think that's going to be a really, really exciting offense to watch. All right. I've got time for one last question. Chris, you want to you want to ask it? I'll give it to you.

Yeah. Matthew, how early is too early to take Bijan Robinson like, say, third overall? Yeah, I mean, I have him lower. I have him as a first rounder. He's absolutely a first rounder.

But this is my advice to you and to everyone is like I get versions of this question all the time. Like I have a third pick and I really want Bijan Robinson, but I know you have him at, you know, eight. Is that too early? And the fact is, is like, listen, if you want Bijan, he's not coming back.

He ain't. No. Get him. You know what I mean? So like, take the guy. It's your team. It's your guys. We play this for fun. And the truth is, is that the minute the game start, all the rankings are out the window anyway.

Yeah. Like you're not losing your league because you drafted Bijan Robinson at three instead of eight or whatever. Draft Bijan Robinson. He's going to be awesome.

He's going to be awesome this year. Yeah, I know. That's the guy you want.

Go get him. I have a third overall pick, too, and I know why you're asking that, Chris. You're not afraid of Jamar Chase getting Trevor Simien thrown to him for a couple weeks? You're not afraid of that?

Like that's not concerning to you at all? Me? Yeah. No. Okay. Jamar Chase.

No. Ride or die. I think I could throw to Jamar Chase. Jamar Chase, by the way, a proud investor of FantasyLife.com. FantasyLife, my newsletter. I got to give a shout out to my investor, Jamar Chase. And it says here, a successful daily newsletter. So kudos to your copywriters.

You're a founder of FantasyLife, your daily newsletter. I look forward to seeing you on NBC all season long. Congrats on everything going on with you, man. Congrats on everything. Thank you, my friend. It's always a pleasure.

It's been great here at NBC. I'm trying to do the noon peacock time clock proud. You're doing great. Carry on the tradition. And listen, you're myself, so Rich, text me if I can be of help. I will do that. Look for that text on opening night. You might be on the air and I'll be like, hey man, I'm on the clock.

But you're a multitasker. Thanks for the time. You be well, Matthew. Matthew Berry, everybody. At Matthew Berry TMR. Talented Mr. Roto.

Talented Mr. Roto from way back in the day. 844-204-rich number to dial right here on the show. Don't go anywhere. Hour number three coming up with a fun conversation on what happened with Washington last night. What's up?

It's Kaley Cuoco. When it comes to travel, we all have a happy place. I just went to my happy place.

I just went to Maui and it was truly amazing. Priceline has always been about getting you to your happy place for a happy price with deals you really can't find anywhere else. Like up to 60% off select hotels in Costa Rica or five star hotels for two star prices in Cabo. Go to your happy place for a happy price. Go to your happy price.

Priceline. Between the kids being home and hosting, everything in our house gets used up in summer. With Instacart, I can save money by stocking up on all my favorite summer brands. I save time by getting everything delivered in as fast as an hour. And I save myself a sink full of dirty dishes by stocking up on paper plates for the annual summer cookout. Save more on summer essentials?

Spend more time enjoying summer. Add summer to cart. Download the app to get free delivery on your first three orders. Offer valid for a limited time.

Minimum $10 per order. Additional terms apply. They put a lot of stuff in the show that's kind of true to life. So like they have Mafee as a 49er fan.

I had that 49er mouthguard and then you see it in the boxing episode I have. Right. You've got to be out of your mind right now, right? I mean, this is real. This is real. The whole business of like, are they real? Are they for real? They are.

They're absolutely for real. I've been very lucky because one of my childhood friends who I grew up with is the run game coordinator for the 49ers, Michael McDaniel. And he's been a part of Kyle.

He's worked with Kyle in Atlanta and in Washington. And it's not just any run game here. This is a serious, like, we're going to hit you in the mouth. This is what we do type run game. It just fills me with joy because Mike and I will talk and he'll call me and I'll... We went to a game last year. My friend Chad and I went to the 49ers Lions game. And Mike called us as we're driving to the game and he's like, do you guys want to know what the first play of the game is? And I was like, 100 percent. Nice flex.

And I love this. He goes, he goes, if the Lions flex left and they put seven in the box, it's a right side gash to Breda. And Breda took it 65 yards. Watch that. Watch that game back. It was the first play of the Lions Niners game. Wow. And we're in the stands.

That is a flex. We're going like this, grabbing each other like, this is the 47! You're watching Breda just go. So it's been not only are the 49ers my favorite team of all time, my favorite sports franchise. But having like a friend like that that I know and just kind of, you know, I've met Kyle several times and we're at Mike's wedding together.

And it was like that kind of thing where it like, man, come on. And two years later, McDaniel became a head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Dan Soder is going to join us in studio for the first time since that 2019 appearance in the third hour. Do we get him to call McDaniel live on the air? Do we just say, hey, just give him a call, see if he answers? Yes.

Absolutely. FaceTime. FaceTime? FaceTime.

