Transcript

Colin Cowherd & Nick Wright DEBATE: Seahawks-Patriots, NFL predictions, trending teams | HERD

From The Herd with Colin Cowherd · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 5 min · 12,141 words · 190 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Colin Cowherd & Nick Wright DEBATE: Seahawks-Patriots, NFL predictions, trending teams | HERD", an episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd published February 10, 2026 (1 h 5 min, about 12,141 words). It mentions 42 people, works and ideas, including Colin Cowherd, NFL, Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, Kansas City Chiefs.

What this episode is about

Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright debate the potential of various NFL teams, highlighting five franchises poised for improvement and five expected to decline next season. They analyze factors like team rosters, coaching changes, and past performance in close games to support their predictions, including positive projections for the New York Giants and Washington Commanders.

Key takeaways

  • Giants doubling wins is an upbeat analysis; hype aside, close games still haunt them.
  • Chargers: offensive overhaul incoming, but don’t forget, even cars with new paint sometimes stall.
  • Chiefs were the NFL's closest game kings, can't lose them all; expect regression to the mean!
  • Patriots’ 14-3 dreams are dust; in the AFC jungle, surviving feels almost heroic now.
  • Texans in decline? CJ Stroud’s pretty balls can't mask a rhythmless offense; it's all about harmony.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Super Bowl, Colin Cowherd, Sam Darnold, Philadelphia Eagles
  2. – 20:00: Sam Darnold, Super Bowl, Seattle, NFC
  3. – 30:00: Seattle, Super Bowl, Seattle Seahawks, Sam Darnold
  4. – 40:00: Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs, NFL Draft, Combine
  5. – 50:00: Sam Darnold, Super Bowl, Cincinnati Bengals, Combine
  6. – 1:00:00: Sam Darnold, Super Bowl, Josh Allen, Chicago
  7. – 1:04:59: Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, Drake May, Seattle

Notable quotes from "Colin Cowherd & Nick Wright DEBATE: Seahawks-Patriots, NFL predictions, trending teams | HERD"

