Rodgers to Rams? (Hour 1)

Live from the play show, yet not overly ostentatious, studios of the Infinity Sports Network here in beautiful New York City, sitting on top of the 10th floor of 345 Hudson Street. Welcome on in to what is already a Wednesday edition of the Zach Gelb show across all over at local Infinity Sports Network affiliate, Sirius XM, channel 375, the free Odyssey app, and of course streaming live on YouTube. 855212, 4227 is the number to jump on in.

That's 855212, 4227. You can always get at me on Instagram, where I'm straight flexing, or via the good old cesspool of Twitter, at Zach Gelb, that's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. Coming up at 4 p.m. Eastern time today, 1 p.m. Pacific, we will be joined by Super Bowl champion from the Philadelphia Eagles, had a massive pick six in the Super Bowl, Cooper DeGene is going to stop by and join us. Looking forward to that conversation in about an hour from now.

Got Stuart Kovacs, got Moist Mike here with me as well. We got a whole lot to do on a very busy Wednesday edition of the show. So yesterday, I was kind of just spitballing, right? Sometimes I'll get on the air and I'll say things that I've been told, and I'll share you some inside, behind the scenes type of information.

And other times, just in an impromptu fashion, I'll just be talking about something, and then it's crazy how the next day, then everybody else is talking about it. So I was really trying to figure out, why would the Rams move off of Matthew Stafford? And I go, okay, let me play this game, even though I don't think it's going to happen. If the Rams were to move Matthew Stafford, who would they be interested in? And I was going through the list and I was like, they can't be moving off of Matthew Stafford to go trade up for a quarterback in the draft, because it's too much work to go from where they are, division around weekend, to move up and be either the first or second pick, so you could get either Cam Ward or Shadore Sanders.

So I said, scratch that, that's not a good thought. Then I'm thinking about the quarterbacks that are available, and I said to myself, you're not moving off of Matthew Stafford to make Justin Fields, Russell Wilson as your quarterback. You're just not doing that, or even Kirk Cousins.

So those three were no, no, and no. And then I go, what about Sam Darnold? And I said to myself, you're really going to give Sam Darnold, that's the move you're going to make with a good team. You're going to give Sam Darnold a three or four year contract where you still have a Super Bowl window, and Sam Darnold in his last two games of the season was horrible when the games got bigger and the moments mattered more.

So I said, no. So I'm thinking about who could they get? And I go, well, what about Aaron Rodgers? And I made the case yesterday that, yes, I'd rather have Matthew Stafford over Aaron Rodgers. But I said, Sean McVay is a little bit of a wild card. So if he wants to get something from Stafford, and maybe this is moving on from a player two years earlier, rather than two years too late. And maybe they only think Stafford has another year, or maybe another year or two, I would still go to the well with Matthew Stafford, because I don't think he's a bad quarterback. As I've said, I think he's the seventh best quarterback in football right now. I think he's the second or third best quarterback in the NFC right now.

So he's a top seven quarterback in football and a top three quarterback in his conference. So I would not get rid of him. But I wanted to play into this game because there's so much smoke here. And where there's smoke, there's a fire on the possibility of the Rams moving off of Matthew Stafford.

And that's the name I zeroed in on yesterday, where I was just thinking, spitballing, having fun, talking about it. And I said Aaron Rodgers. And I could see Sean McVay getting something back from Matthew Stafford.

Maybe it's Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh gives up a first round pick. So you get an additional first round pick and the Rams go from F those picks to then acquiring picks and acquiring assets. And then you get a quick fix where, sure, Stafford, you may only think has a year or two left. Maybe you go to Aaron Rodgers and he has a year or two left in the NFL. So that's what I honed in on, that if the Rams were going to move off of Matthew Stafford, their replacement is going to be Aaron Rodgers. And lo and behold, Adam Schefter on his podcast yesterday just talked about the Rams potentially making a push for Aaron Rodgers if they can't find a way to hammer out this contract situation with Matthew Stafford.

This is Shefty. If, if, if the Rams couldn't get a deal done with Stafford, if they decided to trade them a lot of ifs involved, then Aaron Rodgers in my mind would be thrilled with the idea of going to Los Angeles. And the Rams could probably get him at a lower cost than it would be for Matthew Stafford. They get graphic compensation back for Stafford. So you could see where the Rams would say, is that a more desired alternative? And you know what, Schefter kind of makes sense there. Now, I don't think the answer is, hey, Rodgers is the better quarterback right now than Stafford.

