Christian McCaffrey predicts Super Bowl LX Seahawks-Patriots | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL

What this episode is about

Christian McCaffrey discusses his recovery and training insights after a demanding NFL season while analyzing the strengths of the Seahawks defense, highlighting their efficiency and teamwork as critical factors in limiting offensive performance. He also shares his excitement about the upcoming Super Bowl LX matchup, predicting a showdown between the Seahawks and Patriots.

Key takeaways

• Christian McCaffrey: a rare blend of athleticism and humility, redefining the running back gold standard.
• Seahawks' defense thrives on teamwork; individual talent shines brighter in a unified scheme.
• Sam Darnold: the underrated gem with an arm and spirit, thriving amid adversity like a true teammate.
• Youth in the Super Bowl: a double-edged sword—can ignite passion or crumble under pressure.
• Colin Cowherd podcast: the hidden gem for NFL insights, where analytical wit meets heartfelt player stories.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Colin Cowherd (Host) · 24 min speaking
• Christian McCaffrey · 16 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Sam Darnold, Christian McCaffrey, NFL, Carolina Panthers
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Brock Purdy, Super Bowl, Christian McCaffrey, Sam Darnold
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Colin Cowherd, Sam Darnold, Cooper Flagg, Carolina Panthers
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Cleveland, Super Bowl, Drake May, Josh McDaniels
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Christian McCaffrey, Cooper Flagg, Cleveland, Fred Warner
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Super Bowl, Christian McCaffrey, Sam Darnold, Drake May
7. 35:00 – 40:00: Cleveland

Notable quotes from "Christian McCaffrey predicts Super Bowl LX Seahawks-Patriots | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"

• And I remember when people asked me about Sam when I had first, I'd always known him a little bit, but when I first met him in Carolina, from the jump, I was This guy's a.

  about Carolina Panthers · at 2:58

• That. He showed up every day, kept working. even last year taking, taking Minnesota to a 14- win season and taking them to the playoffs and then, doing it again this year and now playing in the Super Bowl. I think it's a testament to his.

  about Sam Darnold · at 4:03

• Roster. So, go, go back, you played in the 2023 Super Bowl, go back to your first Super Bowl. Is it jarring? Is it overwhelming early?

  about Super Bowl · at 5:15

• I just started working with them, but I've been drinking it for a while now. I love this stuff. It's It's a soda you don't have to feel bad about drinking. So, you're I love…

  about Ola Pop · at 7:42

• Know he was going to be this good. he surpassed every expectation of mine. I' I've played with a lot of quarterbacks and he's one of those guys where every day he does stuff…

  about NFL · at 9:06

• Let me ask you, who was the last college basketball player that went to the NBA and was this well-rounded, this good this fast? Don't say Blake.

  about Colin Cowherd · at 11:51

• Hasslam comes out this week at this point, what he's trying to sell me, I'm not buying. This is Jimmy Hasslam on hiring Todd Mon this week.

  about Cleveland · at 17:30

• One of the 20 best football players I've ever seen. It's not about Super Bowl titles. I'm talking about I think Christian McCaffrey could be an NFL slot receiver and a great running back.

  about Christian McCaffrey · at 25:01

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Christian McCaffrey — Person · Main guest · 5 mentions · first at 0:13
  Primary interview subject; discusses recovery after a high-touch season, defensive looks faced, and evaluates teammates (notably Sam Darnold and Brock Purdy) plus Super Bowl experience.
• Colin Cowherd — Person · Host / main interviewer · 2 mentions · first at 0:00
  Leads the interview with McCaffrey and later drives broader commentary on NFL ownership/coaching and NBA player evaluation (including Cooper Flagg).
• Sam Darnold — Person · Referenced player (topic of discussion) · 6 mentions · first at 2:28
  Discussed extensively as McCaffrey’s former teammate and friend; framed as resilient and talented, with praise for his leadership and career arc.
• Brock Purdy — Person · Referenced player (teammate evaluation) · 4 mentions · first at 8:10
  Discussed as the 49ers quarterback; McCaffrey praises his work ethic, composure, and leadership; Cowherd clarifies he is not anti-Purdy.
  Always feel I have to like slow him down. But I will say this about Brock Pury. I think he genuinely loves seeing his teammates succeed. You can see it in the way he greets his…
• Cooper Flagg — Person · Referenced athlete (debate topic) · 2 mentions · first at 12:31
  Used as the centerpiece of a debate about projecting greatness early; compared to Jason Tatum/Tim Duncan/LeBron and discussed as unusually NBA-ready defensively and offensively.
  Project a young player is going to be great early. They're That's irresponsible. hold on. Cooper flag, do not say he's going to be as good as Jason Tatum. Is he better now?
• Kyle Shanahan — Person · Referenced coach · 1 mention · first at 5:53
  Mentioned as a Super Bowl-experienced coach providing guidance on managing distractions and preparation on the big stage.
  All the distractions are what they are. I was lucky enough to be on a team that had a bunch of guys who had already played in a Super Bowl.
• Josh McDaniels — Person · Referenced coach (comparison point) · 2 mentions · first at 5:04
  Cited as a highly experienced Super Bowl offensive coordinator to illustrate how veteran staff experience can matter versus a young roster.
  Josh McDaniels, the OC, has been in this will be his 10th Super Bowl. Seattle's a young team. as good as they are, this is a new experience overwhelmingly for this roster. So, go, go.
• Drake May — Person · Referenced player (example in ownership/roster-building discussion) · 2 mentions · first at 16:45
  Mentioned as a key quarterback asset enabling team success and spending flexibility; used in a broader point about competent ownership and team building.
  Right? Like he just wins a bunch of games all the time. regardless of quarterbacks and coaches and now he's got Drake May and Vrabel in a Super Bowl. So I mean the Hunt family…
• Fred Warner — Person · Referenced guest / referenced player · 1 mention · first at 23:56
  Mentioned as having appeared on the show and as a benchmark for elite linebackers; triggers a discussion about the best football players Cowherd has seen.
  Because I think Fred's on a short list of the one of the top five linebackers I've seen. And I was thinking about this. the top 10 football players in my life I've ever seen.…

