Damian Lillard Saga Continues (Hour 2)

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BirdDogs off, we promise you. We continue this Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio gearing up for the NBA Draft tomorrow night. Let's go out to the guest line right now and welcome in the host of the College Hoops Today podcast also does a great job as an insider for CBS Sports.

That of course is our guy in John Rothstein. John, appreciate the time as always. How are you? Great to be with you Zach.

Always good to chat. Well, you and I both know that we have an admiration and a love for wings and you turned me on to Bar Coastal which is no longer. But following your social media, the Kerryways wing which is the top five wing that I've ever had is now back at Plug Uglies.

Did I get that right? You got it right, that is Plug Uglies. My wife and I went there last Saturday. Very underrated part of Plug Uglies is the Smashburger which is as good of a burger I would say as I've had at a bar type setting. So while the wings are going to drive people in droves in the same location as Bar Coastal, the burger is not to be plucked on. Is it the same wings as the one that were at Bar Coastal? Like you can't tell the difference? Same one.

You wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It's definitely worth the trip up to the Upper East Side. 78th and 1st. Well that's good to know.

I'm going to have to definitely try that out and go there this summer. John Rothstein here with us. In the last 20 years John, the two most hyped prospects have been LeBron James and Zion Williamson. Does the hype for Victor Wambunyama exceed both LeBron and Zion when you remember them as prospects?

Well I think the difference with Victor Wambunyama versus those two players is we had samples regularly in America. I know there's been a couple times where Victor Wambunyama played in the States but LeBron James' high school games were on ESPN when he was at St. Vincent St. Mary and you knew that this guy was going to be a generational talent. And as far as Zion Williamson, he had the platform of playing at Duke for a season where Duke earned a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. So you knew, you knew that Zion Williamson was going to be obviously somebody who was going to be the top pick in the NBA draft.

That was the sweepstakes of that lottery. Victor Wambunyama is different. He's different because his game is different. He's different because the NBA's game has changed as well. And he is somebody again that ironically enough is going to go to a franchise due 26 years ago drafted Tim Duncan.

So you really can't really be too mad if you're a first man, right? Everyone sees the height and the size of Victor Wambunyama and they're enamored. I'm just wondering for people that have been able to see him play, what can you tell us about him? I think just the way that his body is structured with his wingspan, with his ability because everybody is so focused on what he does offensively with his size, length, skill, feel for the game. He has a chance because of how big he is to be an incredible defender, not just on the ball, Zach, but in terms of his health side ability because he is so unique and he's so long. So it's a testament really, I think, how basketball has changed that Victor Wambunyama has been crafted and molded like a piece of clay like we're going to see here for the next couple of decades in the NBA with San Antonio. I was 5 feet away from him earlier this morning at his press conference and he walks in the room, the guy looks like a 7 foot 4 alien. Do you think he needs to add on more weight?

Because I know he's resisted a little bit, at least publicly to doing that. The NBA game has changed so much now. I don't think we have the bruisers that we had in the 90s in terms of the durability of somebody like Victor Wambunyama. I think you want to see him avoid something that somebody like Kristof was in, get dealt with in his career, which was obviously being injury prone. But I don't know necessarily if it's the weight, Zach, as much as it's improving his body composition so he can obviously absorb the wear and tear of an 82-game NBA season.

Jon Rothstein here with us. Everything being said about Victor Wambunyama right now is extremely positive. We know when LeBron got in the league it only took 4 years for him to take that dreadful Cleveland team to the NBA Finals. Can you see Victor having early on in his first 4 or 5 years of his career a LeBron James type of impact?

I don't want to put that type of pressure on him. Again, I cover college basketball so this is something after the NBA type forecast. He's clearly the top prospect in this NBA draft. He's a generational type talent. I think when you think about what's being forecasted as, this is somebody who is a multi-time NBA All-Star.

People that are 15 years are going to be disappointed down the road. It's something to keep in mind for somebody who would get to play a game or an NBA. When you look at Brandon Miller, Jon Rothstein, who's your comparison for Brandon Miller?

