CJ Stroud & DJ Moore Join! (Hour 3)

A peanut butter M&M's production. In a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring, but the runners-up get nothing, one retired cop returns. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter, but you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort coming soon to a Super Bowl new you.

Okay, picture this. It's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever or I can hop into my all-new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road. With available H-Track all-wheel drive and three-row seating, my whole family can head deep into the wild. Conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai, there's joy in every journey.

2024 Santa Fe available early 2024. We continue this at Gelb Show Coast to Coast on CBS Sports Radio inside the convention center at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. And man, I don't know if I've ever seen a better rookie season than the one that my next guest had, and that is the quarterback of the Houston Texans, a game changer, a stud, already a top five quarterback, in my opinion, in the NFL. He is CJ Stroud on behalf of Visa today. CJ, great to see you.

Congratulations on all your success. How are you? I'm good, man. Thank you for having me. So I remember the last time I talked to you, I was at the Heisman and it was right before the college football playoff game up against Georgia. And people were, were kind of down on you, even though you were a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. And I said to you, I know you haven't made a decision yet on, on declaring for the draft, but if I'm a GM, why should I take you number one overall? And something that stood out to me, you said you're more mobile than what people give you credit for. And you hope to put that on display soon. I'm just wondering, since that conversation we've seen it on the field, have you kind of learned to, to use your legs and move around the pocket a little bit more?

Oh yeah. I feel like I've always kind of had that skill. Stop being a young kid. I'm not like super fast, but I'm, I'm pretty elusive and I can extend plays. And I think I did that my whole career, but people, people highlight a game and they don't know what's, what's going on behind the scenes, you know? So it was a lot of things that I was dealing with in college that I couldn't run because I was injured or things like that. And I fought through that injury and still tried to play. So I know it's all old news and I think I'm proving those people wrong right now.

So I've been having a ball, you know, extended plays in at the next level against the best players in the world. I thought your draft coverage was bull crap. Like if people didn't want you to be the first quarterback, you know, second quarterback, whatever it was, but this S2 cognitive tests, like it, it had to annoy you, right? That people were, were basically saying that's why you shouldn't get drafted.

Not necessarily. Like I, of course I wasn't happy about it, but I mean, it wasn't, it wasn't the first time people wrote me off or try to get me to be less than, than I knew my potential was, you know? So I really was kind of ready for it in a sense, because I knew something was going to come with the process. It kind of is how it goes all the time, you know? So, I mean, I was blessed enough to fight through that and still create great relationships with these GMs and the owners and the head coaches. And so I think I have a lot of respect around the league on how I conduct myself in that manner, of course. And then you turn on the film, you can clearly tell that I was a smart quarterback and I'm still doing it now. So, you know, it's all, it's all good.

I don't have any ill will or any, I'm not mad at anybody. I just, I hope it doesn't happen to anybody else, but I knew that I was strong enough to go through it. Talking to CJ Stroud right now, what did this year kind of mean to you? How do you kind of put it into words? Cause it was so surreal to watch.

I can't imagine actually living through it. It was special, man. You know, just having the opportunity to start as a rookie from game one, all the way into the playoffs, you know, just a lot of learning, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of growing, you know, so I had an amazing time just playing with my teammates and having a great time with them.

So, I mean, I just say this season was special and it's just something I'm gonna learn from. Did you know the night of the draft that you were going to be the second overall pick to the Texans? Cause it was clear the Panthers were taking Bryce young, right?

Not really. I didn't know where I thought I could have went one all the way to 10. You know, I didn't know where I was going to go. Cause I remember you were sitting at the draft, we're alive on location and everyone's like, Oh, CJ's going to fall.

CJ's going to fall. And I'm like, I don't know. I feel like the day when you wake up and you hear someone's going to fall, they don't usually end up falling. Well, I mean, that's people's opinion and everybody's entitled to their own, but you know, I live in reality and I'm the person, you know, sit in the shoes that has to get picked. So I honestly wasn't stressed about it. Like if I dropped cool, if I got picked early, cool. Cause at the end of the day, like it's not in my control.

I'm not the one making the decision. I did what I did on film. I had the interviews. I did everything in my power and my control at that point.

So at that time I was kind of relaxing, just ready to figure out where I was going to live for the next couple of years. There's this theory out there and you've obviously heard it that Frank Reich and, and Josh McCown, they wanted to draft you. Then David Tepper of the Panthers, the owner usurped it to get Bryce young. There's that video with you and McCown and Reich.

And it looks like, like he's trying to start some pickup basketball game or whatever he said. Was any of that stuff like true to like the Panthers? Did it surprise you when they didn't take you? I wouldn't say I wasn't surprised. I mean, I knew that it was going to be me or Bryce. Cause they were, they told, they told me that they were looking for a quarterback.

And I wasn't necessarily saying it wasn't going to be new or it was. I mean, I was kind of just looking at my phone, ready for the phone call. If it came and I seen Bryce and his family excited and I was just super happy for my brother. You know, at that point, like you see somebody work so hard for so long.