Companies & orgs

• Carolina Panthers — Company · Referenced organization · 3 mentions · first at 2:53
  Team mentioned in the context of Christian McCaffrey's career and past teammates

Products & tech

• Ola Pop — Product · Primary owned · 1 mention · first at 7:29
  Product promoted by Christian McCaffrey, discussed as a healthy soda alternative

Concepts & topics

• NFL — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at 0:04
  Central theme of the episode, discussing football and the Super Bowl

Places & events

• Super Bowl — Event · Core topic · 7 mentions · first at 4:12
  Main event discussed in the episode, with insights from players and analysis
• Cleveland — Place · Setting · 6 mentions · first at 15:52
  Mentioned in the context of NFL team decisions and coaching hires

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Welcome to the Herd's official YouTube channel. Make sure to like and subscribe. Don't forget to check out the Colin Coward podcast, all of our NFL instant reactions, and more football content. So, it's his first interview of the day. So, Christian McCaffrey comes in hot. He's ready to go. Uh, nine years, five all pros. I've said this before. He's one of the top three running backs I've ever seen. Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, and Christian. Um, so you carried the ball. You had 450 touches this year. How many days after the season ended, did you wake up and feel, man, I feel great. I'm going to go for a walk. I'm going to walk the dog. I don't even know I'm a football player.

0:44 How many days after the season did you feel you rolled out of bed and it felt great?

0:51 Oh man, it's a good question. I think uh uh I was talking to Kyleek yesterday. We were at the Pro Bowl, which was such a great experience, but um I hadn't done really anything since that or uh before that. And so being able to move around a little bit, I actually felt great. So uh I was happy about that. You never know when you when you take a couple weeks off that first workout back like I don't know how I'm going to feel, but it was good to move around and my body felt pretty good. So it made me excited to start training this off seasonason.

1:17 So you faced the Seahawks three times this year, so we know I mean they they've got a lot of dudes. Uh, I mean on the corners, uh, Nick Aurora, that's the the safety, the rookie is a tremendous rookie. So, what are the looks for you? You I mean, they they did a as good a job as shutting down you as anybody in this sport has done since you entered the league. What was their secret sauce against your offense?

1:44 Well, I think uh, you know, when you play against a defense like that, you really can't make mistakes. Um, you know, you you have to be very detailed and efficient. stay on the field and they play such good team defense. They swarm. Um, you know, and I think that to me is is the biggest testament to to how good they are. It's not just, you know, the scheme, but they have the players to make the scheme come to life. Obviously, you mentioned all the individual players that they have that are fantastic. But, you know, I always think the best defenses that I've always faced play the best team defense. They play together.

2:15 They play as a unit. Uh, the the pass rush is linked up with the secondary. The linebackers flow hard. and um you know can can be downhill that can play well in coverage and you know really makes a complete defense.

2:28 You know you were teammates with Sam Darnold uh for a year. Um and I I love Darnold as the guy. I loved him at SC. I just think he's a guy's guy. He's a he's a pro aletes proathlete. He's a really solid human being. He wasn't playing in San Francisco. That's really hard. You've always played to be a good talented guy and sit and watch. What was he like as a teammate during that time?

2:53 Actually, Colin, I was a teammate with him at Carolina, too. That's right. I've had two I've had two stints with him. And um

3:00 you know, I remember when people asked me about Sam when I had first, you know, I'd always known him a little bit, but when I first met him in Carolina, uh, from the jump, I was like, "This guy's a a dude." And, uh, the more and more you see him at practice that you see the throws you make, you understand why he's a top pick in the draft. And then you're around him more and you're like, "This is one of the best players I've been around period."

3:21 Wow. And uh it's because of how talent talent how talented his arm is. Uh he's he's way more athletic than people give him credit for. And he's really good at taking what's given to him and doing his job. And I think so many times you see quarterbacks who start out in bad situations and get the blame for it. And uh he's somebody that I can't say enough good things about. He he shows up every day with an unbelievable attitude. whatever position he's in, never makes excuses, never complains about, you know, something that happened. And and to be frank, man, I mean, he's he's gone through so much in this league that a lot of people would have folded or would have had to, you know, blame blame whoever it might might have been that they felt was their fault. He never did that. He showed up every day, kept working. Uh, you know, even last year taking, you know, taking Minnesota to a 14- win season and taking them to the

4:10 playoffs and then, uh, doing it again this year and now playing in the Super Bowl. I think it's a testament to his resiliency, the kind of guy he is and the player he is. You know, if you're not a quarterback in this league that's good and don't take a team to a Super Bowl. So, I I man, he's a one of my best friends and also an incredible player.