Paul George. Brandon Miller is one of the best shooters in this draft. He's also an exceptionally good rebounder. To me, this is the guy that I think should be the number 2 pick in the NBA draft. He was the first team All-American.

I know Alabama did not have the type of ending to their season. I hope they wouldn't have lost to San Diego State in the 3-16, but Brandon Miller to me is clearly the second best prospect in this draft. Somebody again that can shoot the basketball with great size.

That's a real, real coveted commodity in the NBA. He's the guy who has to take a number 2. Why are you a Brandon Miller guy over Scoot Henderson? I just think when you have a scenario where you have somebody who has proven something at the highest levels of college basketball. He was a freshman and he was the best player on the team that earned a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Remember, Alabama had never been the number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament until Brandon Miller arrived on campus. Knowing that you have that commodity with somebody who stands 6'9 is just to me much more impressive than somebody who has major questions about his shooting ability at the lead guard position, frankly in a situation in the G-League that isn't near the platform at college basketball. When you look at the tape from Scoot Henderson from G-League you ignite.

What are you kind to see and who's your player comp for? You know, I think you can look at people like Derrick Rose. You can look at people like Russell Westbrook.

There's a combination there. The explosiveness is not to be obviously denied. He's an exceptional, exceptional athlete. But in order to stick in the NBA, especially now with the spacing and the concept that so many offensive teams are using, you have to be able to consistently make shots from the outside. And that's the million dollar question for Scoot Henderson, which is an alluring one if you're looking on this guy being the lead guard that you're going to bank on with your NBA franchise.

Gotcha. And then when you look at Eamon Thompson, what stands out to you about him? Well, I mean, I think the thing you love about both of the Thompson guys from everybody you talk to around overtime in the league and close to them is just their incredible desire for the game, but these guys are again coming into a scenario where for all intents and purpose, it's a risk-reward type thing. Because these are guys, again, who have not played at the highest levels of competition, in my opinion, compared to people who have been proven commodities in college basketball.

I think that's a big thing for me that I take into account. When you look at some of the other highly rated prospects in this draft, everyone's talking about the big four names that we just discussed. John Rothstein, who else jumps off the page to you and do you really like? Well, I mean, I think there's been a lot of discussion recently about Cam Whitmore. He's somebody who I think never really got off to a strong start at Villanova because he had an injury at the offset. But this is somebody, again, who I saw at a preseason practice who I felt like would have been far and away the best offensive freshman that Villanova had since then. There's Steve Lapis in the late 90s, but when you miss the majority of preseason practice, and then you miss the start of a season, Zach, and you're not playing with Justin Moore, who's obviously a veteran playmaker for later in the season, it affects things. I think, though, and I've talked to some NBA people about this, that there's a lot of people who think Cam Whitmore is a top three to five prospect in this draft.

He's somebody I would look at closely. There's other guys here in this draft, Zach, that I think are pieces to an NBA puzzle. I think there's some good with Anthony Black. I think there's some good with Jaris Walker.

He can trick the defense 6-8 and be that kind of a stretch for like a Jake Crowder. But I also think, you know, we don't have, in my opinion, cornerstone pieces after Brandon Miller and Victor Wambunyama. I know each and every year talking to you, John Rothstein, you always give me a name or two that could be a really good value pick in the second round. Who's the name or two that you're buzzing this year that could fold around to? Well, there's a couple of guys that I have, you know, my intent is up on because I think, Zach, we put so much in for the potential for the NBA draft, there's not enough about the productivity. The guys that I'm looking at, and I've obviously looked at in college closely, that I think could fall or go somewhere between 20 and beyond or 17, 18 and beyond, who I think would be able to be NBA rotation players and long-term NBA pros are the following guys. Jaime Hopkins from UCLA, I'm a major, major fan. I'm a huge fan as well of Colby Jones out of Xavier. Really skilled player, reminds me a lot, he's not identical, but could have a Josh Hart type role in the NBA. I also think that if, you know, you're looking at production, okay, and productivity, how are more people not looking at finding a place for Adama Sanogo? This is somebody who's the most outstanding player in the NCAA tournament, and again, he's not getting a Smith in the top 35, 40 picks from everybody I'm talking to.