  • 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.
    about Colin Cowherd · at
  • Are good enough. They got to get a right tackle, a tight end, probably another weapon. Scataboo, Jackson Dart. 4 and 13 Giants are my pick to double their win total. They'll look different by midepptember.
    about New York Giants · at
  • Whether they do or not, they'll have a totally different feel. And finally, an easy one, the Kansas City Chiefs. Two years ago, they won every close game.
    about Kansas City Chiefs · at
  • Cowboys 79 and one. I think they unravel. They're a mess. How Jerry Jones a businessman. How can you be this big of a mess? They're 29 million over the cap. They want to pay George Pickkins.
    about Dallas Cowboys · at
  • Hit, you're you're not going to have a running gate. you're going to have a hole. And I believe the NFL is not about being great everywhere. You can't be terrible anywhere. If…
    about NFL · at
  • Debates. It's remarkable that those are debates, but I you hit on I think the most important point. He led the league in turnovers and then in week 18 with the one seed on the…
    about Sam Darnold · at
  • To burden you with that one. I wanted a Lakers take. Listen, I thought it was it's nice for the whole NFL to see how the Chiefs have been carrying the AFC this decade. You see…
    about Super Bowl · at
  • We believe you and I believe Seattle and the Rams were the two best teams in the league.
    about Seattle Seahawks · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Colin Cowherd — Person · Host / main speaker · 3 mentions · first at
    Drives the episode’s ‘five up, five down’ NFL teams framework and leads interviews with Nick Wright and Todd McShay, repeatedly returning to Sam Darnold evaluation.
  • Sam Darnold — Person · Referenced player (QB) / debate centerpiece · 15 mentions · first at
    Central to a long segment debating QB hierarchy, turnover reduction, and how GMs would value him versus other NFC QBs.
  • Curtis Wayne Wright — Person · Main guest (NFL/NBA commentator) · 2 mentions · first at
    Responds to Cowherd’s team trend list, debates QB tiers (Darnold vs Hurts/Purdy), and pivots into Lakers roster-building critique.
    NFC quarterbacks you want for the next three to five years, Stafford's out of it. And then it be would I rather have Darnold or Herz? I would rather have Darnold. Would I rather have Darnold or Perie? I would rather have Darnold.
  • Drake May — Person · Referenced player (QB) used in Patriots outlook + comparison point · 6 mentions · first at
    Appears in Patriots ‘step back’ rationale (schedule/OL concerns) and as a contrast to Darnold’s mistake-avoidance in big games.
    I'm just going to remind you who just made the Super Bowl. Drake May. After last Drake May's rookie year, nobody would have said that's the team I think.
  • C. J. Stroud — Person · Referenced player (QB) in ‘team trending down’ argument · 4 mentions
    Key justification for projecting Houston downward: praised for arm talent but criticized for regression and turnovers versus playoff-caliber teams.
  • Mike McDaniel — Person · Referenced coach (as coordinator hire example) · 4 mentions · first at
    Used as an example of a high-impact offensive mind/coordinator hire expected to change a team’s identity and early-season feel.
    Well and RG3 was on the show and yesterday and talked about that is that we tend I mean there's Mike McDaniel in Miami for two years was the talk of the league because it was…
  • Justin Herbert — Person · Referenced player (QB) in debate/teasing exchange · 3 mentions · first at
    Used by Nick Wright to needle Cowherd about repeated optimism for the Chargers and Herbert across coaching changes.
    Massive injury except for of course the 11 win chargers that all we got to do is move on from Anthony Lynn and Justin Herbert will show you who he Oh, never mind. BRANDON…
  • Josh Allen — Person · Referenced player (QB) used in roster-building point · 5 mentions · first at
    Cited as an example of the roster constraints created by paying a QB and how it can expose weaknesses (e.g., defense).
    Yeah, and we just saw it with Josh Allen. No pro bowlers on defense. I think even Brett V and the Chiefs when the quarterback's a big quarterback hit, you're you're not going to have a running gate. you're going to have a.
  • Liam Cohen — Person · Referenced coach (offensive coordinator) in coaching-value discussion · 2 mentions · first at
    Used to illustrate how offensive coaching is more visible/celebrated; also referenced as elevating Trevor Lawrence and as a ‘second year’ improvement factor.
    Liam Cohen got more votes for coach of the year than Mike McDonald because we can see offense. We can see Shanahan's motion. We can see Liam Cohen's elevation of Trevor Lawrence and with.
  • Dan Marino — Person · Referenced historical comparison · 1 mention · first at
    Invoked as an analogy about how hard it is to return to the Super Bowl and the importance of solving offensive line issues.
    Also, it's the Dan Marino thing. They got to solve their offensive line. Dan Marino with Don Schula never got back to a Super Bowl. It was a really bad year.
  • Aaron Rodgers — Person · Referenced player (QB) in speculative team outlook · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a possible variable in projecting a team’s win total (uncertainty around whether Rodgers is the QB).
    Whoa, whoa. Is it going to be Rogers or We don't know. So, I'm waiting for that.