4:26 Well, you mentioned best friends. In fact, it was your wedding in Rhode Island. I walked into the hotel and there was all these Carolina Panthers and there was Greg Olsen and Jonathan Stewart and uh uh was it Matt Khil was it was I think he was there. Luke Keequley was there. Yeah,

4:44 Ryan Khalil and then and then I saw Darnold later and I saw a long snapper. So that's I remember that moment and he was one of your guys. He was one of the guys you roll with.

4:55 You know, it's interesting when I think New England and Seattle are a little alike. Here's what I worry about Seattle.

5:04 Josh McDaniels, the OC, has been in this will be his 10th Super Bowl. Seattle's a young team. as good as they are, this is a new experience overwhelmingly for this roster. So, I mean, go, you know, go back, you played in the 2023 Super Bowl, go back to your first Super Bowl. Is it is it jarring? Is it overwhelming early?

5:29 Uh, you know, I think youth can be um a crutch for a team, but it can also be a superpower. you know, if you got a bunch of young, hungry, young guys who who play the right way and play extremely hard, that can be a massive advantage on a big stage. Um, and so I think, you know, each game has a life of its own. Uh, all the distractions are what they are. Um, you know, I was lucky enough to be on a team that had a bunch of guys who had already played in a Super Bowl. Obviously, Kyle's been to Super Bowls and and so um the the advice throughout the week was how to control some of those distractions and keep the mind on football. And I thought our guys did a good job of that. you know, it's uh once the game starts, it's football, you know, and it's all about execution. So, uh you know, for me personally, I felt like I you know, we managed those as as best as we could.

6:13 Listen, I know when you're on the sidelines, you're not watching necessarily other offensive players, but JSN for Seattle is insane. He I said this, he reminds me has a little Jerry Rice to him and I in in that um he never slows down into the break, out of the break. He it's just one gear. you have this ability like you cut and it's the same speed. Um, when you're on the sidelines and you're and you're watching JSN, what do you see? What what do you look at and go, "Wow, that is different than other do guys."

6:49 Well, you're right. Yeah. I don't always watch other guys. Um, but I think when you're playing against somebody like that, you can't help but watch him because he, you know, he's always making plays. Um, I think he has everything you would want. You know, he's he's fast, he's strong, he's quick. Uh he's really good after the catch. He has great hands. Um so even if he is covered, he's not. Uh makes great contested catches. Uh but you're right, you know, to maintain the same pad level in and out of routes is is very deceiving for corners and and uh you know, he does as good a job of anybody at that.

7:19 Yeah, that's what Brady said. He keeps the same pad level, so he keeps you off balance. You don't really know where he's going. Um okay, by the way, you're this prebiotic soda. I live on this stuff. this Ola pop stuff you're doing.

7:35 So, I I tell my wife all the time and I and I got my family on this. How long have you been working with them?

7:42 I just started working with them, but I've been drinking it for a while now. I mean, I love this stuff. It's It's a soda you don't have to feel bad about drinking. So, you know, you're I love it. I absolutely love it. Now, I've been with Lollipop now for about 17 minutes or whenever this started. Um, but it was one of those partnerships that I got really excited about because I genuinely love the product. Um, you know, it's good for you. It's very low in sugar, high in fiber, and uh something that I don't feel bad about putting my name uh my name to at all. Hey, I a lot of people think I don't like Brock Pury. It is not true. It's just that my partner here, Jason, is so obnoxious and I I'm a Darnold guy because I love Sam. So, I don't want that spreading that I'm not I'm not a a Brock Pretty guy. He's a quality quarterback. If I didn't have this guy across from me telling me he's better than Elway, I

8:34 always feel like, you know, I I have to like slow him down. But I will say this about Brock Pury. I think he genuinely loves seeing his teammates succeed. You can see it in the way he greets his teammates. Not all not all proathletes are happy for other guys to succeed. Did you initi did you know he was going to be this good this quick when you I mean seventh round guy Iowa State. Did you see it? I didn't I'll be honest with you. I knew he was going to be good. Um I didn't know he was going to be this good. Uh he surpassed every expectation of mine. I' I've played with a lot of quarterbacks and he's one of those guys where every day he does stuff that now it's not as shocking because it's who he is and he does it every day. But, uh, he's unbelievable, man. He really is. I think, uh, I go back to when I first got traded to the NerS. I was trying to learn the plays as quick as possible and

9:25 and he was he was the third string quarterback at the time. And it was him who I was going over the plays with. We were doing walkthroughs and after hours, you know, trying to get this stuff done. And you could see the intensity and the urgency. And he wasn't just doing this for me. He was doing this for him, too. Trying to go through his reads, his progressions. And so, man, he's had a chip on his shoulder, I'm sure, since he was a kid. He plays with it. He plays with with uh with so much confidence and swagger, but puts the work in. You know, he's calm and collected, but he's a killer and uh super uh can't say enough good things about him and pumped up that he's our quarterback.

9:59 Yeah. No, he is. I mean, there is he is one of those guys that he is one my favorite quality. If he throws a pick, it does not bother him. He just he he has a short memory. He's a gamer. Like in some guys, it bothers it. Never bothers him. I mean, listen, it's hard in this league. you get 14 possessions, you're playing a Seattle, you're going to you're going to make mistakes, you're going to fumble, you're going to do this. And I I I will say this, this guy has been well coached. I don't know his parents, but they did a good job because he is just a gamer. I'm glad you like him. That helps.