I think those are three guys that really, really stand out. I was quite sensible, his shooting ability makes him a candidate to stick out of Ohio State, and then Marcus Sasser from Houston, to me, has the opportunity to be, I think, somebody who can stick in the league as, you know, as a really good rotation player. On the way out with John Rothstein, clearly a lot has transpired with Bob Huggins the last month, now he's out as he resigned as the head coach of West Virginia.

We know the homophobic comments he made in the radio interview and that everyone did see the DUI that did happen last week. How do you kind of react to the end of what we would think is the Hall of Fame career of Bob Huggins? Really disappointing, Zach, really sad, you know, because, you know, Bob Huggins is a Hall of Famer, he loves his alma mater and he loves obviously coaching, but he's somebody again who is going to, you know, unfortunately be remembered as part of his bio as somebody who lost the Cincinnati job and he lost the West Virginia job because of alcohol. And this is somebody who, even though, you know, they had to make a change to West Virginia, it's irreplaceable in West Virginia's fabric, and I think it's going to be exceptionally critical for West Virginia's next set coach to embrace Bob Huggins and all that he brought to the table, because it's Bob Huggins who really allowed the people of West Virginia to rally around that basketball program. It's Bob Huggins who got West Virginia to fund all the money for a major state-of-the-art practice facility.

He raised that money, not the school. So this is somebody again who West Virginia, you know, sad to say goodbye to, but the next set coach is going to have to keep him around if obviously he wants to have success and get off to the right foot in Morgantown. Do you think the best course of action with how late in the game it is right now and the typical hiring cycle being over to just go with an interim this year and then look for the full-time coach a year from now?

I thought that would have been the best course of action, but from everything I'm gathering out of Morgantown, this is a full-fledged search and one that's just getting going, but you know, this is June. Every minute, every day that goes by, it gets harder and harder to keep things stable and together, because these are kids here that are starting summer school and getting ready to learn their teammates and their offensive and defensive concepts, so it's a really, really, you know, less than advantageous time to be going through a coaching change. Are there a few names that are on your radar that you think could make sense for West Virginia?

I think it's just a unique job, Zach, and it's just a unique place that it would take a special person to flourish there. I don't think there's one clear-cut plan on candidate. Well, a name that's going to get thrown out there. I know he just signed an extension and his whole team's coming back, so maybe it's going to be a year from now, but do you think Dusty May will be in play there?

No, I do not. Dusty May, I believe, will be coaching at Florida Atlantic next year. Gotcha. John Rothstein, appreciate the time as always.

Thanks so much. Always, buddy. Great talking to you, Zach. There you go. John Rothstein joining us on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break right here. When we come on back, I want to touch on the tail end of that conversation about the future of the West Virginia job, because I'm really curious what West Virginia is looking for and if they're going to find that in the next few months or if it's going to be a year from now. But something that John said just makes me pause a little bit, and I wonder if they're going to get the best candidate.

I'll explain why on the other side. This is the Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. You can always give us a call.

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Take advantage of exceptional lease and finance offers today. One name that we didn't bring up, Hickey, and I just brought it up to John Rothstein, and he said no and he dismissed it, is Dusty May. And I know Dusty May just signed a long-term extension with FAU, and he has his entire team, for the most part, that did go to the Final Four, returning. And I would not expect Dusty May to leave right now, but if this job is still open a year from now, I wonder, is West Virginia a job that Dusty May, who probably has the pick of almost any job that's going to become available, that if he wants it, he could probably get it?

When you take FAU to the Final Four, I really do wonder if that would be a job, Hickey, that he would say, I have to go have. Because we've seen coaches before go on these great runs in the NCAA tournament, like Shaka Smart stayed for a while. Porter Moser, before leaving to go to Oklahoma, he stayed a while, wanted to get back in the big dance.

You know, Paul Mills just didn't get up and leave Oral Roberts right away. So I'm curious where sometimes we see coaches, you get a big job, you've had success, you bolt right away, I don't blame you. But other times we've seen coaches stay, and West Virginia is a good job right now.