But how big of a gap is it? Because Rodgers at the end of the season played fine. He was solid. He was good.

The start to the season was just so crappy. And also the offensive line in New York wasn't good. And also Aaron Rodgers still coming back from that Achilles injury. And he looked rusty.

He looked old. So I don't know what Rodgers would be, but if I had to take a guess, you know, right now you have Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, Matthew Stafford. Those are seven quarterbacks that are better than Aaron Rodgers. And I would also give you probably Baker Mayfield and C.J.

Stroud. But you could make a case, I think, at the earliest that Rodgers is the eighth best quarterback in football. And probably the latest would be what, 13, 14?

And that's even be an extra benevolent. So the Rams could look at this as we could get rid of one top ten quarterback, get a first round pick back for him potentially. Because if you're trading into the Jets or excuse me, if you're trading, yes, Stafford to the Jets or the Giants, I don't think you're getting the third pick in the draft. I don't think you're getting the seventh pick in the draft. So could you get maybe a two and a four and it's an early two for Stafford?

Yes. But maybe the Rams just look at it and say, hey, we just had a wonderful draft this past year. We got Jared Vers in the first round. We got Braydon Fisk in the second round. Our defense is solid. On offense, we'll get something back for Cooper Cupp.

We got Puka Nakua. We got Kyron Williams. So let's use that capital for Cupp and Stafford. We don't have to take a quarterback here, right? Because we're going to bring in Rodgers and use whatever pick we get back, maybe a first round pick from the Steelers on another player with their own first round pick too. So you get two first round picks to add to this young core. And then I don't know what you would get back for Cooper Cupp. Like I think this may even be rich now.

I think Cooper Cupp is very good. But with the injury concerns, only playing 33 games last three years, you know, maybe at best what you could get is a fourth that could turn into a three. You know, maybe at best. But that wouldn't be immediately.

That would be a future thing. So would you just take a four straight up this year for this year's draft before the draft for Cooper Cupp? And I don't know how much that helps you right away, but the Rams have been able to find some gems in this draft when you look all across the roster on offense and defense. And they've done a good job with not having a lot of picks the last few years and not a lot of premier top picks. So the reason why and I was on Monday and Tuesday saying no shots, Stafford gets traded.

It's because sometimes you get caught up. And this is something that I usually accuse others of not being able to differentiate. And maybe I'm doing it here on what will happen and what should happen. And let's be abundantly clear here. What should happen is the L.A. Rams should keep Matthew Stafford. They should give him the money that he wants or find a way to get a middle ground. And they should be able to execute and hammer out this contract because I think Matthew Stafford gives them the best chance to win.

But what will happen, I can't totally say that Matthew Stafford 100 percent will be on the Rams next year. And in an interesting spot, Sean McVeigh is the great wild card in all this because Sean McVeigh, right, is the man. Sean McVeigh is boy wonder. Sean McVeigh is a genius.

That's what people say. He's already been to two Super Bowls. He's already won a Lombardi Trophy.

And a big reason why he won that Lombardi Trophy is he hitched his wagon with who? Matthew Stafford. He said, we got to a Super Bowl with Jared Goff. Jared Goff is terrible in the big game up against the Patriots. I need to get rid of Jared Goff and I need to go find a quarterback that has more experience and that is waiting, waiting and waiting and waiting to go win.

And that was Matthew Stafford in Detroit, who was always a good quarterback, goes to Detroit and at least Detroit goes to the Rams and wins a Super Bowl championship. But now, when you just had a good season, we've heard the rumor since winning the Super Bowl, McVeigh is not going to coach that much longer. He's going to retire. He's going to be one foot in, one foot out.

It's a lot of drama horror energy, if we're just being honest, right, with Sean McVeigh. Because he keeps on staying. He keeps on winning games. And I know some people are saying, hey, retirement's on the table. That'll go away. Enjoy growing his family.

And then, you know, do TV and inevitably return to the NFL. But I think it's clear that McVeigh's chasing that second championship. You know, Peter Schrager, I think it was. He's very close to McVeigh. I heard him share a story, I think it was Schrager, about how annoyed like McVeigh still was.

Oh, no, you know what? It was Grant Paulson in D.C. I was listening to the network over the weekend and he was on. And Grant Paulson was saying how he knew McVeigh from his time with the commanders. And he said he ran into McVeigh at the Super Bowl and McVeigh was still buzzing. He was still hot about how close that the Rams were to winning the championship this year. And how close they were to being the Eagles in snowy Philadelphia where they lost in the divisional round.

