Bruce Feldman explains why some think Nabors is WR 1

This is the Rich Eisen Show. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.

Earlier on the show, two-time Emmy award-winning actor Jeff Daniels. Coming up, Fox Sports College football insider Bruce Feldman, senior writer for the MMQB, Albert Breer. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air. Fun first hour, Jeff Daniels was in studio, he's a diehard Lion fan, he's telling us that Detroit is going to be all jacked up for the draft and we're heading to Detroit as soon as this show is over. And the NBA playoffs finally arrived last night with some crazy double-dip action on TNT with the Knicks beating the Sixers and the Lakers losing to the Nuggets, both heart-wrenching losses for the Lakers and the Sixers.

Still a team has not won a road playoff game in the NBA playoffs yet. And Albert Breer is going to join us in hour number three, but kicking off hour number two, favorite of the program back here on the Rich Eisen Show from Fox Sports and the Athletic where he's got a ton of must-read material in advance of the draft, Bruce Feldman. Good to see you, sir. How are you? Good to see you. All right.

So let's go, I guess, in chronological order. The piece that you posted, I believe, over the weekend or on the cusp of the weekend? Yes, Sunday night. You spoke to a bunch of people about whether the Bears have everything set up properly for Caleb Williams' coaching staff and everything else. And what did you glean from these conversations?

Yes. So myself and my colleague, Kevin Fishbein, our Bears writer, we spent a bunch of time talking to different people, from NFL quarterback coaches to people close to the Bears, about do they have the right ecosystem, basically, to develop a talented young quarterback? And there's a lot to like for the Bears. I mean, you have now two elite receivers, you have a promising young tight end, and they drafted a legit offensive tackle in the first round last year.

The roster is not bad, especially if you're taking in the top five. The issues, though, are you have a new offensive coordinator, unproven. You also have, and this was a big deal to one of the NFL quarterback coaches I spoke to who said, listen, it really matters who is in the room with a young quarterback. Because if things aren't right, it can ruin a quarterback, especially if they're being asked to be the savior. And in this case, you have Brett Rippon is one guy, and the other guy- Tyson Bajant.

Bajant, who, despite the amazing arm wrestling pedigree, was an undrafted free agent last year. And so the question is going to be, if things aren't right for Caleb, who can he lean on? And who can tell him, hey, you got to do this, or you need to do that.

I mean, I don't know if it's going to land as well from the other guys in there. And the guy he's most compared to, obviously, is Patrick Mahomes. But as somebody pointed out to me, Patrick Mahomes went into a very different situation. When he was a rookie, he had Alex Smith, who was a very well-respected, had done it, had been the first pick in the draft, by the way, and had spent a lot of time in the NFL. And then also, the head coach and play caller is Andy Reid. That's not what he's going into in Chicago.

Now, that's not to say he can't turn into a great NFL quarterback, but some of the stuff around him is concerning. Let's put it that way. So what was the consensus?

Just a shrug emoji? We don't know if he's got the right ecosystem? We'll see.

I mean, look. Roster-wise, it sure looks like it's a nice setup. It is, especially with the two receivers you're talking about. The concern, though, is, and I think people need to read the piece to hear the perspective of a real NFL quarterback coach talking about what really matters when you're a young quarterback. It's not just, oh, he has really good receivers, it's going to go great on Sunday.

There's a lot more to it than that. And again, Patrick Mahomes is already a Hall of Fame quarterback at 28, but his situation very different. I mean, who's your head coach? That stuff matters. Who's your offensive coordinator? Who's the play caller? That stuff really matters, especially for a young quarterback. And then who does he lean on day-to-day? Who is he eating his meals with?

Who's talking him through stuff? It's not to say it can't work at the Bears, because the Bears previously, when they flubbed the first quarterback taken or first draft pick, they had some guys who, and the dynamic was off in the room. But there's a reason why more than half the quarterbacks who go high in the draft don't live up to the hype. It's not because they don't have ability. I mean, Caleb has a ton of ability.

It's just, how does the fit? And there's definitely stuff that Caleb needs to be broken from in terms of the way he plays his play style right now. There's a lot of stuff to like, but as this one coach said, it's like, he can do some amazing things, and that's great in college, but don't do that when Miles Garrett is rushing you. It ain't going to work. It's going to go really bad.

And it's a big difference. The dynamic that Caleb Williams brings to the equation, and by that, I mean, you have been covering this kid for a long time, and you know that this Thursday night is the moment that the entire Williams journey has been built towards making happen, and it's going to happen. He will be the first overall pick in this draft. Now that we're finally here, after all the conversation, if he wants a piece of the team or he wants a piece of an agency, if an agent wants to hire him and all of that stuff, what are your thoughts now that it's finally going to happen and he's going to be in the care of a National Football League team that does things in a league that does things a certain way? And now Williams is about to walk in there. What are your two cents now that we're finally going to see this happen? I mean, look, congratulations to him and his family.

It is a great honor to get that, but that's obviously not the end of the journey, right? And I think what is worth noting here, and I even mentioned Mahomes, and he's still in his 20s, but it was a different dynamic where first Patrick was playing in Lubbock. He was not on a team where anyone was expecting to do that much. But also what was way different is Caleb comes through the transfer portal world and the NIL world, and he did it in a major market, right? And so we haven't really seen anybody come through it in terms of where he's been and the stuff yet.