10:31 I love him. I love him. Christian, as always, I I I swear to God I do. I swear, Christian.

10:38 Good seeing you. Good seeing you, Colin. Appreciate it, man. All right. Um, yeah, it's sometimes I I get marginalized because I got you over here saying best quarterback in the league, Josh Allen, Brock Pury, and I have to pump the brakes.

10:54 I like how he laughs and goes, "Yeah, I'm sure. I'm glad you like him, too." Everybody knows maybe in San Fran. That's your guy.

11:03 Yeah, it was um you know, maybe I'm turning the corner. Yeah, there we go. Yeah, I went to Rhode Island to a wedding and there was like nine Carolina Panthers in the hotel and they're like, "Christian's getting married and Darnold was just down the street. See you tomorrow."

11:22 Sometimes on the interweb, uh, ex coaches get very prickly when you project a young player is going to be great early. They're like, "That's irresponsible." I mean, hold on. Cooper flag, do not say he's going to be as good as Jason Tatum. Is he better now? Have you seen what he's done now that he's caught up to league speed? His last three games, he's averaging 40 points, shooting 57%. Let me ask you, who was the last college basketball player that went to the NBA and was this well-rounded, this good this fast? Don't say Blake Griffin. He got banged up, didn't play rookie year much. if at all if I recall and he didn't have a refined jumper until the end of his career. Don't tell me Anthony Davis he was not a very good offensive player. It took him years even now he's inconsistent offensively. Maybe Kevin Durant but he wasn't this good defensively.

12:26 So I I think it's Tim Duncan in the late 90s out of Wake Forest but he was in college for years. This kid should be a freshman at Duke. He just turned 19. Most rookies are terrible on defense. Not this kid. A block a game, defends four positions. Uh, most are raw offensively. I said it last week. LeBron came into the league, he was a bulldozer. He was just so physically strong. He didn't have this kid's bag. This kid offensively is almost European in his skill set. You can do anything with him. You can play him at point off ball. I mean, he led Duke and the Mavericks in five key categories. Some offense, some defense. And so, a lot of times with rookies in this sport, you know, you get like a John Morant, a Zion, a John Wall, and we get all excited about it, but you can tell they're, you know, they can't stay healthy, they play too fast, they're frenetic, they're too raw, they're immature.

13:25 I mean, again, Blake Griffin was great. It took him years to have a trustable jumper. I mean, I'll tell you another guy that was good. He played at Oklahoma State, Kade Cunningham. Really good player. But it wasn't until year four that he was an all-star. Cade was just one of those guys you wanted him to be a little more assertive, a little more aggressive, and now Cade's a great player. And Kate, now Kade could score always, high school, college, and pro. He's not this. So, and I was saying this this morning to the staff, like people compared him to Jason Tatum and some bristled at it. I don't think there's much of a gap today with Jason Tatum and Cooper Flag. Now, again, what happens with a lot of these rookies who play a college schedule the second half of the season, they just wear down because in college, you don't have to play against NBA guys every night. So, it's very possible past the

14:24 trading deadline, last 20 games, Dallas is not good. He could just wear down and just not I mean, a lot of times you'll get a you'll get a a player like Wemby, there'll be minute restrictions and and game limits. So, the the the difference between college basketball and and pro basketball, you over double your games. You know, NFL college football now, you're playing 15 games if you're a good college football team. Um, but right now, I mean, Cooper Flag last night lost to Boston. He had another monster night. Here he is after.

15:02 Staying confident. Um, staying poised. Um, you know, I never doubted myself or, you know, went into any of that or or, you know, fell to what everybody was saying that, you know, everybody has, you know, a rookie wall or whatever. Um, so I kind of just let all that pass and you know, I might have fall fallen down a little bit, but just got back up um, stronger and um, let my teammates, my coaches, you know, everybody around me just lift me up and um, you know, help me get to, you know, back to being myself.

15:29 So um, all the coaches we're waiting for Clint Kubak is going to be the Raiders coach. Smartly, he doesn't want to talk about it. Wants to stay focused on Seattle. I think Clint Kubak's actually a good hire. I It's the Raiders. Who knows? But I think it's a pretty good hire. Uh, apparently, I heard this this morning for a second time, uh, Brady, the GM, people were really impressed with him. So, Cleveland, meanwhile, hired Todd Mon. He's going to be 60 or is 60. Uh, he was not a candidate for any of the other 10 jobs as head coach.

16:05 That doesn't mean he can't be good. Uh, John Harbaugh reportedly was thinking about bringing him to New York. Uh there's a story out John Harbaugh said be careful about Cleveland. Jimmy Hasslam uh makes owning a football team look harder than it is. It is not easy. It's not this hard. So I said earlier this week that Robert Craft did not get into the Hall of Fame. Robert Craft won pre-bellich with Bellich postc since he's owned the team. Robert Craft's winning percentage is like 69%. He's pretty good, right? That's that's that's higher than I think Tom and Bichc, right? Like he just wins a bunch of games all the time. Uh regardless of quarterbacks and coaches and now he's got Drake May and Vrabel in a Super Bowl. So um I mean the Hunt family has owned the Chiefs I I think since the late 50s like 1959. And they've mostly been a model of at least competence if not efficiency. And so and what I like

17:02 about Robert Craft, Craft is aware. Craft is present, but he doesn't really meddle. One time he meddled and that was the Jimmy Garopolo decision where Bellich wanted Garopolo is the future. And for the record, the owner was right and the coach was wrong. Tom still had five plus years in the tank to be a great player. So when Jimmy Hasslam comes out this week at this point, what he's trying to sell me, I'm not buying. This is Jimmy Hasslam on hiring Todd Mon this week.