I've known Bryce since like the eighth grade. So to see him accomplish his dreams was just amazing. And, you know, I got picked right after him and you can see his reaction and they caught it on video.

So, you know, there's a lot of, a lot of things that people see online and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, the Panthers were the ones who made the decision and, you know, that's the decision they made. So at the end of the day, you know, I think Bryce is going to be great there.

I know I'm going to be great with the Texans and everything happens for a reason. It's cool because, you know, I know some of the local guys on sports radio 610, you know, part of the same company as we're talking to CJ shroud and the three, four years, every time we'd bring them on the show is like a negative story with the Texans, negative story with the Texans to see D'Amico come in, you come in, Will Anderson Jr. coming with the third overall pick, how you guys just changed that organization with Nick Casario so quickly. It's pretty damn impressive and cool to see. I appreciate that.

It's been a, it's been a, it's been a grind, you know, it's not as easy as it seems. And I know the people who, who are behind closed doors did a lot of great, I mean, behind the scenes, I've done a lot of great things. I make our team so special, not just like Nick and D'Amico. They're at the forefront of that and the McNairs, but just our, our, our staff, our janitors, like our, our cooks, our chefs, our nutritionist, our strength staff, like a lot of people have been great for a long time and now the world's starting to notice. So, I mean, it's just really special to be a part of some, some great, were you, this may be a weird question for you, but were you surprised the success that you had this year? Cause it didn't seem like there was like a rookie curve or anything like that. It seemed like you got right into the league and you were elite right away.

Yeah, I appreciate that. I always, I was surprised. Like I was, I've always been a confident person, you know, I always like have had like my, my worries and my doubts in a sense, but you know, I know that God has put me, put a special talent into me and a special type of mindset that I knew if I was just confident in myself, that I know I can do anything to crush the strength of me. So I really knew I had a feeling I was going to play good after like week one. And really after preseason, we played the dolphins and then we went to the saints and like the game really started to slow down on along that point. And then we played the Ravens and they were a great defense and I still moved the ball down the field pretty well. And then we played the coach and I played well.

So like after that, I got my rhythm and everything started to slow down. When you think of where you could eventually go to, because you're number one, you barely turned over the football. He had one of the greatest rookie seasons we've ever seen.

What do you think the ceiling of, of CJ Strad is like, how much better do you think you could get? I think I get a lot better. You know, it's something that I, I pride myself on is never make a mistake twice, you know, and there's a lot of mistakes that I made this year that hopefully I don't do again, you know, and a lot of mistakes are inevitable. Like what I learned in this league, you throw the ball 400 times, you're bound to throw a few interceptions. You know, and the biggest thing for me is just that next play, letting that next play be my best play. So there's a lot of things that I learned this year that I'm going to use next year. And I think the sky's the limit. I don't think there is a limit to be honest.

I don't think the sky or anything. I think whatever, whatever the work I put in and whatever God wants for my life is going to happen. Do you feel like right now you're a top five quarterback in the NFL? Yes, sir. I do.

I think I put it on film. I think my numbers speak for itself, especially missing two games. You know, I think if I'd have missed those two games, my numbers would have been just as good or one of the best in the league. So and I think you can see the impact I had on my team, you know, so I'm not in the business of like arguing. I'm top five. I'm not. I really don't care.

I mean, I just want to win. Well, who do you think are the top five quarterbacks in football? And I was quick on the spot. I would say, of course, Mahomes. I would say Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. I would say myself, and then I will probably go borough. No, I mean, not because he didn't play last year. Of course, borough is like one of my favorite quarterbacks ever, but I would say either to it or to a Hertz. I think, oh, Josh Allen, excuse me.

But I think I'm like definitely top three, top fourth. Growing up, like who'd you kind of look up to? Like who are some of the quarterbacks that you watch?

And you were like, wow, that really impressed you? Yeah, I was a lot of Joe Burrow. That's somebody I watch like he like we kind of play a similar type of game, could make every throw, can extend plays really smart, you know, make the pocket right, very pocket mobility.

So a lot of stuff like that. My favorite player growing up was Mike Vick. And I'm nothing like Mike Vick. You know, he's a dog.

He can run his tail off, but I'm not that good of a runner. But he was my favorite player. And then Deshaun Watson was also I was a big fan of his talking to CJ Stroud right now. When we get to this game on Sunday from a quarterback perspective, like what else is there to say about Patrick Mahomes? But the conversation around Brock Purdy is fascinating. You know, people want to call him assistant quarterback, game manager, good quarterback.

It doesn't matter to me. I want your quarterback cap on, though. What do you see when you watch Brock? Yeah, I think there's a there's a unfair bias on Brock because he's on a great team. But at the same time, to play quarterback and be in the Super Bowl, you have to be great yourself. And don't get me wrong, like this is a team sport. You want great teammates.

I would love to like have you know what I'm saying? I do have great teammates to help me, you know, so I don't think Brock is getting the right treatment. I think he's a great quarterback. I think definitely the top 10 quarterback in his league. And he's going to continue to prove people wrong. You know, I love watching his game.

