Giants or Browns Trading Back Up For Shedeur? (Hour 1)

Live from the police show yet not overly ostentatious studios of the Infinity Sports Network here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to a Tuesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all the great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates, Sirius XM Channel 375, the free Odyssey app and of course streaming live on YouTube.

On board with us and you could always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter at Zach Gelb. That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B, the new overnight hosts at the Infinity Sports Network, which could be heard on many of these same Infinity Sports Network affiliates and stations that you're listening to us right now in addition to Sirius XM Channel 375 and the always free Odyssey app. You can listen to our overnight show from 2 to 6 a.m. Eastern Time, which is 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Pacific Time is Pat Boyle. So congratulations to Pat Boyle, someone that we know very well. And I asked Pat to come on the show today. So he will be joining us at 4.20 p.m. Eastern Time and we'll get to hear a little bit in the daytime about what the show is going to sound in the nighttime. And those overnight slots are prime real estate and especially not that, you know, I am a young broadcaster, but I've been doing this for a while.

I guess the way I should say it is I'm young in age, but I've been doing this for a while. So someone like Pat, who this is the first full time opportunity as a host, it's a tremendous platform. Let's be real. I was at other spots. I started in Trenton, New Jersey, in the Princeton area. I was actually Stu's boss and I didn't even know Stu was an employee because he was just working there on the weekends. As I was the program director and afternoon drive hosts and board op and producer and salesperson. It was all crazy with the many hats that I did wear. And I also programmed a Christian religious station as well. I was wearing I was the program director of two stations, the sports station and the Christian religious station as well. And since that, I was able to then do postgame for the Eagles on ninety seven five, the fanatic in Philadelphia.

And then I bounced in between the other station, 94 WIP. And when the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, that's where I reconnected with someone that I know very well in Eric Spitz. And Spitz, he said, we have a weekend overnight opening. And I did a few auditions and then they called me up. They said, we're going to give you the job and also give you about thirty five to forty fill in shifts a year.

And I left my job in New Jersey and then I made this place home. And through there, it kind of launched my career because when you're on the weekend overnights or the overnight period and Pat's going to be doing the overnight during the week, replacing Amy Lawrence, who left us, is now working at Mad Dog Sports Radio. You're on so many stations. You're on three hundred and fifty stations around the country. So if you do good content and it's easy to make news and if you know which markets you're on, what you're practically on in a ton of major markets and midsize markets and small markets. So it's very easy to make news and give opinions and be heard by so many people, because sometimes people have this misnomer of, oh, who's listening at night? I'll tell you, the overnight community is one of the most unique communities I've ever interacted with.

And I said this before. Obviously, I love my schedule now. And the overnight schedule is a grind. The overnight schedule, you have to sacrifice a lot and you're basically nocturnal. If I could just not do the hours and be on those many stations and also get to talk to those listeners, I would do that for the rest of my career.

I would. Because you get so many people, truck drivers, people that are just getting back from a late night out, people that are just getting up. It's such a diverse community. And I had a blast doing the weekend overnights for almost two years that I did it. Then I went to Sirius. I pulled to Manny Diaz after three months. Another job became available back here at the network and they were begging to bring me back from 6 to 10 p.m. Eastern time.

I did that for a bunch of years and now I'm here from 3 to 6 p.m. Eastern time. So what I'm saying is, and I've said this to Pat and Pat and I are very close and not that I was a part of any of these interviews, to be clear, during the process. But when you are a host here at the network, I would say the majority of the candidates, which I appreciated, not that they had to do it, but I think it's smart by them to just kind of pick my brain or pick other hosts brain. They did reach out to me and there were a ton of good candidates. And I told Pat, I go, if you get the gig where you are in your career and this would be your first full time job doing a show five days a week, you do it the right way.

You could climb up the ladder very, very quickly. So congratulations to Pat Boyle. He will do a fun show.

There is no doubt about it. Pat Boyle is going to be opinionated. He's going to be loud. He's going to be in your face.

And that's my type of radio. And he's not going to shy away from anything. The only thing I'm concerned about is how long it takes.

And maybe we should start putting money on this and we should all pick a date. How long it takes Pat to get canceled. Because Pat will cross that line a little bit. He will tow that line.

And then there's times he steps over it and he'll make some joke and it will not land well. I'll never forget. It was actually in this time slot back when it was CBS Sports Radio and we had the partnership with CBS Sports Network. And I'm filling in solo.