17:40 You go through a search process and I think we had we started out with like 20 25 candidates. I think we interviewed nine. I might be off by one there. And a search is, you know, it's a little bit like this. It's a little bit of a roller coaster. Somebody drops out, somebody comes in. You get better references or better test results on someone or worse. So, it's a little bit of roller coaster. I would say Todd was at the top of the list the entire time. I think our search lasted 20 days and I'd say he was um in leading the pack or in the front pack the whole time.

18:13 Yeah. I I think that's a hard sell to the fans. 10 openings, wasn't a leading candidate anywhere else and you're the losing his franchise that was looking for a coach. Um Brady yesterday talked about the value and I and I really do think the Hunt family does it right and that even Prima Mahomes since the 50s classy um take care of their players. Um you know it's this is a quarterback coach driven league they've missed on some coaches and quarterbacks. Uh for the record you know Robert Craft missed on Gerrod Mayo but he didn't get stubborn. He didn't get cheap. Pete Carol wasn't cheap. Uh Bellichic wasn't cheap. Mike Frabel's not cheap. Gerrod Mayo wasn't inexpensive. A lot of people thought Gerard Mayo, he was the coach in waiting, but he missed. And Robert immediately moved off it. It was his choice. It hurt, so he didn't get stubborn. And you got Jerry Jones here going cheap on coaches. Craft doesn't do

19:12 that. So here was Brady yesterday on on the value and the additive nature of Robert Craft. I believe that the owner is the chief accountability officer and you know you hold everyone to a standard and you expect everyone to live up to that and believe me when the owner sitting in a team meeting room the players are sitting up a lot straighter the head coach's message is directed a lot more intently and RKK his office was at the stadium he would sit in there in team meeting rooms he would be out there on the practice field he would be there at every road game, shaking people's hands as they walked off the field.

19:53 Yeah. Present and aware and current, but not meddling. I think that's very hard to do regardless of the business you own. You're present, you're there, you're not meddling. Because I think meddling is disrespectful. What you're basically saying is the people you hired aren't competent. And he never he never broaches that. That that's not who he is. And remember what Vrabel said earlier this week. Vrabel's like, "Listen, it's not it's not always like this." There were reports that Mike Frabel in Tennessee, the owner didn't like it, didn't smile enough.

20:24 I mean, go back to Jimmy Hasslam drafting Johnny Manzel and why he drafted him. Google it. Look up the story. So, it's I'm not saying owning the NFL franchise is easy. It it's it's not as hard as Cleveland makes it out to be. Um, all right. 10 best players. You know, we both like the NBA, especially playoffs. The Cooper flag stuff. I remember when Tiger Woods was coming out and and they're and I remember being a younger sports cer and saying I didn't grow up with Jack Nicholas, but the way they're talking about him like golf people I respect are saying this is going to be the greatest player ever

20:59 or Bryce Harper was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated didn't put any other high school players, baseball players on the cover.

21:06 Yeah. When the media goes gaga on somebody, they're usually right. and Cooper flag came out and I think re people that I respected all said it's Jason Tatum but more aggressive and if you look at Tatum the only knock on Jason Tatum is really because he's a defender he's a good guy works hard is he's not aggressive enough sometimes it feels like Marcus Smart

21:33 was taking shots away that's why they move Marcus Smart it's one thing for Jaylen Brown to take a shot away but Jason Tatum can at times in big spots disappear here like he'll let other guys take control. So if you add aggressiveness to Jason Tatum, you would check the only box that's unchecked. Flag has all this is better early is much better defensively early and is hyperaggressive and can play point.

21:58 So when people say you're being if a player can't handle eusive praise, they're not built for the moment.

22:04 They're not built for the moment. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, Colin, I I don't know if you remember this, but I had asked you live on air over under one and a half MVPs for, uh, Cooper Flag in his time in the NBA. And you and I had a good banter, but online people killed us. They're like, "Oh, these guys out of their mind." And now we're seeing at 19 years old, he's doing stuff we have not seen in the league before. LeBron did not do this.

22:27 I do not remember ever seeing a 19-year-old this good defensively. Put that in context. 19. Yeah, Tim Duncan was great early, but he had spent

22:36 four years at Wake Forest. So, he was a grown man, 22 years old, 23. And the other thing people say, I hear this all the time, well, nobody plays defense in the NBA. Well, they didn't play it 10 years ago when Tatum broke in either. Right.

22:48 Right. Before the before the trade deadline, nobody's playing defense. I think it took Jason Tatum I'll read it here.

22:55 Yeah. Three years until he averaged this many points a game. Now again, the second half for a rookie, a lot of them wear down.

23:04 Yeah. Okay. You're playing twice as many games. Rookie wall. Yeah. You hit the rookie wall, so these numbers may come down, but

23:10 let me ask you, if you're building around any players in the league right now, like who are your top four guys? Age obviously matters.

23:17 We w I don't think you're going to dispute that. I mean, number two is hard. Some people are going to say SGA. I don't I would not say SGA.