Sounds good. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844204rich is the number to dial. Gene in Florida. We'll take your phone call. What's up, Gene? Hey, how you doing, Rich?

How you doing, Gene? Just wanted to tell you, I did watch that game. That's not why I called. But I watched that game last night as a Baltimore fan. I was sad to see that record go, but in a way I'm happy because it seemed to get a little too competitive at the end there. But it's fun.

It's fun. I kind of dug the juices there. It was. It seemed like a real game to me at the end of it. It did. It did.

And I kind of dug the juice, you know? And there was some competitive edge to what normally might be just, hey, we're out here for reps. And obviously guys are winning jobs or trying to prove themselves. It didn't seem like that at all last night, though, did it? I had no problem with the Washington team running down the field with a football with one second to go because the game had been decided. It was over. Some of these guys might be turning in their uniforms in two weeks, and that photograph that they have of running down FedEx Field with fans cheering might be on their walls for the rest of their lives.

Like, I don't mind that at all. I thought that was fun. It was fun watching that. I did call to talk about Jonathan Taylor, but that was a great game.

And Al, he looked really good. I mean, as a Baltimore fan. I like Washington, too, but I'm a Baltimore fan. But I wanted to talk a little bit about the Jonathan Taylor thing. And you kind of, I have a question to educate me a little bit.

Okay. And you went with Lamar Jackson kind of a comparison. Well, Lamar was franchise tagged. So didn't that make him like a free agent to date? Would Baltimore have been able to ask for, like, draft picks? Oh, yes.

Yes, two ones. And that was, again, the reason why I keep comparing this to Lamar more than anyone else, is because there is a compensation for the team aspect to it, that it's going to lose the player. And thanks to the call, Gene, we're up at the end of the hour. And then there's also an aspect to it of the player wanting to set a market for himself and for the position. And that is why I think many teams shied away from Lamar Jackson, is because it would have cost them two ones and 200 million bucks. And the Falcons are like, okay, we could, we drafted Desmond Ritter. We had him in our program. We like him. We like him a lot. We think he can be really good. And we think the rest of the team can grow together young, and we don't need to just bust that all up for a guy that's going to set the market at a level at the quarterback position that we're not up for spending. Because we've got a guy on his first contract. He's a second round pick.

We don't have a fifth year on it. So we got to see now what's up with him. And you could sit here and go, well, that's Lamar Jackson. Okay, well, you're now resetting your entire plan after you finally just got Matt Ryan off your cap. And on top of it, you might lose the next two first round draft choices.

Instead, they stuck with Desmond Ritter and they got Bijan Robinson this year and they have their one next year. Let's see how that plays out. That's the decision.

They decided to make. And that's what's going on right now with Jonathan Taylor. Do you want to pay all that money this late in the game? Do you want to send the compensation for next year's draft?

And there's a third aspect to it. A lot of folks didn't want to negotiate with Lamar because they figured they were just trying to solve the Rubik's Cube for the Ravens with their negotiation with Lamar that the Ravens couldn't figure out on their own. So why negotiate with Lamar only to just show the Ravens this is the deal Lamar will take and they just match it? You know, that may be the case right now with Jonathan Taylor, because the Colts will just say, all right, we'll give you that deal. And you just upset, you're running back, ruining anything else right now. And that's what's kind of playing out. So I feel like the offseason, if this still is that, is ending the way it began. And if the Colts are lucky, Jonathan Taylor will be back because they could really use him. Just like Lamar is in Baltimore.

Hour three coming up. So, yeah, it's kind of really similar to that. I feel like Jonathan Taylor is a stay away in fantasy and in real life.

Not real life, man. Dude, I wouldn't trade for him. If I'm Miami, that's kind of intriguing.

It's really intriguing. Breer said Devin A. Chain is the guy who was causing them, supposedly, to not jump in Dalvin Cook's direction in the manner that the Jets did.

And he's not healthy right now. You got to sit here and go, OK, Jets are doing what they've done. Patriots have done what they've done. The Bills are who they are. And they've done what they've done.

And we've done what we've done. But man, Jonathan Taylor right now. You know what Jonathan Taylor would love to go?

There. Would you trade your first round pick for him? No.

If you're Miami? No. But if Marshall Faulk once got two and a five, would you want to send a two and a five for Jonathan Taylor? That's not going to get the deal.

If you want to fit him into your cap? That's not going to get the deal. I don't know.

Maybe it will. You just tell Indianapolis. Hey, since when did you become so discerning? You took Carson friggin Wentz. That's not the way to make a deal. I understand. I'll workshop that one hour three coming up. For over three decades, nobody has had a wrestling career like Arn Anderson.

Conrad Thompson gets all the stories with Arn. After watching AEW's Double or Nothing, Amy wants to know, what does dinosaur taste like? It ain't chicken. It's like biting into a sinewy charcoal briquette. But chewy. Oh, that's disgusting. It sure is. Check out Arn every week, wherever you listen.