It was cool. The first like few times they asked me to fill in, I would always do it with the co-host and then your money would be cut in half. Then they just said, oh, we'll give all the money to Zach on the fill in shift for the TV and we'll let him do it solo.

So I think one of my first times filling in in this time slot solo on TV, for some reason, I think Santa wasn't here. And Pat Boyle was producing. And I think even still then, Decel was on the board. Did Decel, Stu, you would know this because it's your job.

Did Decel ever produce or was the board op the associate producer for Maggie and Perloff or was that always you? That was always me. OK, so then it was you.

Maybe you'll remember this. And I don't think you were out. But we were talking about Pete Carroll. And I threw it to Pat's way. And Pete goes, you know, or Pat said something about Pete Carroll like dying on the sidelines because he's so old.

And I'm like, what are we doing? And that back then I had a dumb finger like Pete, the body baladi. And I dumped it.

But TV didn't dump it. And I was like so, so much in my head. I'm like, oh, that's so stupid. Now we're going to go viral. Now we're going to go. I'm starting sound like turn off. Now I'm going to get slammed for this, because like back then, I actually cared what people thought when I would say things. And I thought that was a big no no. But then one of the producers for the TV side was like, oh, I just kind of laughed. That was it.

I go, OK. But there are times where Pat could cross the line. So I just hope Pat doesn't cross the line anytime soon because I hope this is the launching board, which should be a long and really good career, not only at the network, but whoever knows what it can lead to. So congratulations to Pat Boyle. And that wasn't like when I first got here. When I first got here. See, I was just like nice and right.

You know, just gave a level take. Scott Pharrell. I'm not saying he wasn't nice, but Pharrell's on the air.

You know, we got a new Weekend Overnight host. His name's Zach Gelb. He has opinions. He's awesome. He's the future of radio.

You know, he's going to give you a big guess. He's sensational. He just hyped me up in the Pharrell way. And Pharrell comes into the newsroom and he goes, hey, I'm Scotty Pharrell.

Nice to meet you, Zach. I just hyped you the F up. Don't mess it up, kid. Pharrell on the bench. Shake it up. That was my introduction to Scotty Pharrell, who I actually grew up listening to. And when I got here, Bill's not going to like this. Eric Spitz told me before I did some of my first few shows, hey, listen to a lot of Bill Ryder to get a sense of what the network sounded like. And for whatever reason, I just didn't tune in to Bill Ryder right away.

I went to Scott Pharrell just because I knew more of Scott. And I go, OK, then let me tune into Bill. And I could see why they didn't tell me to tune into Scott, because it's a totally different radio show. So that was kind of I knew of the network, obviously, before I said this when John Feinstein passed away. Obviously, Jim Rohn was the franchise here for so many years. And Jim Rohn was is obviously such a big name, but there was always a separation from really Rohn and the network.

It was like two different entities. So in terms of the guys that were like in this building or that like had the same phone number, let's just say, as the one that we would give out, I always thought Feinstein brought a ton of credibility. And we've had a lot of great hosts through the years at this network. Gio and Jones, Chris Moore and Brian Jones, John Feinstein, Jim Rohn, now Rich Eisen, DA, Maggie and Perloff.

Brandon Tierney and Tiki Barber and Dana Jacobson, Pharrell. It's kind of fascinating when you look back, even McAfee was here for a few months, then he cursed too much. Now, when I first got brought back, that was the press release.

It was DA to Mornings, McAfee to Midday's, Gelb to Nights. And it's that was the picture of the three of us on the press release, which is kind of funny when you look back at it. So we've had some some great hosts here at the network.

And obviously, Amy did a great job. But now I'm excited to see what's going to happen here with Pat Boyle in the overnights. And I expect it to be a very good duo, just like how I said Bart Winkler and Carlos Ortiz are going to be a good duo.

I do believe that Pete the Body Baladi, who is very funny and underratedly funny. I think him and Pat Boyle are going to be a sensational duo. So I love our lineup in the mornings.

Maggie and Perloff from six to 10 a.m. Eastern. Then you get Bill Ryder for two hours. And Bill, he's always great, but especially during this time of the year, he's our best basketball guy.

So playoffs, he's must listen. You got Rich Eisen from 12 to three, us from three to six here on the East Coast. And then we go into J.R., who's sensational.

I've known J.R. for a while. Then you get Bart and Carlos. I always like to just say Bart and Carlos, you know, because Carlos on the board is just unbelievable these days. And then you got Patty Boyle. So we have a well-rounded lineup.