It's very accurate. He's very mobile. He gets he gets because we're on the similar type of offense. He gets the ball on the right play. Right. Players hands at the right time.

He doesn't force force the ball. And honestly, there's nothing easy or basic about being an NFL quarterback. So, I mean, I have a ton of respect for that guy and I think he's a great quarterback.

All right. The biggest conversation with the Super Bowl is Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. You think they're going to end up getting married one day? I kind of feel like there's going to be wedding bells between them, too. No comment, I really don't care.

Shout out to my dog. I know he's not worried about who I'm dating. But the coverage of it is wild. It really is. I mean, you know, it's what's hot right now.

It's the world we live in. And Taylor Swift is a great artist and Travis Kelce is the best tight end ever played football. So, yeah, Travis is a good friend of mine and I have a lot of respect for that dude. And he showed me a lot of love and gave me a lot of great advice.

So, you know, shout out to Travis and Taylor. Tom Brady is my favorite quarterback of all time. You know, following Brady as closely as I have. He really liked Lamar Jackson a few years ago.

He's really grown to like you. I know you have a little bit of relationship with Tom Brady. How did you guys kind of link up? Through a mutual friend, Michael Rubin.

Yeah. And then Mike Rubin has been amazing to me. Just a lot of leadership from him, a lot of fellowship, just being a big brother to me.

And I have a lot of love for Rube and he connected us. Me, Will, Levis, Anthony Richardson and Bryce sat down at lunch. At rookie symposium, right?

Yes. We sat down at lunch with Tom and Travis Scott and they just gave us game, you know, for about an hour and a half, two hours. And that's where me and Tom met. And we really didn't talk much after that. And then we I did his podcast after we played the Bengals, I believe. And I grabbed his number and I've been, you know, in contact with him ever since.

And he's a really great mentor and he's giving back, which I appreciate. You're a humble guy, CJ Stroud. But who was the one text message or like the end that you got this year? Because everyone was talking about you, right?

Sensational rookie season. Who was the one person that you're like, well, I can't believe that this person just reached out to me that you were struck with? Anyone? Hmm.

Not necessarily. I don't really go through my DMS much. I've gotten a lot of love from like a lot of the rappers I used to listen to. Oh, that's cool. So that's kind of cool.

Excuse me. So, yeah, I've got really cool quavo. Oh, that's awesome.

Migos. Yeah, he's a great artist, but he's even a better friend, you know, so he's showing me a lot of love and, you know, just he's a great he's a he's a really big football fan, too. So Quavo is probably one of the people that I remember that I met my dad, Quavo, who I am, you know what I'm saying? Why should you ever you're going to win Rookie of the Year, but why should you win it over Puka Nakua, who if it was any other year, I think he would have won Rookie of the Year.

Honestly, like I don't know, so for other people to decide, I think Puka, you put a train together a whole off season. Oh, you guys have a good. Yeah. So that was my brother. We pooped together.

We went out to eat like we were together for about like six, seven months straight. So he's a great player. He works really hard, comes from a great family. And I mean, I'm just super proud I do, you know, so I mean, if I win it cool, if I don't, I'm not tripping. It's like that's I'm not really in it for the accolades.

I just want to. I'm telling you, you have like if I'm describing a franchise quarterback, you're right there, because seriously, you say all the right things. You go out on the field, you played your ass off this year. But you know what's going to happen now.

People are going to be like Texans are are one hit wonders and not going to be able to repeat this. Why is this just the beginning? Why are you guys only going to keep on getting better? You tell me. Oh, just because I mean, it's up to us.

It's not up to anybody. That's what people are paid to do is to talk. We're paid to play, you know, so I'm going to go out there and do what I'm paid to do and try to execute at a high level. And, you know, if it doesn't happen this year, it doesn't happen. People got to understand it's part of the game.

You know, I know a lot of people want these click baits and all these these videos where they're right or they're wrong. Like, it doesn't really matter to me. Like the end of the day, I live in reality and I love this sport and I have a lot of respect for the sport. So I'm not going to come up here and just tell people I'm going to be the greatest thing to slice bread because I know that's not reality. Well, you have to put in the work.

You have to you have to be able to meet opportunity with work and hopefully that matches up. And sometimes you go out there, you lay an egg, you know, so I'm just really excited for next year and for that next challenge, because it's not going to be easy and nothing in my life has ever been easy. So I'm really excited just to play another year with my teammates and my brothers. So I don't really care what other people got to say.

And I respect everybody's opinion. But, you know, it's up to us to go out there and execute. You got the awesome zip up right here with Visa. Tell me what we're doing today with Visa. What do we got cooking? Yeah.

What's on the credit card docket? So, yeah, I've been working with Visa for about two years now. And I mean, it's been amazing just what they stand for, working with fans and trying to help people maximize their potential and really just set goals and reach those goals. And that's something I can relate to being a professional athlete, you know, so it's been amazing working with them. And we really just want people to understand, like their potential and get to that at the highest level and knowing that I'm in the same race as them on that journey, you know.