Companies & orgs

  • Kansas City Chiefs — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a team expected to improve in the upcoming NFL season.
  • Seattle Seahawks — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Highlighted as a team with potential to be really good in the next seasons.
  • New England Patriots — Company · Business focus · 4 mentions
    Discussed as a team that may face a reality check in the upcoming season.
    Think Patriots right now, and I know we'll talk about the Super Bowl, but I think the Patriots are probably worse than a coin flip to get back to the playoffs next year. And…
  • New York Giants — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Highlighted as a team expected to significantly improve in the next season.
  • Los Angeles Chargers — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed as a team expected to have a different feel and potential for success.
    The Chargers now they were 11 and six and they may only go 12 and five. They will feel different. Mike McDaniel probably the best coordinator hire in the sport. They get both offensive.
  • Dallas Cowboys — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed as a team that may unravel due to management and cap space issues.
  • Houston Texans — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a team that may not feel the same in the upcoming season.
    Houston 12 and five. Okay. They have dominated their division the last two years. 10-2. That's not happening again.
  • Cincinnati Bengals — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a team expected to improve with Joe Burrow's return.
    Basically gut his coaching staff, old roster. I would swap out the Commanders and put in the Cincinnati Bengals who get Joe Burrow hopefully for a full season. And, they're…
  • Philadelphia Eagles — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a team facing challenges with coordinator changes and aging players.
    Money for a coach. 79 and one. They're going down. And finally, Philadelphia at 11 and six. How many coordinator changes can you make? You just had a top offensive line coach say, I'm out.
  • Detroit Lions — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a team with potential to return to high win totals.
    They're going to get back into the 12 win territory. I love I was surprised it didn't get more positive feedback. The hire of Arizona's offensive coordinator, Drew Petting. Didn't anybody else watch.
  • Tennessee Titans — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a team expected to be much better in the upcoming season.
    That's not happening again. Tennessee is going to be much better. Jacksonville is really good. They've also been five and nine the last couple of years against teams that make the playoffs.
  • Baltimore Ravens — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team performances and future season expectations.
    Really good collection. I do. My question is this because I was surprised I don't necessarily think it's wrong. I was surprised you didn't have Baltimore or Cincinnati on trending up. So tell me.
  • Los Angeles Rams — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a team that played perfectly in a game against Chicago.
    Rams played perfect in Chicago, and Green Bay again, they last time they beat, they beat Green Bay. You start Michael Parson, if you start looking at the third best.
  • New York Jets — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in passing in the context of NFL discussions.
    Does Tom Brady Kubak do they look at Mendoza and say he's absolutely the guy or do we want to trade out of this spot to a Jets organization that might want to move up or…
  • Miami Dolphins — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in passing in the context of NFL discussions.
    Yesterday and talked about that is that we tend I mean there's Mike McDaniel in Miami for two years was the talk of the league because it was oh my gosh, clever. Mike…
  • Arizona Cardinals — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of coaching hires and team strategies.
    Hire of Arizona's offensive coordinator, Drew Petting. Didn't anybody else watch Arizona this year and go, How the hell are they scoring all these points with Jacobe Brassette?…

Concepts & topics

  • NFL — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at
    Main subject of the podcast, discussing teams, players, and future season.
  • NFC — Concept · Strategy · 6 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team performances and future season expectations.
    About just comparing him within the NFC because the AFC is kind of stacked with the quarterbacks and the NFC is stacked with the great teams. Exactly. Right.
  • AFC — Concept · Strategy · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed in the context of team performances and future season expectations.
    You never feel like they're a Super Bowl team. I would say the Patriots. Okay, 14 and three is not happening. AFC is going to be much better. The Chiefs will be better. The Chargers will be better.

Places & events

  • Super Bowl — Event · Core topic · 21 mentions · first at
    Central theme of the episode, discussing teams' performances and future prospects.
  • NFL Draft — Event · Core topic · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed in the context of team strategies and future player acquisitions.
    Cooper Cup and I like him a lot. all right. Let's move on to NFL draft season. Colin, the combine's coming up here in what, two weeks?
  • Seattle — Place · Setting · 15 mentions · first at
    Highlighted as the home of the Seahawks and a key location in NFL discussions.
    We believe you and I believe Seattle and the Rams were the two best teams in the league.
  • Combine — Event · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of upcoming NFL draft preparations.
    Cooper Cup and I like him a lot. all right. Let's move on to NFL draft season. Colin, the combine's coming up here in what, two weeks?
  • New York, New York — Place · Setting · 5 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team locations and future games.
    Well, so I have a question, but first an observation. Overall, I think it's a great list. it is it did make me smile that all the teams you have trending up are teams.
  • Chicago — Place · Setting · 5 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team schedules and future games.
    Are Detroit, Atlanta, the Chargers, the Chiefs Chicago Seattle and Jacksonville. So they play six non-divisional road games, four against playoff teams, and the two non-playoff…
  • Detroit — Place · Setting · 4 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team locations and future games.
    Are Detroit, Atlanta, the Chargers, the Chiefs Chicago Seattle and Jacksonville. So they play six non-divisional road games, four against playoff teams, and the two non-playoff…
  • Los Angeles — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team locations and future games.
    Had. He's never been traded, never demanded a trade. And I think he'll finish his time with the Lakers. But I think the Lakers story is of this last half decade is that of…
  • Buffalo — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team schedules and future games.
    Next year. They have their road games, Colin. They of course have their divisional road games which Buffalo's one of them. And their other road games are Detroit, Atlanta, the…
  • Atlanta — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team schedules and future games.
    Colin. They of course have their divisional road games which Buffalo's one of them. And their other road games are Detroit, Atlanta, the Chargers, the Chiefs Chicago Seattle…
  • Cleveland — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of team schedules and future games.
    Does Tom Brady Kubak do they look at Mendoza and say he's absolutely the guy or do we want to trade out of this spot to a Jets organization that might want to move up or…
  • Eastern Washington — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in passing in the context of player backgrounds.
    What a great story. I think he went to the same college as you, right?