23:26 I would say Cooper Flag. I think Cooper Flag is ahead of Joic. I think he's ahead of Luca given what he's doing at this age. Ridiculous.

23:33 Listen, Luca and Luca is my guy. I love Luca, but he's he's he's a liability. You can hunt him in the playoffs on the defensive end. Teams hunt him down.

23:53 Welcome back. Hour number two. Fred Warner stopped by. Christian McCaffrey is here. Chris Long later.

24:02 CMAC. Wow, that's a big get. I was just thinking about I was went to the bathroom and I was thinking about I had Fred Warner and I thought who are the who are the 10 best players I've ever seen play football? Brady would be number one

24:16 ever. Yeah. I was thinking about because because I think Fred's on a short list of the one of the top five linebackers I've seen. And I was thinking about this. the top 10 football players in my life I've ever seen. And because I was thinking McAffrey's coming up, Brady's the best. I would say Lawrence Taylor 2, Walter Payton three,

24:34 Reggie White, maybe Reggie White four, Ed Reed five, Aaron Donald six, Jerry Wright seven,

24:42 Jerry Rice seven. Um, probably Elway eight, Momes nine. Mahomes at high. Wow. Wow, he's only like halfway through his career.

24:54 Um, yeah, I mean it's um but I but I honestly if I went top 20, McAffrey is one of the 20 best football players I've ever seen. It's not about Super Bowl titles. I'm talking about I think Christian McCaffrey could be an NFL slot receiver and a great running back.

25:10 Yeah, I mean he that is rare. He could play multiple positions. You know, people say, "Oh, Deion Sanders," but Dion gets knocked down a little bit. He didn't want to tackle. DM was a great special teams player and and he was a he was a great pure corner but he didn't like there was a way to go after him.

25:26 Bo Jackson would be in the what might have been Yeah. Yeah. Bo Jackson's one of the 10 best athletes.

25:31 The little you saw was like holy smokes this guy's incredible. Yeah. Uh Josh Allen's Josh Allen has had some rough big games. That that that's I say this Brady in big games. Elway in big game. Elway was defined by fourth quarter comebacks. Brady's the GOAT. Mahomes has been I mean oftentimes without a great O line or receiving core run game.

25:55 Josh has had a couple too many uh like that Denver game. He's just had too many mistakes.

26:00 Yeah. Um he's the best. I would say Josh is the best accumulation of talent, raw firepower. Like there there are times I watch Josh I'm like that's like I look at Elway. Elway and Josh Allen are the two most talented quarterbacks I've ever seen.

26:19 Wait, wait, wait, hold on. Well, Pton Manning, okay, I saw him a lot in in the AFC. Every game, every drive, it mattered. It felt like, oh, Pton Manning is going to deliver and he would come through.

26:27 I would say Joe Montana's got to be top 12. Yeah, he's got to be in Smith. Do you remember him? Buffalo Bills on the end. He I just again another team I saw a lot because of the Jets.

26:37 People are my staff is Miles Garrett. Calvin Johnson. Calvin Johnson for sure. I mean, they win a lot in the past. Miles Garrett.

26:44 Miles Garrett. Yeah, I need Well, you need what? I I I need I I need to see You threw this at me out of left field. Come on, bro. I mean, like, come on.

26:53 Yeah. I mean, I'm I'm I'm spitballing stuff. Yeah, but Yeah. Yeah. J-Mack with the news.

26:59 NO, NO, NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. THIS is the herd line news. Like, it doesn't matter how many trophies you have, but it does add to your aura. Like Elway was getting blown out in Super Bowls, then he won a couple. It does add to the like Dan Marino. It's a knock. You could say, well, I'm just saying 10 best football. I'm not saying 10 most talented. Dion's top five talent. I wouldn't put him as a top five player. Josh Allen is top five horsepower talent. I can't put him top five yet.

27:28 He's the most impressive football talent I've ever seen. I'm saying the 10 best players. Player is winning good in big games. Unbelievable fourth quarter. Do you elevate teammates? Those are different arguments.

27:41 Yeah, I I I know there's an open bar tonight, but did you get started early? Like, come let's settle down. All right, let's let's talk about Sam Darnold, your guy. Very excited to see what he could do in the Super Bowl, paired with his OC, Clint Kubak. Now, we know Kubak is leaving afterward to take the Raiders gig. But here's Darnold, uh, his first year with Kubak. And here he is praising the OC.

28:03 Is unbelievable. uh just the things that you know the things that I learned when I was with Clint in 23. Um just schematically. Um and then getting to learn from him as a coach as well and as a person. Um just the the grit, you know, he he wakes up at insane hours. Um he gets to the facility at 4:00 4:30 in the morning and he's there later than anyone. Um he's just a he's a grinder. He he loves football and uh you know he's he's very honest and he's very uh forthcoming with his players that I think you know a lot of myself and a lot of the guys really appreciate about him.

28:39 I think he's going to work with the Raiders. I do. I do. I think it's going to work. And I that by the way that is a that is not a guarantee but apparently he impressed uh Brady Spycch the GM. Well, I mean, I know it's not a guarantee, but there there's no way he would pull out after the Super Bowl. There's no way he's not going to take it.

29:01 Well, he's going to take the job. And also, folks, Fernando Mendoza, five years, you're going to get his talent and not have to pay him.

29:09 Yeah. His his big money won't kick in for five years. That is a huge advantage. Massive cap space.