Now, there's been guys who've had NIL deals, but it's different when Bryce Young has a national TV ad, but he had come in Tuscaloosa in a very structured place with Nick Saban as opposed to where Caleb is in a major market. And I think the ask was very different. And again, I'm not making excuses for him or anything. I just think it's a really different situation. And I think how people, including the NFL evaluators kind of process how he handled it or any of that, it's kind of murky.

I mean, I say that because I think we're just at this stage now where it's very different than what it was three years ago. And again, this is a quarterback who did it in Los Angeles. It was not like Caleb stayed in a college town and had a national ad campaign, which he did, but there was a lot of other stuff that was going on with him. And I think he is a big personality. I think he's a bright young man, and I'm fascinated to see how it works out. I do think it's a great thing for him that he has two stud receivers that can go make plays for him. You just would like to see maybe, I don't want to say, and maybe a more proven people he leans on in terms of who's calling the plays and who's in the room with him. Interesting.

And who could be on the team with him? He can get a third stud wide receiver in short order as well because they have the ninth overall pick, Bruce Feldman from The Athletic here on The Rich Eisen Show. The most recent piece, the one you just posted, I believe today was the one you posted. Today, it went up just this morning.

Okay. And it goes up this morning, and usually you would do a deep dive and talking to, again, scouts and coordinators and coaches about the quarterbacks, certainly in a class like this, but you wound up talking about the receivers more than not. What was this journey like? Yeah, I thought I was going to lead the whole piece with all the stuff I got on quarterbacks, and that's in there, but the thing that I kind of like was like, oh, it was, I went into the draft process thinking, okay, the closest thing to a short thing, and there are no short things, as you know, in the draft, I think it was Marvin Harrison Jr. He's really well polished, he's a big receiver, he came from a really good system that keeps cranking out elite receivers, and he's the most complete of all of them.

There's nothing not to love about him. And then you come through the combine, and all of a sudden you start hearing a lot of stuff about Roma Dunze and his competitiveness, and he's physically strong, and he tracks the ball as well as anybody, and he made a ton of big plays, contested catches, everything. There's a lot to add into the list, and so when I would start, I'd talk to, the first person I talked to on this front was an NFL receivers coach, and I said, is Marvin number one on your board? And he said, no, neighbors is.

And I said, really? He goes, yeah, I think there's a bunch of other people who have neighbors, number one. And I said, no knock on Marvin. Neighbors is different though, just in terms of his explosiveness, how he is with the ball in his hands. There is an edge to him that a lot of people really like, and you start hearing about nobody wants to compare speed with Tyreek Hill, but there's an explosiveness that evokes some memories of Tyreek Hill, except this guy's bigger. He's legit six feet, 200 pounds, and strong.

And so it was interesting to hear the neighbors talk. Not that I didn't think he was a great talent. To me, I think there's three receivers who are so much better than what we had in last year's draft. Not a knock on Jackson Smith and Jig, but he went 20th. But there are three guys, and maybe even Brian Thomas Jr., the other receiver from LSU, who I think will probably go higher than 20th, but three who I feel like are going to be elite receivers. People just want these guys in the room. Again, that's not a knock on Marvin, and it's not a knock on Rome. It's just that I think there's a lot of guys who want to coach Malik neighbors because of just what he can do with the ball in his hands. Yeah.

And then there's a ton of other... I mean, I'm looking at your mock draft here. You have Adonai Mitchell going to the Bills. I think a lot of people feel that way too, as soon as he drops there.

You have... Let me do this correctly. You've got five wide receivers going in the first round. And then let's do the mock draft here, because this is some interesting fodder for conversation. You have four quarterbacks going, so you do think the Vikings make this trade for JJ McCarthy? I think JJ will end up somewhere in the top five.

I don't know if it's one where Jim Harbaugh helps his old quarterback out and shuffles around. I don't know on that, to be honest. You mean trades out of five and it's McCarthy because...

I don't know. Well, I mean, I think they would trade out of five if Arizona sticks and picks and gets Marvin Harrison Jr. If they get some sort of a significant offer from Minnesota, or we'll see if it's the Raiders, I don't know, the Broncos may feel differently because they got Zach Wilson.

And I'm not... By the way, I'm not joking when I say that, that Zach Wilson is just three years removed from being the second overall pick in the draft, and they got him for hardly anything. But I think that if Marvin's not there, they'd say, do we take Adonai? Do we take Malik Nabors? Everyone has Joe Ault Sharpied in there, but Joe Ault, he's not a right tackle because they got Rashawn Slater at the left tackle. They're not going to draft Joe Ault and have him switch positions.

Yeah. Joe Ault was another one who all line coaches just can't stop talking about to be that big, to move that well. I mean, he's a former tight end. You're a former right tackle though? You're not going to do that? That's what the Chargers would do. Is that underselling his ability at that point?