I don't know if it's a great job, I'm just asking the question, and I wonder if Dusty May would view it as a great job, hot take, Hickey. And I wonder from the other side, would WVU be interested? Now obviously I think he has to have success with FAU again next year, can't just be a one-hit wonder. But it is a mixed bag in terms of coaches making, let's say, the unprecedented or coming out of nowhere run to the Elite Eight or the Final Four. You have Jim Ileronegos that have been great coaches going forward. You also have the NDN fields of the world that are doing okay at USC. Shaka Smart's doing a better job now, Markeff, but he was kind of running out of town at Texas. I wonder if you're WVU and that is a job where we had Jon Fantine yesterday talking about it's a top 25 job in the country.

One that a lot of people are going to be interested in. If Dusty May is even on the list, if you're West Virginia, let's say come March or April, if you have a full-blown search. Well, you may be onto something because it's kind of what was being discussed a little bit there or alluded to by Jon Rothstein. Are they going to look to get a guy that has ties to the university or ties to Bob Huggins?

And this is the bizarre part of it. When Jim Boeheim leaves and he retires, one of his own gets promoted. When Mike Krzyzewski walks away, one of his own gets promoted. When Roy Williams walks away, one of his own gets promoted.

When Jay Wright walks away, I know he was at Fordham, but Villanova guy Kyle Neptune gets promoted. In this case, yes, Bob Huggins is a Hall of Fame coach. Bob Huggins did wonders for West Virginia.

It ended extremely ugly with the homophobic comments on the radio station and then with another DUI. And I wonder if West Virginia is going to feel compelled, even though it ended really ugly, where they look at it and they go, well, Bob Huggins had a lot of success here. So even though we're not happy with Bob Huggins right now, we're still going to hire someone that knows him and knows the university really well. One or the other, maybe both, because we want to not have this ship sink.

We don't want this to be a disaster. And even though you would think you would run away from the Bob Huggins tree, you know it and I know it in college athletics, people like familiarity. And a lot of times when these legendary Hall of Fame coaches depart, a guy that knows the Hall of Fame coach gets brought in to try to hold on to that magic and continue that magic moving on into the future.

And it doesn't always work. You know, I'm not ready to say that Kyle Neptune won't work at Villanova, did not have a good year this year. I know Hubert Davis, first year, got to the NCAA championship game, second year, didn't have as much success as you would like. John Shire did well in year one, then had a hiccup in the NCAA tournament, where a lot of people thought they were going to go to the Final Four and they were gelling at the right time.

And we'll see what happens this year with Syracuse. But it's just something to monitor where we've seen a lot of big-time coaches recently depart their schools and off the top of my head are the ones that we just named. Not that Bob is going to be able to pick the hire here, but those coaches were pretty much able to pick the hire, and it was one of those guys that had ties to their coaching tree and ties to the program that ended up getting promoted hickey. And I can't pretend to know the West Virginia staff, so I'm not sure how many former players are there, and if he was at that point kind of grooming anyone to maybe take over. I think it was John Fanta, right, when he joined us, kind of saying that he was kind of almost preparing to retire and maybe I've seen reports that this upcoming year was going to be his final year, so maybe he already was in the process of grooming someone and maybe West Virginia tapped that person to make it easy, but I think if you're the Mountaineers, look, Bob Huggins got into this mess himself. I don't think you owe it to him even for how great he was and where he put the basketball program to hire the person he wants to be hired or hire the person that he was grooming.

I think if you go through this season and open it up, you should be looking for the best candidate. If that ends up being from the Bob Huggins tree or someone that was in the program, okay, fine, but if not, I think you owe it to yourself going forward here to make sure that West Virginia is back in the national prominence in terms of college basketball to hire the right guy, not maybe someone that the fans or Bob Huggins would love to see. And two names that I've really seen thrown out there, Andy Kennedy, who worked with Bob Huggins at Cincinnati, and then Gerard Calhoun, who has worked with Bob Huggins and has strong ties to West Virginia.