So it's like you hear that side of it and you get into, oh, you were so close. So conventional wisdom would just say, oh, you'll get a deal done with Matthew Stafford. But McVeigh showed you, even when people are comfortable, even when people are in a good spot, that's when they'll pivot. Like the Rams are in a good spot. The Rams were comfortable with Jared Goff. And they said, we got to get rid of you, even for a young player that's going on to have a nice career that got them to a Super Bowl.

McVeigh thought they could do better. And I wonder here is Sean McVeigh going down the road of, yeah, we like Stafford, but there's an expiration date. And he probably has another year or two left in the league. So if he only has another year or two left in the league, why don't I just swap him back with Aaron Rodgers who we could talk ourselves into as a better quarterback. But he's just like a notch below probably Stafford at this stage of his career. Maybe as a major bounce back season, full year removed from the Achilles. Maybe he goes back to being close to a top five, you know, top seven quarterback in the NFL. He'll still be a top ten quarterback. And maybe we get rid of Stafford, get some capital back for him, which could be a first or second round pick and maybe then some. And then we go sign Aaron Rodgers. So let's be real, even though Aaron Rodgers has a massive ego, here's the other part of the conversation.

Where is Aaron Rodgers going once he officially gets released from the Jets? Like you look at the destinations, the Steelers are a solid one. The Giants aren't. The Raiders aren't. The Titans aren't.

Like you go through these destinations, there's not a lot of good destinations that puts Aaron in an advantageous situation. Right now at all the realistic ones, the best one are the Pittsburgh Steelers who, by the way, have a bad offensive line. And they got a solid defense that did not play well down the stretch, but you would expect them to bounce back. And you've got a coach in Mike Tomlin who's respected a good coach in this league.

But, but, but, but, but with that being said, he has not won a playoff game since the 2016 season. So if the Steelers right now are your best option that you think is realistic, wouldn't you be willing to take a little bit less? If the Rams, if Sean McVay and Aaron Rodgers start talking and McVay goes, hey, there's a chance we move on from Stafford, but you've got to do this on our terms, Aaron. And I know Aaron Rodgers isn't a Mr. Our terms guy, but towards the end of his career, you look at the Rams with Kyron Williams, with Puka Nakua on the defensive side of the ball, the young core that they have. Wouldn't you much rather go and play at SoFi Stadium with Sean McVay and with that young team that they have?

Absolutely. So I don't know how this is going to go down, but if I'm the Rams, two things either have to happen. Priority number one, which is priority number one to me. I don't know if it's priority number one to Sean McVay, though, anymore. Because Sean McVay, right, has all the answers and he's a very smart guy, but maybe he's going to pivot away from Stafford. But if I'm running the Rams, I'm getting a deal done with Matthew Stafford. You know, even if it's not a given extra year or two in the contract will boost up your salary enough on the two remaining years to make it happy.

But whatever it is, I think that's a situation that you could fix. But if it doesn't go that way, then the Rams need to make one phone call, one phone call only. And that's to get Aaron Rodgers there, because you still have a core here that could win. You still got a young group that could win and you could figure out what life will look like after Stafford, after Rodgers, right? But if you can't find the way to iron it out with Matthew Stafford, then Rodgers makes a ton of sense, a ton of sense for the L.A. Rams. But we'll see how that plays on out. McVay's the wild card here, though, and I don't know which way he's going to go, but there should only be two options.

Because all the other names out there in the market aren't good enough. And I would not move on from Stafford for those names. And I don't think it's likely that you're going to move up in the draft. So it's behind Door A. And what's behind Door B? And behind Door A is getting the deal done with Stafford, which you know will work. But you know you have a chance to compete for a Super Bowl next year. But maybe McVay looks at this and says, hey, we want a Super Bowl with Stafford.

He's not going to win a second. So let's get something back for him. And then it's all go get Aaron Rodgers. What are you shaking your head about, by the way, Santer? If I'm the Rams, I stay as far away from Aaron Rodgers as humanly possible.

That's fine. You could say that. But clearly there is a thought that they're going to move on from Matthew Stafford. I said it 9,000 times since the week started. I would bring back Matthew Stafford.

That's what I would do. But the more and more this goes on, there's more and more reports coming out. You know, one today, oh, they're looking for a first round pick, the Rams for Matthew Stafford, according to Jordan Schultz.

You got Schefter speculating about Rodgers. There's a lot out there. And sometimes there's stories out there that we take the bait and it doesn't happen. I wasn't taking the bait up until today. But the more and more we sit here and the more and more stories and speculation come on out, whether it's pinning Stafford on the Steelers or Stafford on the Giants or Stafford on the Jets.