Full transcript with timestamps

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. Here we go. It's hour two. What a great time to be alive. USC big presence in the Super Bowl. Sam Darnold, I tell you, feeling really good. Don't want to be obnoxious. Man of the people, J-Mack, I don't want to get over my skis on here, but life is good. So, I'm going to get to Nick right in five minutes, but I I thought it's the way too early five up, five down.

I love this idea. Okay, so five teams and it's not just going to be record. You are going to feel differently about these teams positively next year. and then five teams. And some of the teams that I have going down are are teams that will be good, but I don't think they'll be as special. So, we're going to play five up, five down. Let's start

glass half full. That's who I am at my core. First of all, five up. The New York Giants is the easiest pick on the board. I like their roster. Top 10 O line, top 10 Dline, I think 11. According to PFF, they were 1 and7 in one score games. Jackson Dart now gets an elite coach and a culture setter. They have the number five overall pick. They can trade down and accumulate more picks. Their lines are good enough. They got to get a right tackle, a tight end, probably another weapon. Scataboo, Jackson Dart. 4 and 13 Giants are my pick to double their win total. They'll look different by midepptember.

The Commanders, same division. They get Jaden Daniels back. They were five and 12. I don't know if they're going to win 10 games, but they have a lot of cap space. Um, they're the oldest team in the NFL. The Commanders are going to be a different looking team. Again, 71 score games. They won only two. Dan Quinn is solid, if not exceptional. Cap space. Lost a lot of close games. They get their quarterback back. Just don't forget how gifted he was as a rookie. The third team is the Detroit Lions at nine and eight. They're going to get back into the 12 win territory. I love I was surprised it didn't get more positive feedback. The hire of Arizona's offensive coordinator, Drew Petting. Didn't anybody else watch Arizona this year and go, "How the hell are they scoring all these points with Jacobe Brassette?" He's clever. Maybe not Ben Johnson, but their stars are locked up. Goff is still in his prime.

Omaron St. Brown, Pineul, Hutchinson, Gibbs on a rookie deal. Were not a very good team in close games. Dan Campbell had to take over the offense. This is still an elite front office that drafts well and acquires well. They're going to get their mojo back. They struggled at OC 9 and 8 to probably an 11 or a 12 win team. The Chargers now they were 11 and six and they may only go 12 and five. They will feel different. Mike McDaniel probably the best coordinator hire in the sport. They get both offensive tackles back and both are way above average. Third most cap space. They have drafted well with Jim Harbaugh. Again, they have been a defensive first team that survives offensively that we're not considering a Super Bowl team. Next year, they'll be an offensive team that won't be as good defensively, but you will feel very early in the season, oh, this team could win the Super Bowl.

Whether they do or not, they'll have a totally different feel. And finally, an easy one, the Kansas City Chiefs. Two years ago, they won every close game. Last year they lost every close game, one and nine. You know, you're going to get in the middle somewhere around there. Also, their offensive tackle position when Josh Simmons wasn't playing and he's really talented, was a mess. He's back. Mahomes is healthy. Travis Kelce, I argued for him to return one more year. Listen, you just have to be honest about it. When you're drafting at the bottom of rounds, it's really hard. GMs will tell you after about the 18th pick, you wish you could just have more second and third round picks. They're going to be fine.

They're going to improve. Six and 11. My guess becomes 11 and six. Here's five down. Houston 12 and five. Okay. They have dominated their division the last two years. 10-2. That's not happening again. That's not happening again. Tennessee is going to be much better. Jacksonville is really good. They've also been five and nine the last couple of years against teams that make the playoffs. I love CJ Strad. I think he throws the prettiest ball on some Sundays in the league. He has regressed to an 89 passer rating guy who turns the ball over way too much. They will be good as long as Deco Ryan is the coach, but I don't think they feel the same. I don't think offensively they've got the right rhythm. 12 and five to me becomes like what?