I love this lineup. I'll put it up against any lineup in the country when it comes to national radio. And I always say this about our network. We do a good job, but it's tough to do this in a national landscape and making national radio sound localized. And what I mean by that is forming a community.

And we have formed a community here at the Infinity Sports Network and we hope it continues for many, many, many more years. So we've had changes in the lineup. Changes happen all the time in radio. I know the listener never likes changes because you get used to something. We don't want to break your routine.

But definitely must listen stuff. 2 to 6 a.m. Eastern, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Pacific to Pat Boyle. Alrighty. That's enough with the kind words, because there's going to be times I'm going to be shredding and ripping and going after Pat.

So enough of this slobber fest. Samta, I will say I was surprised by you today. There was a company email out, sent out, and Samta replied all to congratulate Pat Boyle. How about that? I'm actually a little bit disappointed. Suck up spot there by Samta. I'm a little bit disappointed that nobody else did.

Reply all to a company email. No offense. I don't think you ever want to be that guy. It was a program schedule that actually said Pat Boyle officially the overnight host. So, of course, I'm a little bit disappointed. I'm disappointed in you.

I'm disappointed in Stu. I texted Pat on the side. Doesn't matter. I texted him this morning, so. I called Pat.

Okay. I may or may not have just found out when everybody found out last night at 2 a.m. Eastern when it was announced. It was a very serious announcement by Pat. So I may have had a conversation with him on the phone and via text as well instead of just replying all to a company email. So I've also reached out to him privately. But here's a question. Did you ask for his number, by the way, like that Braves reporter?

He's not my type. Let me tell you, how serious are people now? I saw that actually last night when it was breaking before it blew up into this firestorm and I'm sitting back and I go, that was a little weird. But I didn't sit there saying, oh, I need to defend it to the fullest or say up, cancel, cancel, cancel. And people just make things bigger issues than what they need to be.

Oh, my God. You had a reporter who was basically egged on by by his talent to ask for these two attractive girls numbers, like people would think that he walked up to them and did like the most disgusting act possible. But that's a society that we live in now. You can't have fun and everything has to get so serious.

And I'll just say it to have, you know, two things here. You know, you look at that situation, right? That's a male issue.

And then you look at a woman issue. If you go back to when the championship game was ending, that one student reporter, I'm pretty sure she was who had a credential and she was recording herself as the game was winding down. And she showed some emotion and people are like, oh, my God, how dare she do that? You know, I understand that there's some principles of journalism, but not everyone is a super duper.

You know, I got a hair up my you know what type of journalist these days like we could be human beings. I don't see how anyone could see what happened last night at that Braves game and lose their mind over it or care one way or another. It's not a big deal to me. But anyway, Sam, they're back to you replying all to the company email here.

Anything more that you want to add on that? Well, here's a question I have. Right. You're on Facebook. Facebook always has the today's birthdays are if you contact somebody individually text call to wish them happy birthday. Do you then not wish them a happy birthday on Facebook? Depends how close I am with the person. If I don't really care about the person, I'll just write happy birthday on Facebook. And I've been doing less and less of that. If I do care about the person, I probably wouldn't even post on Facebook about it anymore.

I would call them up or I would send them a happy birthday text. So are you saying that you would never do both? Rarely. I wouldn't say never, but rarely. See, for me, I'm a big do it privately.

And if it's someone that you care about, do it publicly also. By the way, when is everyone's birthdays? Just making sure. So I know you recently had a birthday, right? November 22nd. Oh, that's recently.

Not too recent. Easy for you to remember one day after my brother's birthday. November 22nd, right? Yes. Okay.

Right around Thanksgiving. That's all. Remember, stew and lasagna. That's all I'm going to think about. Santa, when's your birthday again?

Stew and lasagna. I honestly... Be careful. You got blocked again. You know what? You be careful.

There's someone new in charge of Twitter. I can probably say whatever the heck I want to about... You never know. About your turkey loving or hating days. On March 6th. March 6th.

Same as Shaquille O'Neal and same as Michelangelo the painter. Oh, really? There you go. I think Coach Prime and I share the same birthday. I think Deion Sanders is August 9th. Double check that for me. But I do believe that Coach Prime and I share the same birthday. I believe so. Am I right on that? August 9th.

He was born a couple of years before you. Yes. Just a little bit. So stew I'll remember with lasagna and Santa I'll remember March 6th. Basically right around the Big East tournament. That's all I'll remember it. So anyway, we'll take a time out. On the Big East tournament?

Yeah. That's a good event. That's one of my favorite events of the year.

I think Big East tournament. I'll think Santa. You know, we'll see Patino at St. John's.