There's a lot out there. So I have to start at least thinking, what is the plan? And if you do get rid of Stafford, which I'm not on board for, the their best option right now that's realistic would be Aaron Rodgers. So that's my point is I agree with you. They shouldn't get rid of Stafford. But if they do, Rodgers should be their last choice. That's ridiculous.

Well, I'll explain. That is a young, young team. It's one of the youngest, I think the second youngest team in the NFL behind the Packers.

Great young talent on the defense, on the offense, everywhere you go. Aaron Rodgers poisons every locker room. As a former Jets fan, I saw what he did to the Jets. Garrett Wilson was like, you know, I would take some of that poison with how many MVPs he won and also winning a Super Bowl. Hey, I understand Rodgers is a pinata and we beat up on him all the time. I've talked to a lot of players that love playing with Aaron Rodgers. They do. Now, do you have a situation like Garrett Wilson who, let's be real, couldn't stand the guy's guts?

Sure. Sometimes, though, you don't want to meet your heroes. Sometimes they let you down. But there's a lot of players that also speak glowingly of Aaron Rodgers. But here's the thing.

It's only for a year or two. And the Rams, unlike the Jets, still get the benefit of the doubt with Les Snead and Sean McVeigh. Compared to whatever, the Jets always run out of GM and head coach, which is always like slop for three years and you're fired and you're bringing somebody else.

That's just the reality of the situation. And once again, if you get rid of Stafford, you tell me last destination, I don't want Justin Fields there. I don't want Russell Wilson there. You know, Russell Wilson, this great teammate, right? How did that work at the end of Seattle?

How did that work in Denver? Now, Kirk Cousins, that's who you want? I wouldn't. Rodgers is the best option for the Rams if, if, if, if, if, if, if they move on from Matthew Stafford. But we're in agreement in terms of I would not move on from Matthew Stafford, but there's smoke there. And a lot of meat on the bone here and we're going to see what happens with the LA Rams.

Zach Gelb Show Infinity Sports Network 855212 4227 855212 4227. When we come on back, we're going to do a little draft here between Stu and I. We're taking all the quarterbacks out of it.

Just based off this past season, who are the 10 best non-quarterbacks in the NFL? We'll do that on the other side. Cooper DeGene is going to join us coming up in about 40 minutes from now. Cooper DeGene is going to join us coming up at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Pacific time today on the Zach Gelb Show. I did see two stories during the break. They have nothing really to do with sports news. One is about a porn star. The other is about someone that, let me tell you, we thought he was crazy at the time, but he ends up having a pretty successful family.

So here's story number one. LeVar Ball. We haven't talked about him in a while. The last time I talked about LeVar Ball was when I shared the story at the time I met him. And it was with his first public encounter, meeting him in person. Joel Embita had this great viral video and Freddie Mitchell tried to basically like steal it off of me.

Fred X. We talked about that in the Eagles Super Bowl run. But unfortunately, LeVar Ball had his foot amputated after suffering a serious medical issue per TMZ. So best wishes to LeVar Ball. But I see the photo right now of him in the wheelchair with a bandage and there is no more foot on LeVar Ball because obviously he got amputated. So I don't know if it's like a diabetes situation or something like that or if he got caught up in some accident and they had to amputate his foot.

But he's smiling. So best wishes and a good speedy recovery to LeVar Ball. Now, here's the other story, Stu, and also Samter, which if Pete Bellotti was running the board here, he may dump this segment. So, Stu, if I ask you the name of Bonnie Blue, do you know who Bonnie Blue is? I've seen on Twitter a lot of Bonnie Blue talk the last month or two, I'd say. So, Samter, do you know who you don't know who Bonnie Blue is? No clue.

Really? Do you live under a rock or something? She hasn't popped up on your Twitter feed or Instagram, anything? I mean, she may have.

I just don't know the name. If you tell me the story, maybe I've heard of this. She's a porn star that she has slept with a thousand men in a day. Okay, I know her. I didn't know her name. I knew her face.

I can pick her out of a lineup. So she slept with 1,057 men in a single day. Forget, like, Wulk Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a game.

Forget about, I think it was Nick Foles who tossed, like, six or seven touchdown passes in a game. That's got to be one of the craziest accomplishments, if you even want to call it accomplishment, that I've ever read about. So I saw a post today, and, right, there's so many things on Twitter that you don't think are true. So I just saw, like, a flippin' post in passing on Twitter. It said Bonnie Blue was pregnant. And it was just, like, a picture of her with the pregnancy test, and it was like, all right, you're having a baby. And I go, oh, that's, like, Photoshopped. It's like, hey, you're sleeping with 1,000 men in a day.