So we have the Fandium Panium booth over there that I did the meet and greet today and we'll be around this week. So, man, it's been an honor working with Visa. What impressed you the most about the Mico Ryans, by the way? Really just his aura, you know, his personality, his vibrant personality, just how positive he is, even though like sometimes he's not a negative coach, you know, like he's not that guy. He's not that guy to come and just like yell at you for no reason. He's going to just keep it real, but he's going to set a standard.

And if you don't meet that standard, you stick out like a sore thumb. And honestly, me and Will came in with that same mindset because honestly, we didn't always have winners in the locker room, in our organization. And it took a while for us to get guys to learn how to win and, you know, to have the preparation the right way.

And the Mico has been at the forefront of that. So, man, I've been blessed enough to be able to learn from such a great coach. C.J.

Stroud, before we let you run once again on behalf of Visa and you've been great on this show today and you had an unbelievable season. Marvin Harrison Jr., I think he's the best player, period, in this draft. No disrespect to any of the quarterbacks and all we do is talk about quarterbacks. You were a teammate of his at Ohio State. Is it just like when you watch him, you just know that's going to be a dude, that's going to be Hall of Famer one day? Yeah. When you talk about like everybody talking about like the prototypical guy, like he's fast, he's big, he has releases, he has routes.

Marv is my thing. What I look for first, is he a dog? Like, is he somebody who wants to ball every play? And that's that guy right there. You know, like you said, he's the best player in the world coming out of college and quarterback or not. Like, I have a lot of respect for the quarterback coming up in this class as well.

But at the end of the day, I think if you're looking for the most complete, the most polished, the most NFL game ready week one to make an impact on the NFL team, Marvin Harrison is that guy for you. So I'm super proud of that dude, man. He's the hardest work I've ever met in my life. Other than my mom, probably, but you know, so like he's just a dog in everything he does. So there's a lot of a lot of respect and just proud of him. I know you got to bounce.

I don't want to keep you here all day. Last one for CJ Stroud. Your favorite memory from this season is what? I would say winning that playoff contention game against the Colts and then winning the playoff game at home beating Cleveland.

That was a big moment. Well, hey, best of luck. I can't wait to see what's going to happen the rest of your career.

Keep on proving people wrong and thanks for doing this. My man. Thank you.

Appreciate you, brother. There you go. CJ Stroud joining us on Radio Row.

It is the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Let's take a break. We'll come on back and joining us on set next from the Los Angeles Chargers, Austin Eckler. A peanut butter M&M's production in a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring.

But the runners up get nothing. One retired cop. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. Um, that's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter.

But you're on a roll. The Ring of Comfort coming soon to a Super Bowl new you. OK, picture this. It's Friday afternoon when a thought hits you. I can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever, or I can hop into my all new Hyundai Santa Fe and hit the road with available H track all wheel drive and three row seating.

My whole family can head deep into the wild. Conquer the weekend in the all new Hyundai Santa Fe. Visit Hyundai usa.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Hyundai. There's joy in every journey.

2024 Santa Fe available early 2024. I'm Tony and this is the Tony Kornheiser show. Wow, that makes it sound a bit more serious than it really is. So what exactly is the show about? Been almost 30 years and I still don't know. Right now we have some of the best voices in football come on to explain to us what we need to know in the college and pro world and we get weekly picks from a monkey.

Do you really need more than that? I might just tell you about my bunker game in the latest failed entry in my quest to find the best coffee ice cream. No schmutz, please listen on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Alrighty, welcome back in it is at Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Now joining us, Austin Eckler star running back in the NFL and he's here today on behalf of Dairy Queen. Austin, always great to see you. How you been?

Likewise, thanks for having me man. It's been, I've been great. I've been great. How about yourself? I've been fantastic.

Can't complain. We'll talk about Dairy Queen in just a bit but how do you kind of look back at this season? It obviously was bizarre with the Chargers but how do you kind of give me your perspective of it? Yeah, a lot of learning lessons that I've learned for myself just as a leader of where I need to be better and then you know just learning how you know the ugly side of NFL can play out sometimes. It's unfortunate but it's a team game and you know we experienced a team loss this year as a season and I know we're ready to bounce back everyone that was on that team and I know I'm ready to continue to go forward now. I feel like I have a little bit more that I've gone through. I feel like I have some saltiness from that and you know I'm going to do everything to not let that happen again for whatever team I'm on you know next year. Yeah, that was the thing I was like you say continue to go forward. It's like we don't even know where you're going to play.

We've talked about the business side of this before. You know how people are now going to try to devalue you just because of the position and then when you don't have a great season people are going to start to say, oh, Boston Eckler's slowing down. This is what happens with running backs. Why do you still have a lot of good football left?