We'll see Crayton with McDermott. Dan Hurley when he's cursing out a referee. I'll think of Santa. You know, you and Dan Hurley would be a little bit similar, right?

In terms of the anger and things like that. When you look over to the rafters and see Patrick Ewing's jersey, you'll think of me. A Georgetown Hoya. Yeah. You know, a little Allen Iverson. You know, think of moments like that. Anyway, we'll take a break. We spent 15 minutes talking about the network and congratulating Pat Boyle.

I should get 5% of his new contract after that hype. We'll take a break. We'll come on back. The Giants are going to work out Shanore Sanders on Thursday. They're going to fly to Colorado.

What's the latest with the stock of Shanore Sanders? We'll tell you next. Yo, yo, it is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. Maybe as we honor Pat Boyle for becoming the new overnight host here at the network, as that was announced earlier this morning. Maybe I'll come back from every break and go, hey, yo, as that's how Pat Boyle starts his show each and every day. But we'll have Pat on coming up in about an hour from now.

So looking forward to that conversation. So I read something this morning that Shanore Sanders is going to have a private workout with the New York football Giants on Thursday. So seven days away from the NFL draft in Boulder, Colorado. So seven days before the draft, what does that mean if the Giants are having one last meeting with Shanore Sanders?

And I think that people could interpret it many different ways. Maybe it was all a smokescreen all along that the Giants weren't going to take Shanore Sanders and the Browns. They know that they're going to take Travis Hunter with the second overall pick. So it's no benefit for the Giants to basically dispute any of the narratives that are out there. And maybe someone's going to try to trade up and get the two to jump the Giants if someone really wanted Shanore Sanders.

Right. That could be a theory that's floated out there. Other theories could just simply be the Giants are doing their due diligence. Like you could look into an NFL draft meeting and you could talk about the NFL draft and you could have 9000 different theories.

And usually none of them are ever right. But in this case, here is where I'm potentially at. And I waved the white flag the other day in saying that as much as I think Shanore Sanders should go to Cleveland and Shanore Sanders should go to the Giants, one of those two teams should pick him, that just with everything that's out there, it does feel like Cam Ward's going number one overall to the Tennessee Titans. And then the Cleveland Browns are going to take Travis Hunter with the second pick. The Cleveland Browns take Hunter. And then with the third pick, you'll have Abdul Carter going to the Giants. That's the way that I feel like it is not should, but is going to go.

But could I be wrong in terms of the way that I look at it? The Giants logically should take Shanore Sanders and they do so at three. Yeah, that's still on the table because I don't think you're just going to have this meeting seven days before the draft for nothing.

And let's be real. Something that I always used to laugh at the last two years, I started to take it more seriously. I would always laugh this close to the draft when teams would say they don't know what they're doing.

Right. And then you had last year two meetings and how quickly they came about with Michael Penix Jr. and the Atlanta Falcons. And then also with Sean Payton and Bo Nix.

And that changed rather quickly. So and that wasn't that far out from the draft. So judging by those two recent circumstances and also seeing a few years ago when I fully do believe that the Niners traded up to get to three with the intention of taking Mac Jones. And through that process, that change to Trey Lance as well thought out and research, this draft stuff is.

I don't believe that decisions are made as early as I once thought that they were going to be when you had an idea of what was going to happen. But in this case, I do think the decision now for the Giants, if it holds true with what I'm saying, that Cam goes one, Travis Hunter goes to the decision, then becomes Chador Sanders or Abdul Carter. But let's just say that the Giants end up taking Abdul Carter at three. There was a host here once on the network a few drafts ago who was at the draft and he was doing the draft show. And in the pre coverage to the draft show, he was on that show and he talked about with all these rumors about Tennessee potentially moving up to take a quarterback, how the Houston Texans who had the second overall pick and it wasn't locked in that they were going to take C.J. Stroud, that talk show host predicted. I forget what his name is. H. Felb, I think it was something like that. I forget what the guy's name was, but that talk show host, that astute, that really intelligent and really just.

A guy that could see the future, a clairvoyant talk show host. He said, well, why wouldn't the Texans who had two first round picks take C.J. Stroud at two? And then with all this talk about Tennessee maybe moving up and that three spot was open with the Arizona Cardinals having it. Why wouldn't you then jump Tennessee for moving up and you also get your pass rusher in Will Anderson Junior?