So Calhoun was there in Cincinnati, then also West Virginia as well. So those have been two names that I've seen thrown out there. But the other part of this, too, is when do you make this decision? And if you get your guy and you can get him right now, okay, fine. I just don't know this late in the game if the best candidate is going to be available. And that, to me, is something where right now I lean on, okay, you hire an interim and then a year from now you really delve into this coaching search.

And if you want to use it as a tryout for one of the coaches and the staff, okay, fine, here's your audition. But I think at this point, we're sitting here middle of June, almost late June, I don't think the guy that you truly want deep down is number one on your list is available right now to make that move at this point. Now, if that's a guy that has ties to Bob Huggins, I think you can find the way to hire him right now, whether it was someone that was on the staff or someone that is somewhere else that has ties to Bob Huggins, because clearly they wouldn't say no to this job. And I'm not saying that you have to hire someone just that has ties to Bob Huggins to kind of honor him and whatnot, because he doesn't deserve to be honored right now with what he's done, even though he had a great Hall of Fame career. It just wouldn't surprise me that people hire and go, yeah, we acknowledge what Bob Huggins did the last two months was extremely wrong, but we still want to try to replicate what he did on a basketball court and get someone that understands the university and understand what he did. And then you just hope that that person doesn't have all the problems off the court that Bob Huggins did at the end. Now, I look at Texas, who would have ever thought that Rodney Terry, and I know it was in season, so it's different, but when Chris Beard got fired, suspended and eventually fired, who would have ever thought that Rodney Terry would have ended up getting the job on a full-time basis? I think everyone, when that move was made, was like, oh, he's an interim. Then he ended up having a lot of success, had the support of the locker room, had success in the NCAA tournament, and then the next thing you know, at a very big job in Texas, that guy ends up getting the full-time head coaching gig. So I don't think anything goes wrong.

And I know you have a transfer portal, and I know NIL, and it's a totally different game right now, but I don't think it really is the wrong move to just make someone the interim, see where it goes, and he doesn't have to get the job, but it's pretty much a tryout. Do you hear that? That is the sound of BMW performance without a single piston or cylinder, a generation of all-electric vehicles designed and built like no other. The BMW iX, i7, and i4 revolutionize every drive into a thrilling opportunity to feel the pure rush of BMW 100% electric.

But isn't that what you'd expect from the ultimate electric driving machine? Take advantage of exceptional lease and finance offers today. We'll see what this group does go, and then a year from now, when the candidate pool is more robust, and who knows who breaks out since then, and who has sustained success, we then look at West Virginia and go, okay, the timing is now right, where I don't look like a bad guy, and a year from now, I go out there and secure the West Virginia job. I just don't see timing-wise right now why it would make sense for West Virginia to try to get someone from the outside, just because it's like, what are they honestly going to do? They can't bring any players in for the most part. The rushes are set, and either you're going to have a coach coaching his system with players that most likely don't fit it, or a coach trying to coach a system he doesn't know, trying to fit to what the players know this late, and it's just like, for year one, it just feels almost pointless to bring someone in from the outside, go into him, like I said, have it be an audition, if you will, and maybe get Rodney Terror 2.0, okay, works out.

Otherwise, open it up and truly get the best guy come April. It is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a break. I was reading it on Pro Football Talk. We've had updated odds on the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes.

We'll delve into that. And there is about one team on this list. Yeah, just one team, because three or four that we've talked about, but one team that is pretty high up there on the list that we've not discussed.

And after seeing that team, I don't know if DeAndre Hopkins would go there, but if he would consider going there, that team should pounce, and they should be all in because it's going to be a big year, and they're going to be a team that we're going to be talking about a lot that usually we don't spend much time talking about because they've been losers for a long time. So we'll get to that team when we return. He's back. Here's Zach Gelb. How we doing? Zach Gelb's show, CBS Sports Radio.

Appreciate you listening to us. Coming up at the top of the hour, who were the top five QBs in the NFL? One former Super Bowl champion gave his top five QBs, and I'll give my top five QBs as well, and I'll also maybe even give you the top ten quarterbacks in the National Football League right now.