Well, I mean that's what happens right? If you're just talking in general right if things start to trend downward you know people are going to make assumptions you know and it's up for you to prove that you hey you got to bounce back and so that's what I'm looking at right now is hey we did have a down year right affects the entire team which affects anyone going into free agency that year which happened to be me and for me I still got a lot of fire and really you know going into year eight I'm in a position where I'm looking at what's the quality of the team that I'm going into as far as how they want to use me you know what's their offensive coordinator situation what's the running back situation for me I'm bringing fire I'm ready to go I'm ready to bounce back because yep it was a down year but it doesn't define you I don't think one year defines you especially when you've put you know an increasing role of years before that and so for me it's it's another time for me to go out there and actually prove that hey I'm still a dynamic player and play at a high standard and be consistent in it. Austin Eckler here with us. I thought that Brandon Staley should not have been brought back after the playoff choke over a year ago. The playoff choke yeah well yeah that's what it is you know yeah we chose for sure but I thought going into the season that that even though I believed in the talent the roster when you have a coach that I from a far sense a lot of people didn't believe in that that could create a messy situation is that a fair assessment did the message of Staley just not really resonate with that locker room?

No I think that's not a fair assessment at all. Why? 100% believed in Brandon Staley from day one and we were bought in we were bought into the message of of our our way right relationships and competition that was what Brandon Staley spoke that is what he brought to the table that is what he preached now it takes a village you know and he's been the lightning rod of all of the of all of the negativity that's gone on it's his fault it's him it's all of us we're all part of that we all put that product on the field we were all letting things that shouldn't have slip slip the standard is it's created by the leaders of the team and the head coach the head coach is supposed to basically guide the culture which you know to bring in Jim Bahrabah who I think in here is good at that type of you know leadership so that would be great but it's a village so the leadership we got to step up you know if I'm back there on the team our leadership has to step up and creating the culture of holding the standard holding people accountable because it was lacking it wasn't just Brandon Staley. Gotcha fair enough I respect that answer Austin Eckler here with us for you and I'm sure you got to think about it like you don't know what's going to happen in the next few months but like in your gut do you feel like you played your last game with the Chargers? In my gut no I think there's definitely a possibility I could be back and that's because I think just where I've been I know their situation you know they they're looking for a running back I just moved out and so also also did Joshua Kelly who was right behind me who's backing me up this year so I don't I'm not closing any doors and so yeah for that I don't think it's I don't think it's my last game it could be absolutely but no. It's kind of funny as Austin Eckler's here with us we've talked to you when the running back issue was very hot in the off season here we are in the Super Bowl you have Christian McCaffrey who some could have argued could have been the MVP of the league this year and Isaiah Pacheco that's one angry runner he is an angry one I love watching him play.

Right and you said it's a running back it's not a running back it was more of a player issue of you know letting getting guys franchised where they're not allowed to go out and actually find a fair market value for themselves and find a home of someone who is willing to give them that fair market value and these go through that negotiation process and so that's why it's a player it's not just running backs it happened to the tight ends it happened to the to the safeties it's just in general an issue that we face you know that's in our CBA unfortunately that where we can get locked in for one year take all the risk and then also get an artificial number that's already going to be your contract number and so it's just something that we don't like we won't push back because we want to give our guys opportunities to go get their contract and get a few years locked in but yeah it's it's important for us to see that we had running backs that are continuing to play at a high level young guys old guys right we have him at 31 having his best year you know we have Christian who's go who's just in year seven you know having you know his year that he's having and so as you see you know it's not every running back but there are definitely running backs that deserve to be in a position to go and actually get themselves a new paycheck and we're going to see that coming up here with Christian you know after next year. Who do you think wins the game on Sunday? No idea don't even care.

Really? I just hope it's a good game. Will you watch it?