And that's exactly what happened about 45 minutes later. So with recent history being out there, I think we need to explore this option now. And let me make this abundantly clear. If I was the Cleveland Browns, I would take Chidor Sanders at two. If I was Joe Shane with the Giants, I would take Joe Shane. I would take Chidor Sanders at three. With that being said, though, let's play into Travis Hunter going to an Abdul Carter going three.

It does not take those two teams and out of the running for Chidor Sanders. Now, you could say, why would you run the risk of losing that player? And why would you run the risk of losing the quarterback? It's because the quarterback, if he doesn't get taken by the Giants, he's probably going to fall a bit and you'll have some wiggle room. Like if Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, if you're the Giants, whoever remains, you pass on one of them.

In all likelihood, the Patriots are then going to scoop them up at four. So there's not as much wiggle room with Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter in this draft. But it is appearing like if the Browns and Giants pass on Chidor Sanders, there will be some wiggle room. Because Stu is a big Raiders fan. Stu would love to see Chidor Sanders get drafted by the Raiders. But the sentiment right now is that the Raiders are not taking Chidor Sanders.

So you have the Patriots at four. They're not taking Chidor. You have the Jaguars at five. They're not taking Chidor. It does not appear likely that the Raiders are taking Chidor at six. The Jets, I think they're going to go with Justin Fields for a little bit. And it doesn't appear likely that the Jets would take Chidor Sanders. And then you have the Carolina Panthers at eight.

Who have the rejuvenated version of Bryce Young. Well, the Carolina Panthers aren't taking a quarterback. But the Panthers maybe have got some intel. Or maybe the Carolina Panthers have heard all the rumors that we have with this Derek Carr injury situation. And the Saints looking for a quarterback. Now some say maybe they're going for Jackson Dart. Others will say, oh well the Saints and Chidor Sanders that seems like a match.

Or maybe a team like Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin they had a five hour meeting. A five hour meeting with Chidor Sanders. So maybe you have Chidor Sanders get a deal done at eight. And you have Mike Tomlin trade up from 21 to eight.

That's a possibility. But what happens if Andrew Berry and also Joe Shane could get the best of both worlds. And this happened not that long ago.

Now here was the difference. The Texans had two first round picks. So they got C.J.

Stroud at two. They used their other first round pick. They traded up to three. But you could find a way to trade up to nine.

Or eight, excuse me, with the Carolina Panthers. And risk future draft capital. And you could go get a two way star in Travis Hunter. And you pair him up with the guy that he played his college ball with, with Chidor Sanders. Or if you're the Giants, let's say you get Abdul Carter at three. You could go get another pass rusher who I think is the preeminent player in this draft. And you could still go get your quarterback. Because of how early both of those teams do pick in the second round.

It's not inconceivable to use that and maybe a future one. That's what it takes to potentially move up. And I don't know how rich it's going to be to move up.

But it's tougher to do when you don't have the extra first round pick. So if I'm Joe Shane and Andrew Berry. Let's be real. What is Andrew Berry associated with right now? Stu, when I say Andrew Berry. What's the first thing that you think of with this time at the Cleveland Browns? Traded a million picks for Deshaun Watson. And gave him a fully guaranteed contract, right?

Yep. So the perception of Andrew Berry. Even though he hasn't got slammed as publicly as Joe Shane. It's not in a positive light.

And you are treading water trying to keep your job. Now, when you hear the name Joe Shane, Stu. What's the first thing that you think of? I would say Daniel Jones. Okay.

Interesting. Even though he didn't draft Daniel Jones, but he kept Daniel Jones around. Yeah, but was attached to him and paid him for a year. I would think Saquon Barkley first. But still, to your point. If that's the second thing or the first thing.

Because everyone's different, right? You haven't found your quarterback yet. And I also think about his kid in hard knocks saying, Dad, you only get one chance at this. Go get Jayden Daniels. Well, if Joe Shane doesn't bring in a quarterback this year. And, sorry, Russell Wilson and Jamis Winston and Tommy DeVito.

We like your mother's chicken cutlets, but let's be real. None of them are going to be long-term starting quarterback for the Giants. Then you better win a lot of games. And the Giants don't have the ability in them this year to win a lot of games.

And that's why I would find a way to go get you North Sanders. Because it doesn't guarantee that you'll be back next year. But it increases your chances because you could provide some long-term hope. If he just plays halfway decent. So, I'm going to think that this could potentially be on the table.

Where it's risky when you do this. And I would not pass up on the quarterback at 2 or 3. But I could see a world where Cleveland takes Travis Hunter at 2.