Nine and eight, 10 and 10 and seven. But you never feel like they're a Super Bowl team. I would say the Patriots. Okay, 14 and three is not happening. AFC is going to be much better. The Chiefs will be better. The Chargers will be better. Cincinnati Baltimore Jacksonville's only getting better in Liam Cohen second year. They're not going 14 and three. My guess they're closer to 10 11 wins. Also, it's the Dan Marino thing. They got to solve their offensive line. Dan Marino with Don Schula never got back to a Super Bowl. It was a really bad year.

I mean, they got, let's be honest, if Bo Knicks plays, they probably don't make the Super Bowl. They were completely overwhelmed by Seattle. It wasn't necessarily close. I love Vrabel. Drake May's good, but you start looking at the AFC, there's just too many good quarterbacks. There's too many good coaches. There's too many good coordinators. They take a step back. 49ers, who I love, 12-5. George KD probably not available till mid-season. Robert Salah had an unbelievable year as defensive coordinator. Bosa aging, getting hurt more often. What are they going to do at receiver? Brandon Aayuk's gone. Joan Jennings is a free agent.

What are they going to do? Christian McCaffrey comes off a 450 touch season and he is now 30. So I again, they did it with smoke and mirrors last year. They'll be fine. I don't think they're a 12 and5 team. Cowboys 79 and one. I think they unravel. They're a mess. How Jerry Jones a businessman. How can you be this big of a mess? They're 29 million over the cap. They want to pay George Pickkins. That's going to cost you $29 million. Worst defense in the NFL. They're spending an NFL high 70 million on their interior defensive line and an NFL low 6 million on their edge rushers. How are they this big of a mess? Stop trying to get discounts. Hire a real GM. Pay big money for a coach. 79 and one. They're going down. And finally, Philadelphia at 11 and six. How many coordinator changes can you make? You just had a top offensive line coach say, "I'm out."

You've got some older offensive linemen who are getting banged up increasingly and may may decide at some point, "I'm out." I think they've been doing it a little bit just on Howie Roseman's roster, but it I don't feel Sirani is an elite coach. I don't care about the record and I think the book's in on Jaylen Herz. Not beloved in the locker room. I've got that sourced. I also I think he struggles throwing the ball down the field. I said it yesterday. You don't want to give Sam Darnold any credit. Darnold sits in that pocket, doesn't turn it over in the last month, and throws the ball right into the heart of the defense. I'm sorry. on the market. I think GMs take Darnold over Jaylen Herz. So, Giants, Commanders, Lion, Chargers, Chiefs up, down Texans, Patriots, Niners, Cowboys, Eagles. I also think Tennessee should be better, but I'm not ready to commit just yet.

With that, Nick Wright joins us live. First things first, anything jump out to you? Any big whiff by me?

Well, so I have a question, but first an observation. Overall, I think it's a great list. Um, it is it did make me smile that all the teams you have trending up are teams that missed the playoffs or dealt with massive injury except for of course the 11 win chargers that all we got to do is move on from Anthony Lynn and Justin Herbert will show you who he Oh, never mind. BRANDON STALEY is the pro. DARN IT. JIM HARBAUGH WILL FIX THAT. AIN'T IT? NO, IT WAS ALL GREG ROMAN'S FAULT. NOW MIKE MCDANIEL WILL FIX IT. YOU HARBAUGH I mean you Herbert guys are just something else.

Like I had uh I'm starting to think maybe you greased Sam Monson's palms so he voted for Herbert for MVP. You might be the man behind the mirror in that. Uh I am. But otherwise I think it's a really good collection. I do. My question is this because I was surprised I don't necessarily think it's wrong. I was surprised you didn't have Baltimore or Cincinnati on trending up. So tell me.

Okay, so Baltimore Lamar wants a new contract. Okay, I'm sorry, but concern too.

Yeah, and we we just saw it with Josh Allen. No pro bowlers on defense. I think even Brett V and the Chiefs when when the quarterback's a big quarterback hit, you're you're not going to have a running gate. you're going to have a hole. And I believe the NFL is not about being great everywhere. You can't be terrible anywhere. If you're terrible at left tackle, New England Chiefs this year, when Simmons is hurt, it's just impossible. The the coaching's too good. So, and by the way, I like New England and I like the Texans.