You know, I'm no doctor, but there's a chance that you're going to get, you know, you're going to get pregnant. But I didn't think much of it. I go, it's probably just a funny satire post.

But I'm reading it on Barstool right now. This story's picking up legs. In what might be the hardest paternal test of all time, porn star Bonnie Blue, who famously slept with 1,057 men in a day, is allegedly pregnant. So I don't know if she doesn't know who the father is, but imagine if it did transpire when she was sleeping.

Oh, my goodness. How many hours do you think this was? 1,057 men still. How many hours do you think she slept with them? I mean, today, I assume it would take the full 24 hours, no? Only 12 hours. Oh, my God. How the heck is that possible?

Oh, my goodness gracious. But she is allegedly pregnant, if that's a true story, but I see other outlets are picking it up. If she doesn't know who the father, how do you try to figure out who the father is? Because I would imagine, right, those 1,057 men, they they probably signed something. So you probably have their contact information. But imagine explaining to that child.

Right. But when that child gets to to be 13, 14, 15 years old, or even when that child just knows how to get on the Internet, like now seven year olds can get on the Internet. Like I have baby cousins that are probably and I'm good at the on the Internet that are probably better with dealing with the Internet than I am. Imagine when that like seven or eight year old child, if it is, in fact, the real story, starts Googling who mommy is. And the first article that comes up, because I imagine the first thing that comes up when you Google Bonnie Blue is her sleeping with 1,057 men in a single day or 12 hour period. Imagine when that comes up and then maybe they find the father or don't. And then you got to explain why mom slept with 1,057 men in a day.

And then also how one of them ended up becoming your father. You know, Santa, you have to talk to to young kids these days. Could you even imagine having to explain that to a child?

It's crazy. I mean, I would hope that at that point, if the kids looking this stuff up, they can do the math to say, hmm, this is when mom did it. This is how old I am. Wait a second. Wait a second. Nine months after this equals that.

That's my birthday. I'm going to be a terrible human being for what I'm about to say. But if they have the order of the 1,057 men. What is the over underline on on which person ended up being the one that got Bonnie Blue pregnant? That's just the question to me. I guess you got to go like five hundred and ten, whatever or five hundred twenty five. I have no clue. Do you go the oh, you want to go five hundred and ten and a half?

Let's do it. You take the over. You take the under.

I don't have to go with the over the over. I'm going to go with the over that the first guys, you know, she kind of was at a certain point. She was probably just tired and not really paying attention. And maybe someone kind of didn't wear what they were supposed to wear. I don't know if they had to wear anything.

I think they did. I'm not sure. I'm not. Yeah, I'm not well versed in this topic of conversation.

I just know the story that she slept with one thousand and fifty seven guys in a twelve hour period. One of the guys I would put in the contract that I have to work. There's no way I would I would be in that line.

Yes. So I think this is the first time I'm going to say this to you. You're a sane individual. When you're when you're lining up to sleep with this woman as she has one hundred and fifty six other guys ready to go have.

I guess what you could say is a little fun, a little bam chicka wamp wamp time. There has to be a screw loose because because who in that right. Like, unless if you're number one, that that gets a little dicey. So you taking the over under here. I'd say the under. Yeah, I'm going to go the under. Yeah.

What a crazy story, though. All right. Let's do the most awkward transition in the history of radio.

Just give me the music. So we're going to do a little draft here. This is not, hey, Christian McCaffrey is a top 10 non quarterback in the NFL. Obviously, that's the case. But based off this season, McCaffrey was hurt, barely played this season. So based off this season results, if we take all the quarterbacks out of it, who are the top 10 non quarterbacks in the NFL? I'll give you the choice.

I'm in a benevolent mood today, Stu. You want to go first or you want to go second? I'll go first. OK, who's the first pick here? I will go say Quon Barkley just with his stats. He almost broke the rushing record.

You probably would have if he played that last game at a regular season. I think he, for me, is the best non quarterback this year. Shayshaun Barkley. All right. I agree with you. I would then go Jamar Chase, who had the most receiving yards this past year in the NFL.

So I take Jamar Chase. Are we doing this as a snakes, though? I think so. Right. OK. Yeah, sure.