The Giants take Abdul Carter at 3. Pick 4, let's say, is Will Campbell. 5 is Mason Graham. 6 is Ashton Gente.

7 is Tyler Warren. And then the Carolina Panthers are sitting there at 8. And the Panthers could be like, hmm. We could maybe make a trade. We could fall back. And we're okay with getting future assets. And we prevent the Saints from potentially getting Chadore Sanders. And we could get a team like the Giants or the Browns to come back up.

Who are desperate for a long-term quarterback. And they could get the best of both worlds. Where they get Travis Hunter and Chadore Sanders. Or Abdul Carter and Chadore Sanders. That's something that I think is on the table here for draft night. Which comes next Thursday in the first round. I think it's very much so on the table. And it would be a way that Andrew Berry and also Joe Shane could save some face. And finally be talked about in a positive way.

And get the best of both worlds if either could pull it off. So real quickly, which team or actually what play are you curious about the most where they land in the draft? For me and Chadore Sanders. Because I talked about him going 2 to Cleveland. I've talked about him going 3 to the Giants, 6 to the Raiders, 9 to the Saints. Who knows at this rate? I don't think he'll fall to 21. But maybe he does fall to 21. Or falls enough where then the Steelers are able to scoop him up. But Chadore Sanders to me is the player in the draft where I'm most fascinated by where he lands. Stu, who's your player where you're most curious where they end up landing?

For me it's Tyler Warren. I know there's some talk of him going to the Jets at 7. I think the Bears are a possibility as well. I don't think he falls past that but if he does it's not far. But I think where he goes if you take a tight end 7 I think that's kind of interesting. Because tight ends usually don't go that high.

So where he lands will be kind of interesting to me. And let's be real, the Raiders didn't have much last year. And they took Brock Bowers early. Already when they had another tight end that they used their early draft pick on. So I could say the earliest Warren goes I agree with you is the Jets at 7. I think the latest he goes is the Bears at 10. And could Carolina maybe surprise some people and take Tyler Warren and pair him up with Bryce Young?

Sure. I wouldn't anticipate the Saints to do it. But it wouldn't shock me because maybe those teams will just take the best player available. And I do believe Tyler Warren, he won't go in the top 5. But I think he's a top 5 player in the draft. Samter, who is your player that you're most curious to see where he's going to land in this draft?

It's a guy that you actually introduced me to. Mr. Ashton Gente of Boise State. Because he could go to Stu's Raiders. I think he's a perfect fit for the Bears at 10.

Yeah, that'd be fun. But it's so interesting to see how the running back positions. I was reading an article about the last number one overall pick running back, Adjana Carter. Whose career never took off because he tore his ACL before he even played a game. And you've seen some of these running backs go top 5.

That just didn't really work out. And so I think Ashton Gente is kind of a different character. So it's really interesting to see where he's going to go, how high. Because the fall off after him to Amarian Hampton and beyond that is pretty steep.

So it's going to be interesting. And you had Ezekiel Elliott have a good run early with the Cowboys. I think he went 6 or 4. Leonard Fournette never really panned out.

Yeah, that's true. He did win a Super Bowl. Melvin Gordon wasn't, you know. Saquon, I know it didn't work with the Giants as they envisioned it. But he ended up working out well with the Philadelphia Eagles clearly. Bijan Robinson has been good so far. He lives up to what we thought he was going to be. You can blame Arthur Smith, but still.

I think it's more so the incompetence of the organization. Bijan Robinson had a very good year this past year. And he's had a good first two years.

But I think they should use him just a little bit better. And then even I know it was a little bit later, I think it was 12. So it's a little bit past the top 10. But Jameer Gibbs, everyone slammed the lines for that pick. And that was an exceptional pick. So I think Ashton Gente is a top 5 player in the draft. And I usually wouldn't advocate taking a running back that early. But the Raiders need a face to their offense. I know they have Brock Bowers. But it's tough for a tight end to be the face of your offense. Usually it is a quarterback.

With them kind of hitching their wagon to Geno Smith, I think a team like the Raiders would make a ton of sense for Ashton Gente at 6. But if not, if the Bears are there at 10, scoop him up. Like if him or Warren are there at 10, whichever player is available, write the name down. Go right up to the podium.

And you end up doing that. Alright, this is Zach Gilch on the Infinity Sports Network. I'll do 10 NBA questions entering the playoffs.

Come on back, update time first. Here's Zach. Howdy, partner. The Defense of Player of the Week is sponsored by the Navy Federal Credit Union, who proudly serves the armed forces, DOD, veterans, and their families. Their members are the mission.