But the AFC, let's be fair, had a down year. It's going to be noticeably healthier and better next year. Well, and I don't know if you So, I think Patriots right now, and I know we'll talk about the Super Bowl, but I think the Patriots are probably worse than a coin flip to get back to the playoffs next year. And it's not because they were frauds. It's not I I like Drake May. I love Rael, but to go from literally the softest schedule in the NFL this c this this century

and the second softest in 50 years to next year. They have their road games, Colin. They of course have their divisional road games which Buffalo's one of them. And their other road games are Detroit, Atlanta, the Chargers, the Chiefs Chicago Seattle and Jacksonville. So they play six non-divisional road games, four against playoff teams, and the two non-playoff teams are the Lions and the Chiefs. So like that that schedule it I it snapback effect on it. And so I think the Patriots, while they could be in the mix for years to come, could have a reality check next season.

Yeah. Um, what do we do with Sam Darnold now? Where do we classify? I said yesterday

you skip work and go to the parade. Like I mean that's what you do. I said yesterday, y'all force me to love Brock Pury. If Pertie and Darnold are on the market, everybody's taking D. Every GM's taking Darnold. bigger, stronger, better arm. Didn't have a turnover for a month against the NFC playoffs and the Patriots.

What do we do with Sam now? I'll let you take it cuz people don't think I'm objective on that.

Well, well, listen, you don't This is I mean, people can say you're not objective. This is the one I shouldn't say the one, but this is one thing that you can say everyone was wrong, but me, Colin Coward. Like, you get to take a victory lap on this, buddy. You never you never relented in believing this was possible and no one else thought it was possible. So I will I give you full credit on that cuz you deserve it. Now where he falls in the quarterback hierarchy is this yesterday. I thought you did you did an interesting thing about just comparing him within the NFC because the AFC is kind of stacked with the quarterbacks and the NFC is stacked with the great teams. Exactly. Right.

That's just how it has fallen. So Stafford's better than him. I understand they won. Stafford's better than him, but Stafford's old. So if you were to say, if the question is, hey, NFC quarterbacks you want for the next three to five years, Stafford's out of it. And then it be like, would I rather have Darnold or Herz? I would rather have Darnold. Would I rather have Darnold or Perie? I would rather have Darnold.

Same. Dak is a question. Dak I think Dak has shown more, but Dak has never had anything close to the NFC Championship game Darnold just had and he's older. So then it becomes Darnold against the younger guys. I I Darnold or Golf. That's a coin flip to me. And then the younger guys, Caleb, Jaden, Jordan Love, who's about his age but feels young. He didn't play much. Like so those are all debates. It's remarkable that those are debates, but I you hit on I think the most important point. He led the league in turnovers and then in week 18 with the one seed on the line, didn't turn it over. First playoff game, didn't turn it over. Going bar forbar with Matt Stafford in the NFC Championship game, which if that was the real Super Bowl, he was the MVP of that game. And then he did what Drake May wasn't able to do in the Super Bowl. Avoid the disaster. And he had three or four times in the Super

Bowl, Colin, where I was like, "Oh, he's going to get sacked." And he escaped it just enough to get the ball off, which is all that team needed. It felt to me, Colin, like Mike Vrabel's game plan was Sam Darnold's going to give it to us. That's right.

We just have to avoid disaster, be conservative on offense. Darnold will give it to us. The very first throw of the game, I thought he gave it to him. The very first throw, I thought it was big six. I was like, "Oh, no." But it it it got through and he never made a mistake, like a big mistake the rest of the way.

Um, you know, it's funny. We had a resurgence of defensive coaches. And I I do think it's funny.

Liam Cohen got more votes for coach of the year than Mike McDonald because we can see offense. We can see Shanahan's motion. We can see Liam Cohen's elevation of Trevor Lawrence and with Liam was on last week. Brilliant guy. We can see McVeyy's offense. You can't really see what a defensive coach does. You're like, well, you know, they draft well and RG3 was on the show and yesterday and talked about that is that we tend I mean there's Mike McDaniel in Miami for two years was the talk of the league because it was like, oh my gosh, clever. Mike McDonald's like well I mean he's I mean he's not McVey or Shanahan but he's a heck of a coach and I wonder if we have take out Andy Reid take out Andy Reid and you said all these great young coaches has McVey and Shanahan have they met their equal in Seattle? Well, so that's I think that's a great question because the Mike McDonald what his defenses have done since he's been with

Seattle 11 games against young quarterbacks there, those young quarterbacks are 1 and 10, averaging less than 16 points a game.