I mean, I don't know. I don't know if it's like, if you think he's the best fit for your team and you just feel like, okay, we can, because again, now you're talking about Jim Harbaugh and you're talking about a guy who had the best offensive line in the country the last few years. Is that the best value for there? Because obviously he knows what he has in Justin Herbert, but are there other bigger needs there that you can go get in the top five? Well, I think if I had the Chargers, if I could plug into their brain, they'd be like, we're staying at five and taking Marvin Harrison if he's there.

If not, I think we'd like to move. That's the way that their mindset might be going into this draft. But you like McCarthy going forth overall, huh?

That would be something else. People like JJ, I think JJ and Drake May, both the guys I talked to thought were a little more on the developmental side, especially Drake May, whereas both kids are really athletic. They're actually two guys, two quarterbacks in this crop who didn't transfer.

They're also 21. And in fairness to Drake May, he had a big system change. He went from Phil Longo, who now is the offensive coordinator of Wisconsin, but learned from Mike Leach and has a version of the air raid.

And then he had Chip Lindsey came in and ran the offense last year, very different. The stuff I heard was that the footwork was a little sloppy with Drake May, but that he cleaned a lot of things up and they saw a big improvement from him at his pro day. Similar JJ, I think JJ doesn't get enough credit, I think, for his athleticism. I think people looked at it and said, oh, he didn't throw that much.

You weren't going to see it. I mean, look, there was a handful of games where JJ wasn't even playing much in the third quarter because they had pretty much said, hey, we're just going to bring our backups in at that point. So I feel like JJ has, and maybe now it's pendulum the other way, but I feel like JJ was getting kind of not getting the respect he probably should have gotten for a while. Again, he's really talented. He throws well on the run. He can extend plays. I just think that he didn't put up the numbers like a lot of other guys did.

Right. Bruce Feldman here on the Rich Eisen Show. You also then moving down out of your top 10 here, Michael Pennix Jr. you have going to the Raiders. What are you hearing about Pennix Jr.? I mean, this guy is truly one of the most talked about quarterbacks in a draft that we're all assuming he's quarterback five.

It's kind of crazy, right? He has the best arm talent in this group. Then why isn't he higher?

I think there's a little hesitation on him because the injury history, because he had four season ending injuries. I assume you saw his Players Tribune. I did.

I did. Look, I am a big Michael Pennix Jr. believer. I spent a bunch of time, probably more time talking to Michael Pennix than any of the other guys. He has faced real adversity, come through the other side, teammates like him, love him. His coaches had a ton of respect for him. He played in an NFL system where he's taken shots downfield, a lot of shots. He didn't take sacks. If people want to knock him and say, oh, well, they didn't see how well he moves, I think some of that was because he was playing smart and he had three great receivers and he didn't need to do a lot of that. I know this from guys who trained with him for the draft process. He was a legit 4-5-0 kind of speed guy. He can really run. They just didn't ask him to do it.

You didn't see it. In terms of, like I got defensive coordinators I talked to who faced both Pennix and Caleb and they think Pennix has even better arm talent and Caleb has a terrific arm, but he sees it well, he's really bright. If the Raiders get him, and I heard that the Raiders do like him, I think he would be a really good fit for them.

If they get him at 13, what's surprising me is people talk about him like it's a surprise if he's going to go in the first round. I don't get that. I don't get that either. I don't get it at all.

That may be the medical, I don't know. How can there be- This was a team, by the way. I just want to hammer this part home. This was a team that was 4-8 before he transferred in there. They were 4-8, almost all exact same talent. He was the difference and Kalen DeBoer took over.

Now I'm not going to dismiss Kalen DeBoer. He's a terrific coach and now he's at Alabama, but they were 4-8 and then they played for the national title game. Yes, he had good receivers, but you know what?

I love Jayden Daniels. Jayden Daniels has two first round receivers and Jayden Daniels has offensive linemen that will eventually be in the draft and probably go pretty high. Now, they didn't have a good defense, but they were close to a national title team. This guy did, and by the way, Indiana football has been horrible for a long time.

When he was there, they were competitive in the big 10 and they finished in the top 15. So again, I'm a big, big believer in that kid. I don't get why people, there's something that an NFL scout I know who I have a ton of respect for brought up. He was like, he has a violent throwing motion and worried about how long he will be able to play.

In terms of his body type, maybe it won't hold up. And I get when NFL people start to look at things like that and they get a little concerned because it's an investment you're making. You want to make sure your quarterback's going to be as best possible built to last.

But in terms of what you see, what he's done, what he is, man, I'm a big believer. And then lastly, you have the Broncos trading back into the first round. This was done a month ago. I didn't, this is way, this mock draft was done a month ago. So this is way Zach Wilson was not. And by the way, that does mean something to go and get Zach Wilson. It does mean that, listen, what it means is it takes the pressure off of not, if you don't come away with a quarterback in this draft, because Denver's got holes to fill, they also, they don't have enough draft choices still. They're still digging out, if you will, the Russell Wilson acquisition. But so where do you, what are you hearing about Bo Nix then?