I think eight names are non-debatable and non-negotiable, and they have to be in the top eight, and then nine and ten get very compelling. But first, I was reading a pro football talk earlier today that the odds have updated on DeAndre Hopkins' next team via DraftKings. The Patriots right now are plus 100. The Bills are at plus 350. Tennessee is at plus 400. And then the Detroit Lions are in at plus 500. So let's break down all these destinations. The Patriots you've already visited going back to last week on Thursday.

I've said this on this show. I really do believe DeAndre Hopkins is going to wind up with the New England Patriots. I think they'll pay him.

I do believe, regardless of what he says, money is the number one priority. I don't know this late in the game if he's going to get the Odell Beckham Jr. contract of one year, $15 million guaranteed. Is DeAndre Hopkins a much better player at this stage of his career than Odell Beckham Jr.?

Absolutely. He should be paid more than Odell Beckham Jr., but just because you're better than someone doesn't mean you're going to get more money. Circumstances matter, and it's this late in this game. I think they'll get close to a number that DeAndre Hopkins wants, but not fully the number. Also, the Patriots create an opportunity where he could be the number one wide receiver. Kendrick Bourne, not a number one wide receiver. Devante Parker, not a number one wide receiver. Taequann Thornton had a Baylor, not a number one wide receiver. Juju Smith-Schuster, good player, but more of a two than a one.

We used to have that debate. Is Juju Smith-Schuster a number one wide receiver? Because at times when he was in Pittsburgh, he looked like a number one wide receiver, but then he would also look like a number two wide receiver.

And I think at Juju Smith-Schuster's best, he's a one and a half, but I think he's shown more times than not that he's a two in this league. And then it's the winning factor, because DeAndre Hopkins publicly will talk about how much he wants to win and how that's the number one priority. You know that's not always the case. Everyone wants to win, but when you say that, do you actually want to win? Or can being a number one wide receiver and also getting the most money talk you into making a team a winning team? And I think when you look at the Patriots, no one expects the Patriots to go to the Super Bowl this year. No one expects them to win their division. No one is really sitting there and telling you that they're even going to definitely make the playoffs. But when you look at what they've accomplished under Bill Belichick, I know Brady's no longer there, and you know the way that that organization is perceived around the league, I do think, Hickey, there is a way that DeAndre Hopkins could look at them and say, all right, they're going to give me the number one wide receiving tag.

Oh, they're going to give me a contract that I would like on a one-year deal. Oh, they got Bill Belichick. Bill Belichick always has a chance. So then the Patriots could be a quote-unquote winning team or a winning situation in the eyes of DeAndre Hopkins. That's why I do think he's going to the Patriots. I mean, we know Bill especially has an affinity for DeAndre Hopkins.

The two have a mutual respect that we've seen on multiple occasions, hanging out, showing some respect before the game. And Bill, especially last year, not going to play whatsoever, still obviously deserves the benefit of the doubt. So if you're DeAndre Hopkins, you can easily convince yourself, even in a loaded AFC, I got Bill Belichick, we should be one of the seven playoff teams. No doubt about it. And it seems like this Bill O'Brien issue, which we thought was going to be an issue, is now being talked about as a non-issue, which makes me think that DeAndre Hopkins are enough people in DeAndre Hopkins' camp, and maybe time heals all wounds, or when you're a free agent and a team presents a situation where you can be a number one wide receiver and this late in the game, they'll pay you the most amount of money that you'll probably get compared to anywhere else, or they have the ability to do that.

I'm pretty damn close to it. I think you find a way to not let your former head coach, who you did have success with and some good memories, but then a lot of bad memories with as well, I don't think you let the offensive coordinator, who, in this case, essentially the head coach on the offensive side of the ball for the Patriots, it doesn't at least appear like they're going to let that be a problem, and it at least seems like for now, whatever issues there were, I'm not saying that Bill O'Brien and DeAndre Hopkins have to do lunch every Friday and they're going to be hanging out, but you could put those differences aside for the best interest of the football team and also the best interest maybe for what DeAndre Hopkins is looking for. Especially with Bill, Belichick that is, the lead dog, again, if he wants Hopkins, he'll make sure O'Brien falls in line, so even if right now maybe the fences aren't totally mended, I bet you if he does sign that, O'Brien will be talking to him and Bill will make sure both O'Brien and DeHop are on the same page.