I will absolutely watch it yeah yeah I'm not playing so here's the thing I want my guys to get through they're healthy and then also right just have a good time I want it to be a good game and then everyone get through. So that's why I've always liked you because you understand the business side and you also know the work that it puts in with your story to reach where you are the whole Taylor Swift Travis Kelce thing I don't get why it annoys anyone I think it's great for football and I think it's great for them individually because it seems genuine. Yeah it's great it's great for football you know if it's bringing viewership it's bringing new people it's bringing the culture together that's exactly what football that's why I love football when it comes to a fan side it brings people together especially with fantasy that's why I love that because it brings people together yeah so if Taylor is making an impact and their relationship is genuine which is like you said it seems like that's great and if it brings more people together like that why are you rooting against that you know like to me that's what we need in this country is more things to bring us together and if that's going to do it and it's simple as a relationship and showing someone on film of like hey bringing this music and this you know football life these two individuals together then let's keep going like we should be rooting for that in my opinion absolutely what are you doing today on behalf of Dairy Queen yeah here with Dairy Queen so I mean we're talking Super Bowl so I mean what are we doing for the Super Bowl you gotta have some food you know and Dairy Queen obviously is known for for the blizzards however right we're talking about the food side of Dairy Queen which they have a new item on the menu which is super appropriate for Super Bowl they have the honey barbecue sauced and tossed chicken strips so we're talking some chicken chicken strips they also have burgers and so yeah we're bringing it bringing a new menu item to y'all y'all at your Super Bowl Super Bowl get-togethers and you know grab yourself a blizzard while you're going to pick up your chicken strips as well so yeah you can never have too much food never too much drinks on Super Bowl Sunday so yeah if you want to check out more make sure to check out the website check out DairyQueen.com or check out the Dairy Queen app as well so yeah make sure you get yourself from DQ and yeah enjoy the last thing I'll ask you and obviously for this game the quarterbacks are talked about so much and I find it funny how how much people spend voicing their opinion on Brock Purdy at this point the guy wins games that's all that matters to me but your quarterback and Justin Herbert he's gotten some of that criticism I still see a heck of a football player and I would want him on my team I don't know how many more quarterbacks I would take over him do you kind of just laugh at the conversation surrounding Justin where people just go oh he's an overrated quarterback he's not a great quarterback no it's the same look when you look at our team it's the same especially coming out for this year it's the same thing that I'm going through right now Austin's you know had it down the whole team had it down here the whole team had it down here you know Keenan Allen popped off so there was an outlier there you know like I mean it's funny they always say he's the most underrated player there was yeah there was an outlier you know every once I get there but when the team has a down year everyone's effective and you know not even even Keenan that he probably could have had an even better year if we were continuing to play at a higher level as a culture and as a team together and so luckily for Justin he plays a position where he can play you know a decade and a half yeah you know for me it's shorter lived you know as far as the lifespan of playing running back and so for us like looking at Justin it's like look he's continuing to grow he's continuing to make an impact it's going to come down to more than just oh Justin has to have the best career of the year of his career it's people around him also need to be stepping up and playing at that type of level too and it like I said it takes a village and it takes a village to even looking at Pat Mahomes like you've got to have so you've got to have guys around you that you can you can at least right lean on and they continue to be consistent all the time and then also the coaching and defense plays a factor into it too it's a whole team that that leads to the success and how someone looks you know Mahomes is out there playing defense but his defense is showing up for him right and that helps helps him win games now he said he said he could be a game manager as he did it against the ravens he said it and so it takes a village it takes a village and so for Justin to continue to reach those new heights it's not just him you can't you can't ever put the blame in football that's why football is a great game that's why it's a tough game it's because it takes more than just a couple individuals that can carry the team it's it's so much more than that and go ahead yeah no I was just gonna say always appreciate your time always great to see you thanks so much for coming on and doing this there he is Austin Eckler joining us on behalf of Dairy Queen all righty good stuff by Austin Eckler appreciate him coming on the show we will take a break we got one more segment to play here on a very busy Thursday edition on Radio Row inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center as CBS Sports Radio is on location to get you ready for the Super Bowl we come on back DJ Moore is going to stop by we'll get his thoughts on who should be the number one overall pick in the draft and what is Chicago going to do with that pick update time first let's get to the act man Rich Ackerman Chris Chapman's hit podcast was canceled as you know my old show the Chris Chapman confrontation was a victim of a little thing called cancel culture but he's learned he's grown and he's ready to win back his audience I'm back better than ever with the Chris Chapman do-over starring Ike Barenholtz I have a new lady co-host on the pod Lisa Gilroy my mic is on and Neil Casey is the professor greetings my humans the new hit improv comedy the Chris Chapman do-over an Odyssey and paper kite production listen on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts all righty it's a Thursday inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Radio Row in Las Vegas it is the Zach Gelb show coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio and now joining us from the Chicago Bears this guy keeps on just having good season after good season after good season it's weird I keep on calling him the most underrated wide receiver in the league and he shouldn't be underrated anymore because he's been good for a very long time and that of course is DJ Moore on behalf of Mountain Dew DJ appreciate the time how are you I'm doing great being here with Mountain Dew has been a blast you know especially with the new Baja blast being available everywhere this year so I'm just not that talkative yeah I gotta ask you though and we'll talk more about Mountain Dew in just a bit does the underrated tag annoy you because like Keenan Allen forever has been the most underrated wide receiver in football and I go when everyone says you're the most underrated wide receiver in football shouldn't they just then rate you properly like you're a top 10 wide receiver uh the underrated tech don't bother me you know uh I just go out there and do me uh no matter what the narrative is uh at the end of the day being underrated no when you make big splashes you start trending so I'm happy with it when you look at your time in Carolina and now the last few years in Chicago for you what's been the biggest difference as you continue to just get better and better as a player uh I just had a reset you know had to reset this year and uh it was like I was a rookie going into uh Chicago so uh even though it was my sixth year I just had to reset and just own it on what I usually do and uh do it better than what I was doing in Carolina was that at all bizarre for you the whole process like we know Carolina they end up getting uh their their quarterback you know a year later uh via the future in Bryce Young but was that like bizarre for you the whole process when the trade did go down? Oh yeah it was a little shocking I thought I was gonna be in Carolina forever but uh that didn't happen they gave up the trade uh for the number one pick which made me feel like I was the number one pick for the Bears so I was pretty happy uh when I really got there so uh at the beginning it was just like a lot of uncertainty and uh a little scary because I always been in Carolina. Yeah it was really you look back at the deal it was highway robbery for the Chicago Bears like hey maybe Bryce Young turns out to be a great player but now Chicago has the number one overall pick again you guys got better as the season did go on and uh we'll see what happens obviously this off season as uh there's a lot of speculation you're probably tired of the speculation already.