Let me open that up. These are the ones people are a little split on. I know one NFL quarterback coach who thinks he's one of the three best quarterbacks in this likes what his character is, that he was a guy who had, you know, had to, had to really rely on his legs a lot at Auburn and came through a lot of, you know, a tough situation through the other side. At Oregon, he managed the game as well. He's a really smart quarterback and read coverage and process. I think there's a little bit of concern about just like in terms of the arm of this group, it's probably the, on the lower end, if you put all these quarterbacks of Drake May, of Pennax, of Caleb, I mean, I think it's probably he and Jayden Daniels in terms of that are probably closer, except Jayden Daniels, you saw dramatic improvement as a passer in the last two years, especially last year. But Pennax, you know, I'm sorry, Bonex, I think is a, is a guy that it depends on what you're asking him to do, but I feel like he will be a starting NFL quarterback.

I just wonder how high is the ceiling with him? All right. Take a break. If you've got one more segment in you, I want to talk some spring games with you because there's, there was some action that's taken place over the last 10 days or two weeks. It's led to some questions and then obviously college football is just around the corner, just as much as the national football league as we get the draft week. I've got Bruce Feldman of the athletic and Fox sports here. This is the rich eyes and show the Tuesday before the NFL draft. Hey folks, it's time for the NFL draft, which means for me, I need a good night's sleep because if I don't have one, just not myself, you know, the deal, you know exactly how important it is to have quality sleep.

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Bruce Feldman here on the rich eyes and showed you remember at the combine where a Roma dunes a I guess it was. Did somebody ask a whole bunch of prospects if they could fly a plane? What would happen if they were asked to fly?

If an emergency happened on a plane, could you land it? Yeah. And he basically said a dunes a his answer was everyone's dead.

All souls perish. That's what he said. Something along those lines. Yeah. Reason why I bring that up is Caleb Williams and Roma dunes a apparently have found themselves at this very moment on the same flight to Detroit and Rome wrote on Twitter, I'm actually the pilot this morning. Don't worry. I'm going to go to Detroit safely after Caleb tweeted out, Oh, something y'all.

I just saw Roma dunes a on my flight to Detroit. Big fan and Rome responded, don't worry, I'm going to get everyone hashtag no souls have perished. There you go.

Very good. And as courses, we all know these guys could be teammates by the end of Thursday night. If the bears can get Roma dunes a at nine, I mean, that would receive a room. Very crazy. Very possible.

That's fine. And then of course, there's word that they might do what the Texans did last year, which is trade up into the top five after choosing in the top five and get Marvin Harrison Jr. Yeah. I was going to say, I don't think there's a will Anderson in this draft though. That's well, I mean, Marvin would be the offensive version of will Anderson saying in that equation. I mean, it'd be great. I don't, again, I, I feel like if I think Marvin's terrific, I think if you're going up that into the top five, the problem is like, like there isn't a great defensive player to add. And I don't know, like you already have two elite receivers.

Now you're going to, either way, you're going to add a third. I don't know. It seems like it.

I don't know. Uh, but the bears do also appear to be set on defense, which is why they kind of held onto, I think Matt Eber flutes, which, you know, as plays into your piece that you wrote today about whether they have the right situation around them. I'm back on the rich eyes and show radio network sitting at the rich eyes and show desk furnished by Granger with supplies and solutions for every industry.

Granger has the right product for you call click ranger.com or just stop by Bruce Feldman still here from the athletic and also Fox sports. Let's jump into it, sir. Um, arch Manning once again, when he gets out there has people talking about him and uh, it's, it's an interesting situation. I would think certainly with Quinn Ewers coming back, he's going to be there.

He's going to be their guy. What is the arch Manning timetable? I think it hasn't changed. I think the only thing I would think might've changed a little, I don't want to say that's not fair to say it, but is there's just more fan excitement about arch Manning because now they've seen it as opposed to just heard about, Oh, he was a five star and he's the, he's the next Manning.

Um, you know, everything, it sounds like his development is coming along really, really well. I don't think, again, like I, we talked about this a few months ago when, when Ewers announced he was staying or it got, and I was just like, well, you were, I don't think it was going to be a first round pick. I'm not surprised he was staying and I don't think this is a quarterback battle. Like they're not going to like if Ewers, so a shameless self promotion, I'm excited. Our Fox big noon crew is going to have, uh, Texas going to your beloved alma mater. It's amazing that they already announced not wait now and the Michigan Wolverines. The one thing I know they really going to have is a really nasty D line. They will be really good upfront somehow. And again, this is a good Texas offensive line, really good Texas offensive line. If they get after Ewers and pull what I think a lot of people will look at as an upset given all that Michigan, Michigan had, um, does Steve Sarkeesian go, oh, maybe I make a call. I just don't think that's going to happen. I think the one way arch gets in there next year, this coming year is if there's a quarterback injury and look, Ewers missed time each of the last two seasons, I'm like Murphy had to come in and start last year.

I think that's what it is again. And what you're looking at right now, I think is a really good quarterback room for Texas. You have a proven starter who they keep working with, who's last year going to last year, learn to become a more of a leader. And that was something that, you know, I think he's grown a lot and you have a really promising young player who's really smart and very athletic and is, is, is blossomed more as a passer. I think it's a great situation for SARC and I think it's a great situation for arch because he doesn't need to like be thrown out there. He's still a young quarterback and it's a big jump from, from where he played in high school to now you're in the sec. So he'll probably play a bunch this year in 2024 and then he'll be the guy next year.