Learn more at NavyFederal.org. This week's players, Lanta Hawks guard Tyson Daniels, the third-year player out of Australia, finished the season with 229 steals, nearly 100 more than second-place Shea Gilges Alexander, who had 131. I'll tell you, any time I see Shea Gilges Alexander, I just want to say SGA because Jack Stern, wow, we're going really through the archives here of names at the network.

He once did an update and he was like Shea Gilges Alexander, I believe it was. And then he called Kirk Herbstreet, Kirk Herbstreet. And for whatever reason, even though it's an obvious name that everyone's heard of, in Shea Gilges Alexander and then Kirk Herbstreet, when you hear it one way and you laugh so much at it and you have fun at someone else's expense, for some reason it's then just stuck in your brain that way.

So now whenever I hear Kirk Herbstreet speak, I always have to pause before saying his name, and then when I go through the street and see Shea Gilges Alexander, the first thing I think of is actually Jack Stern, of all people. How about that? Anyway, entering the NBA postseason with the stupid play-in tournament starting tonight. Stu, you like how much I hate the play-in tournament. I do. It's pretty funny.

I just saw Stu was almost like falling over laughing. I can't stand the play-in tournament. So entering this dopey, stupid, dumb, just idiotic, waste-of-time play-in tournament, I have 10 questions entering the NBA playoffs. Celtics or Cavs is question one in the East. Those are the two best teams. Cavs have the best record. The Celtics have the second best record. Until someone takes down the Celtics, when it matters, I'm going to pick the Celtics out of the East. With that being said, the way that the Cavs can shoot from three, and I've seen them live in person now twice this season, they're going to be one tough out, duh, obvious statement. They're the number one overall seed. But I feel as if the Cavs, ever since the LeBron James era, we always look at them, even when they have good teams, and we're like, eh, we don't really need to take them seriously. Well, this is the best team that they've had post-LeBron James, and they've been sensational. But with Jason Tatum not playing great last year in the NBA Finals, and still winning a championship, I still think Tatum has something to prove in a bizarre way, and I don't believe that this is going to be a Celtics team that's going to resemble the Celtics team that they were before they won the championship with this core, which was a team that was ahead of the curve early, and then they got to a level where they ever win, and they finally answered that last year. So I would still lean with the Celtics.

Question number two. What does Tom Thibodeau need to do to keep his job? I don't think Leon Rose wants to fire Tom Thibodeau right now, and the two of them are very close.

And here's the crazy part about this. The Knicks are as stable as they've ever been in my lifetime, if we're just being fair about it. They just had back-to-back 50-win seasons. So Tom Thibodeau goes there. He goes 41-31, 37-45, 47-35, 50-32, and 51-31. I would have to guess their last back-to-back 50-win season as a franchise was in the late 90s, I would say. Let's see.

34, 44. No. Yeah. It was with Pat Riley.

Oh, my goodness gracious. And you go back to when they lost in the NBA Finals, well, they had four straight 50-win seasons then. Pat Riley, 51-31, 60-22, 57-25, and 55-27. So you're going back to 95, was the last time they won back-to-back 50-win seasons. So that's what Tibbs has done.

So I don't think the Knicks are looking to fire him. I understand. Like, I saw it the other night in person, Oji Ananobi. He looked like he was carrying around myself, Peter Schwartz. Pat Boyle, Andy Gresh. You know, any large human beings. Carlos Ortiz on his back.

And that was with 3.30 left in the third quarter, and he looked gassed. So I understand the demanding style of Tibbs. But as long as Tibbs gets past the Pistons, and then I don't think they'll beat the Celtics, but let's say they get past the Pistons, which I'll take the Knicks in six, and then they lose up against the Celtics, I do think Tibbs is going to be back to start next year. Here's the next question.

Question number three. Will Damian Lillard return? Now, Shams Sharani had some of this today, and he said Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard, who's had a blood clot, will miss the start of the NBA playoff, sources tell ESPN.

Bucks play game one of the first round against the Pacers on Saturday. Lillard has been sidelined since March 18th, and doctors continue to monitor progress for clearance. And then Shams also says Lillard has, however, made significant progress with the blood clot, and there remains optimism for clearance. At some point in the playoff, sources said he's continuing to increase basketball activity this week. So I texted a doctor, because I'm not good with this stuff, and it was Brandon Erickson who joined us when we had the blood clot, and he said, presumably, because I go, doesn't it seem too quick for Lillard?