Hey, Billy. The real Bill here, Bill Belichick. Just go get DeAndre Hopkins a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee each and every morning, a drive into practice, and you make sure that you guys end up being best friends, okay? Because we're looking for a player that's going to help the team.

That's T-E-A-M team. So, okay, Bill O'Brien, you're going to listen to everything I say. And really, what else is Bill O'Brien going to do? He shouldn't be the offensive coordinator if you're going to have someone like DeAndre Hopkins that's saying, oh, I don't want to go there just because Bill O'Brien is there. I am interested to see because the one thing you hear about DeAndre Hopkins in a negative light is his practice habits. And as we know, Bill Belichick is Mr.

Practice. I wonder how, now if he signs him again, he knows, I would assume, what he's signing up for, that is Bill Belichick and bringing in DeAndre Hopkins. But I do wonder, week four, it's a Wednesday, Hopkins, all my leg hurts, or I'm not practicing today.

I wonder how that would go over. I think Randy Moss is the perfect example. Where I know it ended not in the best of ways, but you hear about how Randy Moss talks about Bill Belichick. I think when you could significantly impact the team, I'm not saying that there are glaring exceptions, but I think Bill finds a way to just make it all work. And I think now Bill Belichick realizes that he's in a situation where people are starting to doubt him. And he's in a spot where last year you messed it up because you let those two bozos in, Patricia and Matt Judge, Joe Judge, run that team and run that offensive side of the ball. And you didn't put Mack in a position to succeed from a coaching standpoint and also from a receiving standpoint.

And maybe this is what it takes. And last year is a learning lesson for Bill. We'll never admit this publicly, where life after Brady, what he needs to do is go improve the wide receiving room. Because when Brady was there, you could cut corners. When Brady was there, you could say, all right, I don't need to go pay Wes Walker or I don't need to go out there and get the creme de la creme player. I'll just find a way to convert Julian Edelman from a quarterback to a special teamer to a wide receiver and make him great.

Or find anyone pretty much out there because I have Brady. Now with Mack Jones, you look at what other teams are doing, Buffalo, Philadelphia, where those quarterbacks didn't take off until they got great players and great wide receivers around them. And maybe Bill is finally starting to realize that.

He got Bill O'Brien in there. That was the first thing I asked for this offseason. The next thing I asked for was to go get a number one wide receiver. I thought it was going to come through the draft.

They didn't do that. I've also been advocating for DeAndre Hopkins for a while. And I do feel like they're going to go out there and get DeAndre Hopkins. Now we look at the other teams, the Bills at plus three fifty. I'm really curious to see what Buffalo does, but Buffalo feels like they're the team that outside of Von Miller, we keep on talking about them going out there and getting the big fish. And they're kind of like the Packers.

Well, they'll say they entertained it, but they don't end up getting the job done. And I don't know, because the Von Diggs has said before that he would want a guy like an Odell Beckham or DeAndre Hopkins. But the timing of this latest outburst from Stefan Diggs, I think you're kind of playing with fire, where maybe he'll go back on that word if he's so concerned about the targets. Yeah, it's one thing to say I want DeAndre Hopkins, or I'd be open to get an Odell Beckham Jr., even though Odell's down with the Baltimore Ravens and with Lamar Jackson. But if you go get DeAndre Hopkins, your targets are going to be cut.

And I just wonder, even though he's still the number one option there, Stefan Diggs, I think what he's doing right now is he wants to win, but he also wants to win and be the man. And if you go get DeAndre Hopkins, it's not a guarantee that you're always going to be the man because you have two number one wide receivers, then, on your football team. I'd be very surprised at this stage of the game with everything that's happened if Stefan Diggs is playing next to DeAndre Hopkins next year. I don't think Hopkins is in Buffalo.

You are lighting your money on fire if you're taking the bills at plus 350. I'm with you. I don't think there's a chance it happens. And again, we've talked with Diggs. And the salary cap space, too. And Diggs' salary cap space and also the fact that Buffalo's removed for everyone. They don't do it.