I suspect, you know, I mean, we don't know how everything's going to play out this year, but I think he'll play a lot this year and they'll keep developing and that's a good situation for I think everybody in Texas. Well, I mean, let's take this few steps at a time here because what normally adds pressure to the cooker one is if the kid demands playing time, that doesn't sound like, I don't think arch Manning is doing exactly right. Or the famous family pressures behind the scenes for playing time. That doesn't appear to be the case. That doesn't sound like their mo, even though some people would be, well, didn't didn't Archie once upon a time force where Eli wound up getting drafted.

I just don't see it though. That's a drafted thing. Like, like again, and I don't know Cooper, I barely know Cooper Manning, but I think they helped place him here in this situation, knowing that you were, might stick around one more year. No, they were like, like I think realistically, look, I, I, I definitely think there's some things that people around that program are like, Oh, I kind of liked this more about arts than maybe I like about yours.

You were just started for two years and he, by the way, they almost made it to the national title game last year. Correct. You know, it's not like he can't play good arm, everything. So that's, but that's part of the intrigue here. And again, it, this is a potentially a completely moot point, but this is a very famous family that very, very hyped young man, not of his own doing, he's just living his life.

Okay. And everything I've heard is he's a really bright young quarterback. Who's very athletic. No, not terrific in the spring game. It is.

Yes. But it is a spring game. Let's get, let's pump the brakes on spring game. I know that, but that's, that's part of the, the, the conversation is, is how much playing time will he get? How much playing time would he want? How much playing time was expected for him to have gotten by this point in time?

And if any of those timelines have been altered, you know, what does that mean? You're basically saying nothing. I'm saying that I think they probably are going to be pretty confident if, if Quinn Ewers gets hurt, like he has the last two years that Arch Manning can go in and can run the offense, make plays when he has to and can get rid of the ball. I think they're very confident in that if Quinn Ewers wasn't, you know, a two year starter and didn't almost lead them to the national title game, if he was just a run of the mill, and I don't want to bag on any, you know, former quarterbacks who were, you know, like throw out a name.

If he was just a average starter, I think it would be a little more, a little more drama into it. But this is a guy who, again, they were really good last year and he has developed. I'm not saying, you know, I don't think he's Caleb and I don't think he's like some of the quarterbacks that we just talked about, but he's talented.

It's not like he's not. And I think let Arch keep developing. And then when he gets in, now what would be interesting is if he does get in and they have to play him because of an injury and then he plays lights out, then that's, then that's, that's a good problem probably for Steve Sarkeesian to have. But like, again, I don't want to compare him to Malik Murphy because Malik Murphy was a kid who was big, strong arm, sharp kid, but had never really played a lot of football because he came out of, you know, during the COVID recruiting cycle and everything. He went in there and there was some good and some not, you know, he needs more time. And now if Arch goes in there when he gets in there and tears it up, then I think, you know, it's, but I just don't, you know, I just don't see him going and going, all right, you saw the spring game. If you don't, if you're not going to say it's an open competition going into fall camp, we're going to look at our, we'll look at the highest bidder because it's just like, I don't think, you know, them doing anything, it's not like NIL reasons are going to matter to the man. It's just like, what's the best situation for this kid because he's still really young.

Bruce Feldman here on the Rich Eisen Show. What did we glean for Michigan's quarterback situation? Did we glean anything from the spring game at all?

I'll say this. We have Sherone Moore, by the way, on, on Friday show, so I can ask them. Maybe the real answer, but I'm going to give you, I'm going to give you a little takeaway from watching.

He might not give me the real answer. So I know that people inside, inside the quarterback room there and Kirk Campbell, who's the new, you know, is the new OC. I know he thinks they have four guys who can, he felt really good about certain parts of them. When I talked to him not that long ago, he was, he really liked how well Davis Warren could throw. A couple of years ago, Davis was the backup and he's a, he's a kid who has been through a lot. He, he overcame, you know, battled through leukemia and came in there as a walk-on, but he can throw and he can play and he looked really good. I mean, Alex Orgy is a very gifted athlete who I know they like as well as one of the best athletes in the program, which makes him one of the best athletes in the big 10. And you know, I think it's, to me it's between, I think ultimately between those two guys, I wonder, and again, it's, I think there's still stuff to be played out. The throws that Davis Warren made the other day, again, it's only a spring game, so I want to pump the brakes on what I'm about to say too.

I would like not, not go too far with it, but the way he threw it was some of the, like kind of backed up some of the stuff I'd heard from people inside Michigan. So you know, like what, what you see is they have one great tight end and potentially a couple of really good ones behind him. You know, you have Donovan Edwards.

We'll see what they do in the portal if they add another receiver. The offensive line obviously went from great to now they're rebuilding. I still think they have guys in there. We'll see about it.