That's nice of you, by the way. You could have been like, no, I'm going to have the next pick. But that's just Stuart Kovacs. I'm then going to go Derek Henry. I thought Derek Henry outside of Saquon and Jamar Chase and how you could factor in defensive players here, too, was for a while one of the best offensive players in the league this year if you take the quarterbacks out of it. So Saquon, Jamar Chase and Derek Henry off the board. Who's your next pick? OK, I will go Justin Jefferson.

I think if it wasn't for Jamar Chase, we'd be talking more about Justin Jefferson's great season that he had statistically. So I will go with him first and then I will go to the defensive side of the ball again, just based on this season. It's hard not to go with the defensive player of the year. And that is Pat Sertan.

There are a lot of good options, but I'll go certain here. So I thought going into the year that Pat Sertan was the best cornerback in football. It's nice to see him win defensive player of the year. I was just thinking, OK, who's going to be the first defensive player? And you know, I still think it needs to be. And I'm not just saying this because he was on the show. But I'm I'm going to say based off last year, it still needs to be Miles Garrett.

So I have no problem. Pat Sertan winning defensive player of the year, right? Because you also usually have to have some team success as well.

And you saw the Broncos get to the playoffs while the Browns were one of the worst teams in football. So I take Miles Garrett. Then after that, this is where it gets interesting. So Miles Garrett's off the board. Pat Sertan is off the board. Do I stay defense or do I go to the offensive side of the ball? Because right now, offense, it's slim pickins. Gets tricky.

You would still say. Yeah. Oh, boy. I'm stuck between two offensive linemen. I'm stuck between Trishon worse and Penay Sewell. I'm going to go Penay Sewell.

So I'll take Penay Sewell there. I'll go an offensive player. I'll go offensive lineman.

Show some love to the to the big fellows up front. OK, I will go with the person who led the league in sacks, and that is Trey Hendrickson. I know he's not maybe as much of a household name as he should be, but he had a tremendous season. So that's eight, by the way. So we have Saquon, Jamar Chase, non quarterbacks based off this this season, the best 10 non quarterbacks in the NFL.

Saquon, Jamar Chase, Derek Henry, Justin Jefferson, Pat Sertan, Miles Garrett, Penay Sewell and Trey Hendrickson. So that's eight. So you get one more. And then and then I get another. I get one more.

He he didn't have the statistical season that he's had in the past, but he still made a lot of impact plays in terms of like force fumbles, fumble recoveries and stuff like that. I'll go TJ Watt. OK, good. He was on my list. So I have three guys left or actually, no, just two guys left. And I could only when you say there's two guys left.

You think Bonnie Blue was relieved when she heard that there's only two guys left. Here's who it was between for me. Micah Parsons. Or Fred Warner. Is there anyone else that you considered? They're just wondering. There is. Ah, Monroe St. Brown.

Oh, that's a good one. So when I look at this. Fred Warner is an all pro. And I think he's the best linebacker in football. Micah Parsons is one of the best edge rushers, but he's not the best edge rusher in the NFL. And he had 12 sacks this past year in 13 games. So think about what he would have done.

It would have done if he played the entire season. Oh, I feel criminal not going Fred Warner here, right? But isn't the right call Micah Parsons, though? I think so.

Yeah. So I feel good about this list. So the top 10 best non quarterbacks in the NFL based off this season. Fred Warner is the one that I really feel criminal about leaving off. Saquon Barkley. Saquon Barkley. Jamar Chase. Derek Henry. Justin Jefferson. Pat Sertan. Miles Garrett. Penay Sewell. Trey Hendrickson.

T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons. I'm actually going to be intrigued this year. I usually can't stand that NFL top 100 list because there's always years where it goes like Tyree kill last year should not have been number one.

Nothing against them. I always think you have a quarterback be number one. But I'm fascinated by what that list is going to look like. Not only with the MVP conversation with Josh Allen and then Lamar Jackson, but then a lot more offensive lineman getting recognition. The past rushing conversation being so compelling in the wide receivers being really fun as well. I'm just curious where that conversation is going to be and what that list ends up looking like. Because not only did we have Tyree kill one, I believe we had Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Travis Kelsey, Chris Jones all around the top 10, maybe top 12. And a good amount of those guys weren't at their normal self this year.

So you would think that they would usually drop. But who knows? All right. Cooper Dajean is going to join us coming up in about 22 minutes from now. We'll take a break.

We'll come on back. We'll update you some of the biggest stories in the world of sports with some audio. We get to the news brief next. Update time first.