29:16 Buying stock in a player and team Raiders. I think you got I I think I really do. And I And now listen, I thought Pete was going to stabilize it. I thought he was a very solid mature hireer. It went totally sideways. But again, he had Gino Smith.

29:29 You're you're I mean, this Fernando Mendoza kid, do do not undervalue. I mean, the one of the reasons the New England thing has clicked is yes, Frabel and yes, they could spend money, but Drake May is completing 71% of his throws and is the best deep ball thrower percentage-wise in the league. So, Drake May is the engine that makes Vrabel and all the players work. You have to be able to pick up big third and fourth downs. And from a buy in Kubak to a sell in my New York Jets, Colin, uh, they had just announced today that their new offensive coordinator is, drum roll please, Frank Reich. Thinking outside the box there, Jets. Well done. Um, he was Stanford's interim head coach last season. I'm sure everybody knew that.

30:10 Before that, he kind of flopped with Carolina as the leading man, but he does have 16 years NFL uh, head coaching or sorry, coaching experience. will stabilize as much as anybody can the offense.

30:23 Well, I think Zack the producer had a great take is when the Jets fire Aaron Glenn after like 10 games, your interim coach in November, December will

30:31 I think that's why he was hired. I think that was a great take. I think they're hiring him seeing that by Thanksgiving he's the coach and he's just a I text him from time to time. Really nice guy, really easy to get along with. Everybody likes him and he's the he if you can get him as an interim coach. I mean I I don't mean to be negative but there's no way Aaron Glenn survives the season.

30:52 Uh I would say unless Yeah. I I can't think of a scenario. What quarterback is showing up out of the We don't even know who their quarterback is and is going to win like eight or nine games. That's just I don't see that happening. Here's the thing. I kind of like this strategy, Colin. You see the Cardinals, hey, we got to change our coach and maybe we'll go for Malik Willis. The Jets are doing nothing. They're like we're fine being bad. We see the 27 draft may have like five good quarterbacks. We may want Arch Manning. He can't stay in school again.

31:19 This Frank Wright hire I don't hate this. No, it's You can see what they're doing.

31:25 It's like a soft tank a year in advance. And I I know some people hate that. Jets fans are upset. I'd rather this than miss on Trevor Lawrence. Remember they remember they were trying to tank and missed on Trevor Lawrence and ended up with Zack Wilson. You know, like you can't tank. You got to tank the right way.

31:42 Final story, Colins. Back to the NBA now. You are very close with this next subject. Draymond Green.

31:48 Yes. Wow. Interestingly and smartly, the Warriors are uh apparently considering trading Draymond Green ahead of tomorrow's deadline. There's this pipe dream that the Warriors could get Giannis in return. Obviously, it would take more than Draymond. Yeah.

32:02 But Draymond had a uh pretty levelheaded, cleareyed thought on the trade rumors surrounding his name. Here we go.

32:11 People want to know like how I feel about it. Like am I upset about it or like I'm not at all. Like, you know, I don't if that's what's best for this organization, that's what's best for the organization. No, I'm I'm not like, oh man, they me over or something like that. Like, I don't really feel that way. Has been in a place for 13 and 1/2 years. I don't know that it ends at 13 and 1/2, but if it does, what aing run it's been. I'll take the fine for it. What a run it's been. So that's that's that's just how I feel.

32:45 Yeah. I mean I I think that's a mature level-headed way to look at it. I totally agree.

32:49 And I think I always felt he was the number two behind Steph, not Clay. I felt his he was a catalyst. Remember when your star is not a great defensive player. You have to protect him. Draymond, this was a very pretty team. It was a very pretty offense. He was the bouncer at the bar. I mean, this team, Andre Aguidala never got quite the credit until that finals MVP and Draymond. Never forget as much of a nuisance as many fans thought he was. I mean, when you ask Steve Kerr if if do you think they wouldn't have moved him five years ago when he was getting suspended and hurting them in big games? They they kept him for a reason.

33:32 He is one of those guys Hall of Fames. He is a winning basketball player. There are guys in the Hall of Fame, not in great shape, don't play defense. It's all about them. He is a winning player.

33:47 He no longer works for my podcast company, but I will defend him to the end. We need more NBA guys that are about the W and not about they're about we, not me.

33:58 Yeah. Do you remember Michael Jordan had like a bodyguard? Like, hey, you mess with Jordan, you foul him too hard. Charles Oakley back in the day, Dennis Rodman, they were picking up for Jordan. That's kind of what Draymond was for Curry. Yeah. But he was like a high IQ version of that who could pass, was a Big 10 player of the year.

34:13 First of all, he's a he was I mean, there are games he had in the finals in the Western Conference Finals

34:20 shockingly took over the offense. I think he had 30 points in game seven against the Cavs. He was hitting threes. I mean, they lost the game, but um obviously, listen, Draymond is a Hall of Famer, great player. I didn't like a lot of these Bush League picking specifically on European guys. He's not talking trash to big big NBA.

34:36 I think I think he played a role. Yeah. And I think he played the villain and the role and he liked to he liked to distract good players. He loved to get you off your game. Very much Rodman, but I think he has a much better offensive game than Rodman.