But then there's a lot of other stuff you liked. They were like, I don't know, I thought they were going to be an eight win team coming out of this year because I just thought they just lost too much on both sides of the ball. We'll see. We'll see how much they can rebuild the offensive line. And maybe they add another DB because her losing Rod Moore, I think definitely hurt them. Well, I've heard some of the, some folks are telling me that their best players are still there. Two of their best players are still there. Will Johnson still there and that kid on that defensive line.

He is not just that kid. I mean, Kenneth Grant is a, is a monster in there and amazing because he was like once a three star guy, but there are other guys on that D line who are you know, I think will be high, you know, probably top 50 draft picks DJs board at some point. And you know, they got a transfer from Maryland who was one of the more talented defensive players in the conference last year is, and it will help them in the front seven. I think there'll be, I, you know, I still think they're going to be really good on defense.

I think it hurts losing Mikey cause he was such a playmaker, you know, at nickel. But I know they've recruited well. I know they've developed guys. They weren't asking JJ to throw it all over the yard, but you know, his, again, orgy will give him, give them that in terms of like, and extend plays on, can, can use his legs to pick up first downs and orgies a big dude. I don't know if you've seen him, he's like Anthony Richardson size and yeah, not quite as tall, but like, yeah, like I don't, I'm trying to think like who he's, you know, he, and he can really run. So I, I'm interested to see what they do there with that, you know, and we'll see what, what Donovan Edwards does as like the feature guy now cause we know he's really talented. And when you were here in Columbus with Chip Kelly there and the new mix, what'd you hear about that? People are glowing about like you lose Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jeremiah Smith might be the most talented receiver they've had there in a long, long time. Right?

So the receiving core is loaded. Is that the kid who made that one handed catch? That is the kid from Florida who, Florida produces receivers unlike pretty much any place in the country. And if this guy's the best one, that should tell you people, you know, he's at almost 220 pounds now, can really run great ball skills. The quarterback room will be interesting there cause you have Will Howard who has played a lot of K-State and actually led K-State to the big toll title two years ago. You have Devin Brown who they all think is talent, just hasn't played much. And Julian's saying, especially from, you know, he was a big time recruiter who transferred from Alabama there.

Those are pieces to work with. The defense I think will be really good. They to me are the favorite in the Big Ten. I think it's them and Oregon on top of it. The question is how good can the quarterback play be?

You know, as good as the rest of the team is, you have two superstar kind of talented running backs. You know, Ohio State had C.J. Stroud and they came close to winning the national title.

Obviously it didn't be Michigan, but they came close to beating Georgia. I don't know if they, you know, like I don't see C.J. Stroud there right now in terms of like, we know how good he is.

I mean, I don't know. They may be good enough every place else, especially on defense where they don't need Will Howard or Devin Brown to be a Heisman contender to win, you know, to win the national title. Thanks for coming on here, sir. Thanks for having me.

Really appreciate it. Nice fun spot right here with Bruce Feldman. And we'll have you back on after the draft and get everyone ready for college football season. Yeah, it's right around the corner. Are you going to be on this Texas game? Are you coming to watch it?

I doubt it. Great plan, Bruce. We're going to take the show on the road.

Is that what we're going to do? I would love it. Trust me. Great Michigan defensive back who you could probably get on the show. I know a kicker-turner wide receiver you could get on the show. OK. Understood.

Quarterback, maybe. No, I understand. Might have accidentally slipped up some profanity the last time there was a big Michigan game on the pregame. It's all good.

It's all good. I would love to be there, obviously, but that's during the NFL. I got to follow Jim now, you know, every single time. Who knows? Tom Brady may even be on the... Oh.

He's a Fox guy now. Wow. Look at this guy just dropping names. I have no reports of that, I shouldn't have... Spot and dimes, dropping names. No, I've not been told. I mean, just tweet that out. Breaking news. No, I'm just saying, maybe they'll FaceTime you.

No, he's just getting ready for the roast. That's all. Thanks for the spot and your friendship. Thanks again, brother. Thank you. You got it. That's Bruce Feldman right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Albert Breer, top of the next hour.

844-204-RICH is the number to dial. America starts the day with America in the morning. First of three pushes of storminess. Hi, I'm John Trout, your host for the latest news, politics, entertainment, business, and weather. It was a speech with political overtones... Our staff of correspondents provide a fast-paced look at the world with specialized reports from where news happens.

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Available wherever you listen. When you see the video of you throwing to Tyree, okay? What do you think of when you see that?

I just smile. I'm just thankful. Thankful for David Tyree, man. There's not a better person and a guy who just, you know, who has the worst week of practice in the history of all practices on that Friday and dropped every pass and, you know, thought he was going to be the starting receiver and then, you know, comes back and plays that game. And then, sure enough, in the game, David Tyree has a touchdown catch and then a speed catch, you know? Tyree Harrison hanging all over him. You know, Bob Poppa gave him the call saying, you know, he's got a wide open receiver, you know, and I guess that's wide open in the NFL.

And, you know, David Tyree, just the will, the desire was there and just catching off the helmet, just what an unbelievable story and, you know, never get tired of watching that play. All right. Well, Chris Brockman, my on-air compadre here. What did you tell him? Go ahead. Tell him what you say every time, now that he's here. You can say it to his face.