I see a lot of it uh between Justin and Caleb so I'm just looking forward to really getting it uh narrowed down to what's really going on. So you sell me on Justin Fields I think the organization has failed him more than it's on him when you look back at his first three years in the NFL but you are with the guy you know the guy very well through this last year Justin Fields what do you think he could end up being as a quarterback? Uh it could be top 10 you know uh right now he's still learning he's still growing uh as you've seen at the end of the year what he was doing what he was able to do uh with the offense and uh just doing everything that he can to put us in the best possible position to win uh it was great uh just to see him grow after he got hurt for those four or five games and then come back on the tear it was amazing. What would you do like let's say you're the general manager you're Ryan Polce what do you do with the number one overall? Uh everybody know I'm a big Justin advocate so I say we keep Justin and just keep building uh keep building up the roster. So Marvin Harrison Jr has been that player that's been speculated yeah getting him in that wide receiving room you know I know that you'd have two great options a great one-two punch would that be something that would entice you? Uh that would be good you know I'm always gonna root for the hometown uh kid you know uh grew up watching him grow up and we ran the same track team so it's gonna it would be amazing to see him uh be on the same team with me and just go out there and show what you can do. Talking to DJ Moore right now Matt Eberfluss as a head football coach how would you know you've had a few coaches in this league how would you describe playing for Coach Eberfluss? Uh he was motivating us and uh keeping us all together throughout the throughout the year throughout the ups and downs so uh it's a testament to him to just keep the locker room together and then the leaders of the locker room just going uh and just emphasizing that message and just staying together. Are you kind of numb to all the change that happens in the NFL like you go from Carolina and then this was your first year uh in Chicago now right you had Luke Getze now you have a new offensive coordinator um in Shane Waldron does this change it just feels normal now even though you have to learn all these new things? Uh yeah it's become normal and I become numb to it uh because I know at the end of the day it's a product uh what you do what have you done for me lately uh type business so just having turnover like that is just normal and I know I got to go out there uh produce what what I can uh before I get uh up out of there.

So like when you have to learn a new system and I don't know how much like contact right you're even allowed to have at this point how do you try to get ahead of the curve so you guys don't have a slow start? Uh you know you could watch film on where you came from so I watched some film on Seattle and what they do and uh watch their receivers and how they uh were running concepts with uh uh last year. Did you see that clip yesterday of Jackson Smith and Jigba did you at all see that? Uh I seen a little bit of it uh about him talking about Shane.

Yeah he was like is this off it was just it was it didn't look good he tried to save himself it didn't look good though. It was a little mix so I I don't know how to take it so I'm gonna just form my own opinion when I uh really get down to it. Have you had conversations with Shane so far?

Uh we text and that was about it so when we see each other in person I think it's gonna be more like dialogue and what's going on. So you're easy to root for as DJ Morris here with us on behalf of Mountain Dew um obviously you're a heck of a player people want to see Chicago get back to what they're capable of I think it's good for the NFL you being in that building knowing Ryan Polls who believed in you traded for you uh knowing Matt Eberflus this is a big year for him why do you think this group and what you guys are doing in Chicago is going to end up ultimately working where we see the Bears get back into the playoffs consistently? Uh it's just a lot of togetherness uh everybody's just one and they're on the same page uh from the top down from the ownership uh all the way down to the janitor we all on the same page of what we want to get accomplished and uh you seen bits and pieces of that last year and then to finish out the year uh well we lost to Green Bay but at the game before that you seen it all on a ride so we look we look forward to doing that. What are your thoughts on this game coming up on Sunday between the Chiefs and Niners? Uh I got the Niners winning. Oh wow. So I'm picking the Niners too.

Yeah. I feel like every person I've talked to this week on this show goes man the Niners have a great team but I can't bet against or I can't pick against Patrick Mahomes. Why are you going with the Niners? Uh I'm going with the Niners just based off of Christian now just the player he is and then just know how hard he worked so he's going to try to pull it off on his own or you know the whole team going either raise up to the occasion or or it's going to be bad. Well had you processed the whole uh forward teammate of yours obviously Christian McCaffrey DJ Moore is here with us uh his mother basically Shaiman Olivia and him to go get a luxury box for a Super Bowl and putting that out on social media I think Christian has two million to spare for a Super Bowl box right?

Oh two million is a lot for a box but uh they I think they got it didn't they so I think they pulled it off and hey kudos to them I don't know if I'll just bet two million. Yeah probably not tell everyone hey operate on your own get your own tickets don't shame me publicly in the media to get a nice luxury box at the Super Bowl how do you look back at that experience in Carolina when you were with Christian McCaffrey you know you're a great offensive player he's obviously an elite offensive player what did you guys kind of learn from one another? Uh just work ethic work ethic and uh just feeding off each other you know we did some workouts during the off season together and uh just seeing how hard he works and just if I made a play he would want to make a play if he made a play then I think I want to make a play and go out there and uh do what's best for the team when we was in Carolina you know uh at the end of the day we was doing all we could and that's what we did. So tell me what you're doing today on behalf of Mountain Dew? Um I'm here to promote uh Baja Blast you know they went from just being at Taco Bell uh now they're nationwide every day so y'all gotta go get it and then they got a great Super Bowl commercial coming uh this Sunday so I'm looking forward to seeing it and I hope everybody loves it. Are you in the commercial?