He said, presumably they got the ultrasound and saw the clot had diminished or is gone. So I guess if you're a Bucks fan, first you got to win your first round matchup. Maybe come back later in the first round, but I think the second round, if you're there, would be more likely. Question four, can the Thunder live up to the pressure?

Here's my easy answer, yes. If the Thunder don't get to the NBA Finals, I'll be very disappointed, especially with the way that this is all broken down the last few weeks, with the Jenkins firing and also the Mike Malone firing as well. SGA is a stud. He's on the precipice of being, right, we know he's an MVP. We know he's a top five player, but there's difference in then getting the respect in the playoffs. SGA needs that moment, and I think the Thunder will be in the Finals this year. How far will Luka and LeBron go? I'm starting to think that Luka and LeBron with the Lakers are going to be in the Conference Finals, because I don't love the Rockets. The Lakers are the three seed. They should be able to beat the Timberwolves, which I think that matchup could be a little bit better than what people think.

With that being said, the Timberwolves just don't have that it factor this year, and they've only separated by a game in the regular season, 49 wins for the Timberwolves, 50 for the Lakers. So as long as the Lakers get through there, then they get the winner of the Rockets up against whoever is the seven. So if the Warriors are the seven, I would still pick the Lakers, and if the Rockets, right, get through in that 2-3 matchup, I'm still picking the Lakers. So I expect the Lakers to get to the Conference Finals. Six, what's the ceiling for the Warriors?

Now, they've got to get through the playing tournament. They play the Grizzlies, they win their end of the seven, they play the Rockets. They lose, and they've got to beat either the Kings or the Mavericks, whoever wins that, and then they would play the Thunder. I'm starting to think if they are, if they have to go up against the two, that they could win one series against the Rockets. If they played the Thunder, I think the Thunder would win. So I would say the ceiling probably for the Warriors is winning one round, which is wild because a few weeks ago I thought they could maybe go to the NBA Finals. Are the Clippers a sleeper?

It's tough for me to buy in on the Clippers. Now, Kawhi is healthy. I never liked, though, when James Harden is in the postseason, and also this means they have to remain healthy for the postseason.

It's one thing to be healthy now, then if you're going to get through a long run and be a sleeper, you've got to be healthy throughout that. I'm just not going to put stock in on the Clippers, even though Kawhi is one of the greatest mysteries ever. Will the Mike Malone fire in Question 8 benefit the Nuggets? I'm probably going to say no on this one, but Nikola Jokic has a moment, and his game's already at the next level. He's the best player in the sport to take it to a different level because he would basically be a player coach winning a championship here.

Nine, is this it for Ja Morant in Memphis? He's immature, he does stupid celebrations, and he puts himself in so much controversy that is self-inflicted. With that being said, there's years left on that contract. I don't think it behooves the Memphis Grizzlies right now to get rid of Ja Morant. I may be frustrated, but I don't think that this is going to be the last run at it for Ja Morant with the Memphis Grizzlies.

And then finally, here's Question 10. Who has the best chance to shift the face of the league conversation right now? Because it's off of LeBron, it's off of Kevin Durant. Steph Curry has been there, right? When Giannis won, he was considered maybe the best player in the league but not the face of the league. When Nikola Jokic won, he was considered the best player in the league but not the face of the league.

Last year, Anthony Edwards, even though they lost in the conference finals, that was a big conversation. I know Jason Tatum and Shea Gilgis Alexander, SGA, they don't have the biggest personalities, but if Tatum could go win back-to-back championships and go win a finals MVP, you could have face of the league conversation there with Jason Tatum. And for SGA, he's going to win the MVP this year. If he could parlay that with a NBA championship and a finals MVP, even though a lot of us know about SGA, I think he will then get thrown into that face of the league conversation. But it's kind of like Paddy Pimblet, right, the reverse way, where for Paddy Pimblet, it was always when he gets to the UFC.

Well, you know he does all the theatrics well, the drama, right, outside of the Octagon well, but can he match that in the Octagon? For Tatum and SGA, Tatum, we already know, has matched it on the court. SGA sort of has as well as an MVP, but you've got to go win a championship. Can you then match the off-the-court stuff with on-the-court stuff in order to catapult you to be the face of the league?

So that's how I would answer that question. So those are ten NBA questions entering the NBA playoffs. Alrighty, we will take a break. When we come on back, this Derek Carr story is fascinating. We talked about it last week, how he may miss the entirety of the season. Some people aren't buying the injury. This is juicy. Juicy, juicy, juicy with a lot of drama surrounding the Saints. We'll get to that next.