Go ahead, Chris. Well, usually I say it to Sean O'Hara because Sean is here, but, I mean, there are 14 different holdings on that play, which is fine. He sees holdings.

Eli, what do you say to that? He says holdings. Yeah, he sees holdings. I didn't see.

How can you get holdings? They didn't block anybody. It's like, let them run in. You know, I almost get stacked by all four players, you know, they kind of just block the ball. You know, I think, you know, if the guy's holding me, you know, like a defense player is holding me, I think you're like, you know, you're holding me. You're holding me. You're holding me. You're holding me. You're holding me. I think you're allowed to do whatever you want to the, you know, to the pass rusher at that point. If I'm in the grass, they could just grab them off, pull them off. It's kind of a free range at that point.

I agree. Chris, you see holding. Eli sees grasping. That's what he sees. I see the greatest play ever.

That's right. There's a giant right there, Eli. I was sitting right there. I was there.

That's it. On our YouTube page, back on the Rich Eisen show. The overreaction Monday podcast is out there for everybody to listen to our pre draft podcast.

We posted it yesterday. Lots of fun stuff from it. That's presented by game time tickets, which is also a part of this show. We tell you all the time to get the app, put it on your phone, put it on your mobile device and start searching for tickets for anything, basketball, football, concerts, comedy, game times. Now an authorized ticket marketplace of major league baseball prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to the first pitch all in prices, which means you see your total upfront. No surprise fees at checkout view from your seat exactly where home plate the court is.

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Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Speaking of overreaction Monday podcast, it's a Tuesday, so let's do it. Why the heck not overreaction Monday on a Tuesday? That was terrible. That was crap.

That was garbage overreaction Mondays, Monday on a Tuesday, aha, aha, aha, all right. What do you have? Chris? Hey, what's up guys? Very good. We're great.

Everybody packed TJ. You didn't answer. I was thinking about it. Okay, great. He's still upset. He's still upset.

I'm coming down from that. Sorry. One bag here. Carry on. I won't hear nothing. I want no problem.

One pair of shoes. We're good to go. Happy NFL draft week. Everybody good?

Same to you. Multiple trade ops for our quarterbacks going down on Thursday. I'll take it. I'll buy it. I'll buy it. Yeah. I'll buy it.

I'll buy it. One in the top 10, one in the final 10. Ooh.

In the final 10. I'll call it. Ooh. Of the night. Yeah. Someone's coming up for Bo Nix. Somebody's coming up or for who knows?

Or whatever. Rattler. Seven guys in the first round. Oh my God. Spencer Rattler. Do you imagine that the Taylor Williams and Spencer Rattler both wind up being first round picks? Unbelievable.

Unbelievable. Schrager said today he thinks all six could go in the first half of the draft. All six in the first half.

Which is? The four that we think. Chris Ballard's dream come true. And then Pennix and Bo Nix. By the way, we will have Chris Ballard on Monday's edition of The Rich Eyes and Show if that happens, because he said if he did, he would come on any time we wanted. And I would cash that coupon on the spot. But I'll say multiple trade ups, one top 10, one final 10.

I'll even give you the spots. I like it. Well done. Not an overreaction. Not an overreaction. Okay.

I gave the team for this one on the podcast yesterday. Just going to generalize it more today. Someone is going to trade for Brandon Aiyuk during the draft. Doesn't seem like he's happy in San Francisco. Did you hear what John Lynch had to say?

What did he say? We expect Brandon to be on the team this year? Yeah, we're going to get it for you here. We're actually going to get a sound bite in the middle of I didn't know this was coming. We had it in our arsenal.

This is John Lynch on Brandon Aiyuk. I've communicated on a couple of occasions, on many occasions, our wish. And our wish is that he's here and a part of the Niners for the rest of his career. We're working through that. And as such, I was a player once and I never liked my business being out in the public. And so I'm going to respect that.

I'm not going to speak for their side. I can say we're having good talks and I'm just going to leave it at that and we'll focus on the draft here today. There you go. There you go. And we've heard that we've seen this movie before. We've heard it before. It was with Deebo Samuel.

We've seen it. Oh, we also saw it with AJ Brown and he got traded on draft day. And we all, I understand that different organization, different circumstances, if I'm not mistaken, the general manager who made that trade and the coach who didn't apparently want it to be made. Wow. We know the coach didn't want it.

Are no longer there. So I will say no one's trading for Brandon Aiyuk during the draft. And that's an overreaction.

And move on. I think Brandon Aiyuk will eventually be a happy camper in San Francisco, Santa Clara. What else? If someone were to, who would it be? Maybe those Steelers.

You know, Steelers. Would you trade 20 for Brandon Aiyuk? No, I would not. Why? I would not. What do you mean? Why?

What are you talking about? I know, like I said yesterday, I know Brandon Aiyuk is good. Well, the only wide receiver I know is good coming in this year's draft is Marvin Harrison Jr. Do you think the Steelers, hold on a second, do you think the Steelers covet George Pickens? Yes or no? Do you think the Steelers covet George Pickens, yes or no? They still in the roster. I'm gonna say yes.

Okay, very good. What round was he taking in? Was he second? Not the first. You're not trading a first round pick. I mean, Stephon Diggs went for a second. Is Brandon Aiyuk better than George Pickens?