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He was on the Ross Tucker football podcast. Should the Giants draft a young QB or sign a veteran? I would say probably both. You'd rather have a young guy where you can grow with, you know, and a veteran that, you know, you can play with or, you know, he knows what's going on.

Got it. But he, that rookie also can learn from that vet. That's a good point. So when he comes in, it's not like, here, you're the savior of the team. You know, it makes that, it makes the level, you know, it makes that you're not so nervous about what you get into. I wasn't the savior of the team, so I didn't have that kind of pressure on me.

Did I have pressure? Yeah, I was the sixth overall pick, but it wasn't like that kind of person that the quarterbacks have. Right. You're trying to change the franchise, you come in, they don't have no quarterback there. You have to change the franchise around. I don't want that on a younger guy, a young QB, you know, that can mess up their mind. You start hearing that, you know, you're a buzz, they shouldn't ever pick you.

That kind of, it kind of brings you down. So I'd rather have a vet that can teach that rookie, you know, and then when it's time come, it's time come. So it's actually a really good answer by Malik Nabors because I went into this when I saw the headline of it that he said he wanted both. And I go, oh, that's probably Malik Nabors being kind of a politician, not really wanting to give an answer, but having to answer a question.

So you kind of give both answers. But the way that he sells it is that, hey, you could bring in a veteran, have them teach that, that rookie. And then when it's the rookie's time, he goes. And we've seen that before, specifically with the Giants. They drafted Eli Manning right through the trade with Philip Rivers and all that stuff with the Chargers. And then they had Kurt Warner there.

Kurt was playing fine. Giants are winning games. And they thought that it was time to make the move right in the middle of the season. But if you draft Shadore Sanders, Cam Ward, right, who are not viewed as the creme de la creme quarterbacks, it's usually how a creme de la creme quarterback would be viewed as, I just wonder, especially with Shadore, with how much buzz there is with Shadore and, right, the hype machine that comes, even though I think Cam Ward's the better quarterback, what ends up happening? Or I think, excuse me, Shadore's the better quarterback, but Cam will go before him. I just wonder if that's a situation where you could hold off the Shadore Sanders storm for that long. Because I do think Cam Ward is going to go in the first two picks. And then I do think Shadore will go to the Giants in at three. Let's go to Shadore Sanders and Cam Ward.

They were arguing during a joint workout together. After they gave you a completion percentage award, all you did was throw checkdowns and bubble screens. That's actually crazy. If I did that, my completion percentage would be 90. I throw the ball down, Phil, you don't. You ran the ball. You had a run game.

You had a run game. It's kind of funny. It seems like those guys really like each other because they keep on working out together. But whenever they do work out one another, it's, okay, what video can we kind of record that gets one of our names in the news and kind of shows the competitive nature and also unintentionally, but it may be intentionally, I don't know, still. Do we knock one guy down in a joking manner to try to prop the other one up in all these silly draft conversations that we have? Here is Darius Slay.

He was on the St. Brown podcast on his future. I got one more left, but you know what I'm saying, you know how that work. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so whatever you want to do, you know, I might re-sign back, hopefully.

You know, if I ain't, then we'll see what we're doing because I do want to play one more year for sure. You like Detroit, you said, huh? Oh, I love Detroit. I got nothing but love. That's my second home. So it sounds like you don't mind coming back. I knew I was going to try to recruit you.

I knew it. I mean, this is what it sounds like. Love the city. Like, he did so much for it.

Last year, you already won the Super Bowl. Come back. No, man, I love the hub, but you know what I'm saying? If it is, it is. If it ain't, it ain't. But for sure, the two spots I would love to always be at this season.

Yeah. Well, also, you could go back to Detroit because your best pal, Matt Patricia, is no longer there. And now the Lions are actually a destination. I think Darius Slay is probably done in Philly. A few years ago, it seemed like he was done in Philly.

Then he shared the story that Big Dom was the one that convinced him and told him, you're not leaving, you need to stay. So can they do that once again? We'll have to wait and see, but when you have Quinon Mitchell, when you got Cooper Dejean, who's going to join us coming up in about 12 minutes, even though Darius Slay is a very good player, you can only keep so many guys. And right, if you're allocating maybe money to try to keep Zach Vaughn, does that mean that you don't bring back a guy like Darius Slay and you got to trim the fat somewhere?