34:51 A little internet troll to Draymond Green. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Jac with the news. Well, that's the news

34:59 and thanks for stopping by. The Herd lie news. Major NBA trade. I guess it's major. Yesterday, uh, James Harden, who's allergic to defense, and the Clippers said, "Good, go play in Cleveland. There's your reward." If you if you have an element of your game that irritates people, and James Harden's lack of defensive commitment irritates people, uh, we're sending you to the Cavs. Anthony Davis of the Mavericks doesn't stay in shape just got traded to the Wizards, which is a bad place to play. So, AD has struggled. He's in, you know, he was in shape for a couple years with LeBron and he was a tremendous player, but he got out of shape very quickly.

35:42 And, uh, the Dallas Mavericks, and I, my guess is Kyrie Irving, who again can be moody and talented, but can be brittle and not a willing defender, they'll stop. They'll shop Kyrie Irving next. He'll be the next Maverick to be traded. But Anthony Davis gone, Washington. James Harden gone. Cleveland. So what it tells you is the Mavericks are building around Cooper Flag. And um they don't want anything getting in his way. So the Mavericks get a couple of first round picks, three second round picks, and you know, some guys fill out the roster. But everything now in Dallas is around Cooper Flags timeline. So, old brittle guys ad gone traded. Kyrie Irving, my guess he's next. And and we, by the way, we just saw the Clippers do this with James Harden is that, you know, I mean, James Harden, there's a new wave of young players coming in because the NBA draft last year, this year, and next year are

36:43 stacked with domestic players, with college basketball players, and Dallas is telling you, yeah, we're done with the we're done with the AD thing. That also means they're done with the Kyrie thing. That's why they're playing Cooper flag at point. We're moving on. We're we're bad. We're building it around Cooper flag and that's what they should do. Nice move by them and the and you know the war the the uh Clippers same thing. I James Harden's durable great score but the game is officiated differently in the postseason. So a James Harden and a Luca don't get the whistle and also you can be hunted over a long series. The way I would describe the regular season it's like open mic night for a comedian.

37:28 You can try new material. Nobody's recording it. If you bomb, you're in Atlanta two nights later. Nobody cares. NBA Playoffs is your Netflix streaming special. Every joke matters. People are watching. You will be judged. And my take on Harden and to some degree Melo and Luca. You can hunt them in the postseason. You're playing them night after night. You don't have thin scouting reports reports like the regular season. Everybody's equally rested. James Harden is a great player. He's super durable, but he has no postseason success. They've given him Westbrook and Chris Paul. They gave him Kevin Durant. It's never worked. He is a regular season phenom. So, and that's great. He'll be a Hall of Famer. He plays hard. He plays at night. He just doesn't play hard on the defensive end.

38:15 And and and in the playoffs, there are limitations. So, Dallas taking a big swing. It is Cooper flags to you. This is what it is. I would expect Kyrie Irving. They'll deny it. He's hurt. He'll be the next one.

38:27 He's next out. Let me ask you about Anthony Davis. So, 370 days ago, he was a member of the Lakers with LeBron at the top of the league.

38:35 And they got tired of him not staying in consistent shape. A year and change later, he's now on the worst team in the league that's tanking. And now we're seeing Trey Young get shipped from Atlanta. He's gone to Washington. They're not even playing him so they can tank. I would suspect Anthony Davis ain't going to play much. They want to tank. James Harden ship from the Clippers. Like what's happening to all these American players who don't either play defense, can't stay healthy?

39:00 No. What's happening is there is a new group of stars. We great defender. Cooper Flag, great defender. You go look at this draft. The kid out of Connecticut that plays uh um Stefan Castle, great defender. So, these young guys are bringing regular season energy, coachable, play on both ends. Um, and they get really popular with fans because they played some college basketball at big programs and people are saying enough

39:28 of Harden, enough of Anthony Davis. Huh? John Mar's probably going to be next. Another guy doesn't want to play defense. Wants to play his own way.

39:34 And then and I don't want to hear about, well, they can't stay healthy. It's bad breaks.

39:38 Anthony Davis had about a year and a half stretch. He played every night. Why? Best shape of his career with LeBron. If you're not in elite shape, you will get hurt. You cannot I mean Luca Donuch I know you love him. There are those who say a he plays himself in shape during a season,

39:57 right? Okay. That and that's what they say. Well, what happens? That's too much wear and tear in the body. LeBron doesn't get hurt. Why? He comes into the season D. Wade came into the season in elite shape.

40:10 Yeah. So you the NBA is is very quickly moving on to a new group of young driven focused players who are at least willing to play some defense

40:22 and play on both ends. That's huge. Man, this is what a league. We thought there would be not a lot of activity this week. A lot of big names moving.

40:29 The new day in the NBA. Good luck with a whiz.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Christian McCaffrey predicts Super Bowl LX Seahawks-Patriots | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), Christian McCaffrey.

What is "Christian McCaffrey predicts Super Bowl LX Seahawks-Patriots | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL" about?

Christian McCaffrey discusses his recovery and training insights after a demanding NFL season while analyzing the strengths of the Seahawks defense, highlighting their efficiency and teamwork as critical factors in limiting offensive performance. He also shares his excitement about the upcoming Super Bowl LX matchup, predicting a showdown between the Seahawks and Patriots.

What is mentioned in this The Herd with Colin Cowherd episode?

14 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Super Bowl, Christian McCaffrey, Colin Cowherd, NFL, Sam Darnold, Brock Purdy. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Christian McCaffrey predicts Super Bowl LX Seahawks-Patriots | Colin Cowherd: THE HERD NFL"?

The episode runs 41 min; the transcript is about 7,854 words in 114 timestamped sections.

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