Crazy. If you take his time in his two years in Baltimore and then to Seattle where he's running defenses quarterbacks in their first game, first time seeing his defense 10 and 33 again averaging less than 16 points per game. I think there are a couple things that are working against Mike McDonald from like a PR perspective. One is what you're alluding to offense seem like the the the nerds who cover football of which I'm kind of one lean offense the analytics lean offense

it's eye candy it's eye candy right a guy like you mentioned McVey and Shanahan I'll go a level lower up until 15 days ago Kevin O'Connell was considered far above Mike McD McD Donald on the coaching hierarchy because he's the quarterback whisperer guy, Kevin Oonnell. But Kevin Oonnell had a team that had Sam Darnold last year and they got clocked in their first playoff game. They didn't build it out like this. So, I think that has worked against him. And the other thing that I think honestly has worked against him is East Coast versus West Coast publicity bias. Like I think if he were the coach of Washington and he would have more the Washington Commanders rather than Washington State.

I just think the fact that Seattle plays a lot of those 405 Eastern games. They're not like a front of the marquee team. He rode

a little more in anonymity as opposed to Vrabel who obviously was a celebrity player, you know, a famous player I should say. But the fact that he's on the east coast with the Patriots while McDonald's on the West Coast with the with the Seahawks, I mean, I I think Brabel's a great coach, but the level of the PR machine for one versus the other going into the Super Bowl was a little too much. Like I I had to read three articles, Colin. They're like, "Guess what Vrabel did the practice before the Super Bowl?" You're not going to believe it. middle of practice, he called his players off the field for an extended halftime and even played Bad Bunny on the speakers. It's innovation we've never seen. I'm like, guys, he didn't invent practicing for the long halftime.

But Vrabel, who's an excellent coach in Boston, famous guy, got a lot a lot of cred leading up to the Super Bowl. McDonald not so much.

The um there's so much here. the uh I I want to ask this Laker question because we've got a lot of football and we've and I see the clock.

So, the NBA makes it hard to trade. The NFL does not. And because of that, like Darren Peterson plays for Kansas. Draft him. I I don't I don't care that he's not available much. You draft him. He's a 3 and D player. It's a 3 and D league. I don't care that he misses games. He was sick. People get sick. He has cramps. He looks like Kobe. Draft him. I don't care. Christian McCaffrey missed a Sun Bowl. People freaked out. It was one of the best college backs I've ever seen. Draft Christian McCaffrey. So, we were saying this with the Lakers. I was reading the LA Times this week as I'm prone to do. I love the newspaper industry.

Of course, you even pantomimed. You were reading not on your phone. You the old the broad Sheets. You were on You're in Chicago on the Elra reading a physical Los Angeles Times bumping into people. I get it. I love it. You painted the picture. And Laker fans in the letters to the editor, they all know the problem. Like every letter was, "We're atrocious defensively. We're all offensive guys." And I said, "Laker fans know the problem. I don't think they know the wrecking ball they need." I said, "I think JJ Reick's good and Luke is excellent. I would move everybody.

OKC Detroit San Antonio, elite defenses, three best teams in the league. You're pretty LeBron came out last night and to his credit said you the difference is they can play hard for 48 minutes. We we can't we can't do that. When you look at the Lakers and LeBron, how do you part gracefully? Bronny, LeBron, how do you make that whole thing work so it's gracious? You bring the wrecking ball in. Is are this going to be one of those clunky awful That's no way to treat a star exit? No, I don't think that'll be it because I LeBron's His contract's up after this year. He'll be a free agent and I think he'll leave. LeBron has finished every contract he's ever had.

He's honored every contract he's ever had. He's never been traded, never demanded a trade. And I think he'll finish his time with the Lakers. But I think the Lakers story is of this last half decade is that of massive missed opportunity because the Lakers now at this deadline they made a marginal move trading for Luke Canard. But from the championship until the Luca trade,

they just stood pat every year at the deadline. They never try. They always were wor more worried about max cap space down the road when this is no longer calling a max cap space league because no great players hit free agency. Great players used to if they wanted to change teams let their contracts expire. Now they're like team that I don't want to be on. Can I have that extension? Oh, we signed it. I'd like to be traded please. So max cap space is not that useful because what what is useful is either trade assets or going for it when you have great players. And I think the Warriors made the mistake of this two timeline nonsense and threw away the last few years of Steph's prime. And I think the Lakers threw away the last couple years previously when LeBron was still a top three player in the league. Then they got Luca and they still didn't accelerate. They're like, "No, we're going to wait. We're going to wait."