I can't tell you that. Oh okay under a little embargo we we may just got some special piece of information here when you look at other receivers around the league who are some guys that you just really respect you go man some of the best in the league uh I give it to Steph uh been watching for a while Justin, Devontae, uh Keenan Island people like that uh they just go out there and just do do their games and uh they all got different different ways of playing receivers so I watch their teams. The last year with Stefan Diggs in Buffalo was was bizarre um and you know he didn't have a touchdown for a long stretch towards the end of the season I think it was like week six uh his last 100-yard game as well but what do you really like about Stefan Diggs as a wide receiver that makes you think he still has a few years of really highly productive uh Maryland guy you know uh that's the big thing the Maryland guy the McCaffrey connection that's what I realized yeah so uh no just just seeing his game uh always be the same and him evolving uh from going from Minnesota to the Bills it's been great so uh I still watch him and I know he'd be frustrated sometimes but that's the passion for that he has for the game so with the connection with Stefan I'm just wondering with him going through something similar being the guy in Minnesota then getting traded to Buffalo is there anything that you kind of learned from that from afar with with your situation in Chicago I seen that he had great numbers so I was like shoot maybe this is a a good uh opportunity and then uh no also Christian got traded so he had a good a great opportunity to go too well hey we appreciate the time thanks so much good luck the rest of the way hey thank you there he is DJ Moore joining us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio and what an action-packed show uh that we had today uh before we get on out of here just when we look back kind of at that conversation with DJ you know I really think the Bears should take Marvin Harrison Jr or trade that number one overall pick and continue to rock and roll with Justin Fields but I think it's clear regardless as to what I think that what I think should happen and what will happen are two different conversations and when you get into the will component of this you know I'm not saying I sensed it from DJ Moore because DJ Moore has been clear that he wants Justin Fields as their quarterback and he's going to continue to support and rock with Justin Fields as their quarterback until something happens but you just kind of get the sense that even though DJ Moore may want something to happen or I think something should happen that the Bears have kind of already made that decision and I don't think it behooves them to announce what they're going to do right now because you're trying to get intrigue up there and kind of rile it up to see maybe if someone does make you an offer that you can't refuse and there's already been reported a bunch of offers that have been made for the number one overall pick but at the end of the day I don't think that we are going to see the number one pick come and go and it's not going to be Caleb Williams going to Chicago and then once that domino falls as we've seen in years past like kind of like with the Cardinals situation and other situations as well once you make the selection on the quarterback then you trade your current quarterback and that's what I think is going to end up happening with the Bears where you will take Caleb Williams with the number one overall pick and then from there you will end up trading Justin Fields and you could go to the multitude of options and destinations that we could all assume and kind of drum on up on where Justin Fields would be a good fit because I think Justin Fields good quarterback I don't think he's great but I think he's good I don't think he's been put though in the best situation for all three years with the Chicago Bears. Alrighty that concludes the Zach Gelb show on a Thursday from Radio Row we're coming on back tomorrow with the jam-packed action show from 3 to 6 p.m eastern noon to 3 p.m pacific big thanks today to Puka Nakua, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that we did with him in the 10-year anniversary you can check it out on social media at Zach Gelb on Instagram and Twitter Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B big thanks to Luke Keakley, Joe Montana, Michael Penix Jr, CJ Stroud, Austin Eckler and DJ Moore. We'll do it again tomorrow final day on Radio Row inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center big thanks to everyone here on site big thanks to everyone back in our New York City studios and each and every one of you for listening to the show we out bye bye everybody peace. a peanut butter m&m's production in a world where super bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring but the runners-up get nothing one retired cop return that's one retired quarterback read the script oh sorry one retired quarterback returns to claim what's his um that's claim a ring with diamonds made from m&m's peanut butter but you're on a ring with diamonds made from m&m's peanut butter but you're on a roll the ring of comfort coming soon to a super bowl new you a peanut butter m&m's production in a world where super bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring but the runners-up get nothing one retired cop return that's one retired quarterback read the script oh sorry one retired quarterback returns to claim what's his um that's claim a ring with diamonds made from m&m's peanut butter but you're on a roll the ring of comfort coming soon to a super bowl new you okay picture this it's friday afternoon when a thought hits you i can spend another weekend doing the same old whatever or i can hop into my all-new Hyundai santa fe and hit the road with available h-track all-wheel drive and three-row seating my whole family can head deep into the wild conquer the weekend in the all-new Hyundai santa fe visit hundayusa.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details Hyundai there's joy in every journey 2024 santa fe available joy in every journey 2024 santa fe available early 2024.