That's definitely on the table. So this Alex Bregman situation with the Red Sox. So, Stu, you know this, right? The Red Sox the last few years, even for a team that's won so many championships since 2004, there's been a lot of apathy with that fan base because they're annoyed that they let, they traded away Mookie Betts. You know, they got rid of Xander Bogarts as well. And the Red Sox kind of have that cheap kind of perception to them. And John Henry has been very unpopular. So isn't it crazy, Stu, how they get Bregman, even though it's basically like a bunch of opt-outs on a three-year deal and all that stuff.

And that was praised for about 10 hours. And then the Red Sox are embroiled in this controversy because Rafael Devers, who is a better player than Bregman, but Bregman is the better fielder. Bregman should be playing third, but Devers is like, I'm not moving any position. You want me to DH? That ain't happening.

I'm playing third base. And this has gone from such a good story for the Red Sox to instantly into kind of chaos here, right? It has.

Yes, definitely has. And it's kind of crazy because you're right. You would think you get a guy like Bregman. That's a good move. Great move. Yeah. And Devers started it right where he's like, I'm not moving position. Right.

So that's the first domino to fall. I have not heard Alex Bregman yet, but this is Alex Bregman. Let's see.

I would think if anyone handles it well, right? And Bregman has had to deal with a lot of controversy going back to the cheating scandal with the Astros, right? Has already won a World Series in this league, you know, multiple World Series, a great player, all that stuff. I wonder how Bregman handles it, because if anyone's going to handle this professionally, I'm going to assume Alex Bregman handles it the right way.

But I haven't heard this audio yet. Here is Alex Bregman and Rafael Devers saying third base is his position. I'm super excited to just be his teammate.

He's a great player. I think everybody in this clubhouse is worried about winning and whatever it takes to help the team win. That's all I'm focused on. I'll play wherever AC tells me to play. Yeah.

So that's the best answer here. Alex Cora even said, hey, you know, the promises that were made to Rafael Devers are made by Chaim Blum. He's no longer here. And then you get Rafael Devers popping off. Well, Tristan Casas, who's the starting first baseman, this is what he had to say on the issue.

Listen up to this guy. I think it's Rafael Devers' position. I think he's the third baseman.

And at that point, that's where it stands. And he's done it for, you know, a really long time now. And I think he's only getting better at that position. I think his defense is getting better every single year.

We don't know what the future holds, but we know it holds Rafael Devers. He doesn't know any other position. He doesn't want to play any other position.

And he's going to fight for it even if it's with any of the younger guys, any new guy. I think he's the best third baseman in the league. I wouldn't take anybody over him. So I think he should play third base, yeah. So you think Bregman should play second? Bregman plays third? I think Bregman should play second base, yeah. And then there was another clip, too, where when they were asking, how about some of the young guys that are competing for some spots? And he's like, God, it's not their time.

They need to go back down to the minors pretty much. I get it. This guy's only 25. And he gave a really good interview. I think it was Sunday Night Baseball last year. Maybe it was two years ago.

I forget. And he kind of became a media darling. But this guy's only played in 222 games played. He's only been in 222 games in baseball. He's a.250 hitter, right? And he slugged 42 home runs and 109 RBIs. Those are his numbers. And he's walked a bunch with 119 walks.

He's also struck out 226 times in his career. So I know that you're probably feeling yourself, but he's acting like he's the locker room lawyer, for crying out loud. If I'm a player, I'm not trying to put myself in this controversy. I'm doing what Alex Bregman did. We love Rafael Devers. We love Bregman, right? It's ultimately Alex Cora's decision and the front office's decision. I'm going to stay out of this one. But I just want to see what's in the best interest of the team.

But those are the conversations right now. So in Red Sox land, you get Bregman, wonderful. And now you've got a Rafael Devers-Bregman situation. And I think this is what should happen. Devers should DH, and Bregman should play third base? That's what I think should happen.

But let's see how the Red Sox end up handling this. Alrighty, that's the news brief. It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. Fun hour number one. You can always give us a call. 855-212-4227. 855-212-4227.

And you can always follow me on Instagram and Twitter. At Zach Gelb. Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. When we come on back, we will be joined by Cooper Dejean, who just wrapped up what's an incredible rookie season in the NFL. Second round pick out of Iowa. Right? Had a good regular season once he started to get going.

After a little bit of a slow start. And then on his 22nd birthday, it was Super Bowl Sunday. He had Saquon's birthday, and yet Cooper Dejean's birthday on Super Bowl Sunday. And Cooper Dejean had, I would say, the second biggest play in the game. I thought the biggest play was Zach Bond's interception. But Cooper Dejean had a pick six. And he's going to join us when he returns, when we return right here on the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We'll chat it up with Cooper Dejean when we're back in five minutes.