Until they do it, I won't believe it. Now, Tennessee's at plus 400. I feel like he had his visit in Tennessee and you heard nothing about the visit in Tennessee.

And then it was up. He's going to New England and then there's been a lot of positive things being said about New England. I would be surprised if he's a Tennessee Titan, but if New England can't find a way to make it work, the only team he's visited so far has been Tennessee.

So maybe that could be a good value play at plus 400, where they've had some success in it last year. They got out to that good start and they were disaster down the stretch. And they have Derrick Henry. I don't look at Tennessee as a winning team this year and I don't think they're going to be all that good. But in desperate times, could DeAndre Hopkins maybe talk about Tennessee being a playoff team this year and talk himself into that if they're going to pay him whatever he wants?

Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me. Like, Kaleis Campbell is talking about the Falcons this year. Now, don't be surprised at Atlanta. Like, if you tell me Atlanta wins the division, okay, the division stinks.

But they're not going to be a serious contender this year, the Atlanta Falcons. But when you get what you want, you sometimes make a situation that isn't that desirable. You try to put lipstick on the pig and make it a whole lot better looking.

But in reality, it's still a pig, you know, down deep. Feels like he will go, like, the Titans, I think, are a good bet in the sense that he talks about winning, but he, I think, will take a big paycheck and then convince himself, oh, the Titans were one game away last year from winning the division over the Jaguars, and I'm the difference. I'll go in there. We'll win that game now instead of losing it with, oh, with who? I forget their name. Josh Dobbs, Joshua Dobbs.

Oh, yeah. And we will go to the playoffs. And plus, I'll get my 15 mil and be the number one wide receiver. His priorities, and I don't care which way you have your priorities, it's your life.

You live the way that you want to do. But his priorities are clearly money one, targets two, and then winning three. Because if I was DeAndre Hopkins, for one year, take a discount and go sign with Kansas City. You have Travis Kelsey and yourself with Patrick Mahomes throwing you the football? I think that would set you up for a monster deal.

I really do think it would. And then finally, Detroit Lions, they come in at plus 500. I have not thought about the Detroit Lions yet, Hickey. Because even though I feel like everyone's rooting for the Detroit Lions, we still don't view them as a sexy destination because they've been so bad for so long. And I hope that that team not only meets the expectations this year, but exceeds them, because that fan base deserves it. But I take a glance at the Detroit Lions where there is a need for another wide receiver.

You could use a veteran voice in there, no question. And that's a team that is a winning situation this year. Now I got to look at their salary cap space and see if they can make it work from that standpoint. But you look at being a number one wide receiver and you look at a team that is now considered a winning destination, where it's not crazy to say that the Lions win the division this year and maybe the third best team in the NFC. We know Philadelphia's one and then the 49ers are two. Out of a lot of those destinations, that we just went through, I think the Lions are realistic. And I think the Lions, it's kind of weird to say, are a landing spot that is attractive right now. Absolutely, especially with Jamison Williams now missing the first six games. So sure, his target share may go down when he returns for the last two thirds of the season. But he's still the alpha, DeAndre Hopkins. You go in there, you have, you know, he's by far the best veteran they have. Again, you have Amand Raas St. Brown and when Jamison Williams goes back two young rising receivers. Oh yeah, that's true.

Amand Raas St. Brown is the number one option there. 100%, he's a great wide receiver. But you have DeAndre Hopkins by far the most established and the guy who's done the most.

So again, that credibility you think would carry the locker room, especially with a guy in Jared Goff throwing the football. So he would get less targets than at least the other two in terms of New England and Tennessee. Buffalo probably get a good amount, but maybe, you know, equal to the same as Detroit. But it'd be a fun destination.

He'd be winning, that's for sure. Seven most cap space available, by the way, in the NFL right now. They got $22.9 million. They check all the boxes, Detroit. And you're right.

You know, I'll throw this out there real quickly. Amand Raas St. Brown, what he's done the first two years, is he now the Keenan Allen of the NFL where everyone starts to say he's the most underrated wide receiver in the league? This year feels like that could be the trajectory for him. Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio coming on back. Top five quarterbacks next.