Of course he is. Great. But then you don't have to use it. What I'm saying is you could use a first round pick on a younger wide receiver that doesn't cost you a gajillion dollars.

That's another way to go about it. Their offense is basically five dollars. It costs five bucks on the cap, all of them combined. Five dollars. Well, that's what they can afford to make some big moves then, right?

Honestly, you can... Black and gold. Here we go. We're gonna call tickets for an entire Steelers offensive salary cut roster. Alright, we workshopped this one in the middle of the pod and I think it came out great.

I want to bring it to the flagship show audience. We love Michael Pennix Jr. I think he's gonna be awesome. In fact, TJ, he's going to be an offensive rookie of the year finalist this year.

Yes. And the reason why we workshopped it is because we have to land him in a spot where A, he's gonna start and B, have a chance to start right away with a team that he can actually take to... So for instance, CJ Stroud landed in a spot where he could start right away and we were not aware at the time of just how terrific they would all be together. And so I said, if he lands in Vegas, I'll say yes.

With Devante Adams and that team, the way that they can play. What if he lands with the Vikings? If he lands in the Vikings, we said yes. We said yes.

Of course. Look at those receivers. If he landed with the Broncos, we said no, because we didn't think he'd start right away. No, it didn't seem like he'd be there. Or were we... Day one?

Maybe, I don't know. Giants? We said no.

Probably seems like Drew Locke's gonna start week one. We said no for the Giants, I think. The Patriots?

Maybe not. Definitely not the Patriots. Unless they take Harrison, number three.

Dude, I don't... Then they have a wide receiver to go with Mike Pence. Please. Same.

That's interesting. Come on. We said this is not an overreaction, but...

Depending on the spot. What else, Chris? Kind of a fun one. Hey, this happened at the end of yesterday's show. Breaking news.

Zach Wilson, now a Denver Bronco. Guess what? He's gonna take them to the playoffs next year. That's absurd. That's just absurd. The NFL playoffs? Like... Or the fantasy football. Purchasing a ticket on game time? 20... 20... No, he's not going to a Nuggets game, or the Avalanche.

Arsenal is going... Did you say the UFL playoffs? No, no. N. Zach Wilson. And this, by the way, this is not at all trying to denigrate Zach Wilson. Please. I mean... Let's just call this an overreaction and move on.

What else, Chris? All right, two NBA wins real quick out the door. Home teams are 11-0 so far. Not good.

At least half of the first round series are going to be sweeps. I buy it. Don't you, TJ? No. You think... You think... I don't think anyone's... I don't think there's gonna be a sweep in the first round.

Zero sweeps. Oh, I think the Celtics go 16-0, don't you? Well, come on. Don't you? I definitely don't.

I think everyone's gonna get at least a game. I think these are... Okay. Teams are pretty comparable in... And in 30 seconds, we were talking about this before the show off air. Let's take it.

Nikola Jokic is already a top 10 player in NBA history. Oh, I don't think that's an overreaction. I think that's a little bit of an overreaction. Okay.

He's about to win his third MVP in four seasons and, you know, they're one of the two favorites to repeat. I'm with you. I'm sorry. No, I know we don't have time for me to name the other nine.

Obviously, Jordan and LeBron are in that mix and Kobe's in that mix. Dude. I guess by the end of the day, end of the day, I can't overreact on that. Me personally, I find that offensive.

Albert Breer coming up. Okay. I mean... Me, TJ, and Adam were just kind of batting this about.

And what was the consensus? Not yet. Not yet. But he will be. Could be.

Could be. But who am I taking out of my top 10? Who's coming out? You've got to be a bad man for me to take a team out of my top 10.

If you have a team at the top, then I think a team comes out. Jokic is... What do you have, a stat line of 20 and 20 again? 20, 20, 10. Okay. He's got four of them in his career. And there's only been four other ones. That's what I'm saying.

In NBA history. Right. I know. Right, right, right.

What do you have? Just patent stats. You know? Oh, patent stats. That's a joke, folks.

That's a joke. He's so good. He's amazing. He really is.

He was working AD in the fourth quarter last night, too. Guys. The top 10 is... Man, that's a lot. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. But he's a bad man, bro. Let me tell you.

And his brothers are bad men, too. Also, you have Kobe in your top 10? You don't? I don't think so. Really?

I think I have Steph over Kobe in the top 10. Oh, my word. What's happening to you? I don't even know who you are anymore.

Really? I'm not, like, some Kobe stan. I'm just saying, I mean, I think Steph's better. At basketball? I think so.

How? I have Shaq over Kobe. Is that a hot take, TJ? You love big men? I love big men, but, I mean, you got Shaq over Kobe? Kobe Bryant.

You didn't expect the mamba. Kobe Bryant is absolutely one of the top... There's no disrespect. I mean, he's either 11 or 12. I mean, he's on the roster.

No, he's intact. I mean... The only thing is, three of us can give our top 10, they're all going to be different. Of course they are. The lists are so subjective.

Yeah, of course. Dante DiVincenzo's now in my top 10. He's on my most hated list.

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