Man, there is a very real chance that the best teammate Luca Donuch ever has in his Lakers career is LeBron James last year and the second best one might be Austin Reeves this year. To not try to fix what is obviously a fatal flaw of the roster, which is we have no defenders, is baffling. And for them to be, and it's not even about LeBron, they are in back-toback years, Colin, punting on a chance to win the title with prime Luca Donic. You have prime Luca Donic and you're like, this year is not the time. And honestly, if we don't pull off a Giannis heist, next year's probably not the time either. It's baffling.

Hopefully the Dodgers folks that are taking it over have a more clicking or ticking time clock than Rob Belinkas had. But yeah, they're not a championship level team cuz they can't. They got to score 135 to win against good teams. You're not going to win three rounds that way, let alone four.

All right, buddy. Uh, you did a great job yesterday. You're going to have good shows all week and congrat and we'll get to the Chiefs next week. I didn't want to burden you with that one. I wanted a Lakers take. Listen, I thought it was it's nice for the whole NFL to see how the Chiefs have been carrying the AFC this decade. You see these Super Bowls when the Chiefs aren't in them. You see these AFC playoffs when the Chiefs aren't in them. Lot of Stumm or Stitm Drake May 107. You everybody missed Ken City a little bit. It's fine. You're off. Be back next year. See you soon, buddy.

All right. U Nick Wright, first things first. Yeah, the um it was a it was a clunky AFC playoffs. The NFC's were unbelievable. I was talking to my buddy uh in New York who is a Seahawk uh devoted Seahawk fan. And I'm like, six most cap space, best defense, young coach, Darnold, team friendly deal. They've got their first, second, and third round picks. They have about two to three needs. They'll answer all those. I'm not saying I'm just saying Seattle is going to be really good

next year and the year after. Then you don't know. You can't project three years out in pro football. You can project 24 months.

That's fair. But if they lose one of two, Walker or Shahed. And what if they lose two of two? Will they lose both those guys?

Shahed, you can lose. I mean he he the that punt return against the Rams essentially saved their season down 16 with eight minutes left in the game. Yeah. Um kickoff return against

Walker is very very important. Charbanet will be back. But also I think this Kubiaak loss Colin I don't want to draw a direct parallel to what happened with Jared Goff and Ben Johnson but we saw when you lose your offensive coordinator that offense sagged into predicted that.

Okay Goff was still fine. The problem, you went from the best offensive coordinator and it dropped down

to an in-house guy. So Clint Kubak I don't think is Ben Johnson. I think he's good. So you're not that high.

And my my my gut is John Snider and Mike McDaniel. Mike Mc. They don't choose guy down the hall. Now they may they may.

Yeah, there's chatter. They're going to go in house for that. I don't love that. But my my take is Ben Johnson was the best OC for three years. Clint Kubak's a really good OC and the guy who replaced Ben Johnson it it didn't work by midseason Campbell took it over. If you hire a guy that's not Clint Kubak but is capable. This is a really good roster

and a really good GM. I mean last year's Super Bowl team was Philly led by their GM. This year's Super Bowl is Seattle.

Oh yeah. Philly lost their lost their OC. Kell Moore goes to the Saints. Yeah. New OC, total disaster. Offense sags,

still double digit wins. And it was a disaster, but the division was a joke. Washington fell off a cliff. Um, wow. I mean, you're almost selling me on the opposite of Seattle. They're going to go to nine wins. That division is brutal.

No, no. See is going to be good. Good. Slinging Sammy D is coming back. Live in LA. That's the her. Yeah. I don't understand why the NBA we don't like tanking. Let's be honest. Five to seven teams every year are tanking and everybody understands it and you can't stop it. It's like, okay, just I I'm not saying you have to go and full embrace it, but don't don't change any rules to avoid tanking. And bottom line, don't you want the bad teams to get good? Let them. I I I don't like a team being the second worst in the league and then drafting nine. It's like reward them. Give them a player. Guess what? If you do that, they won't be tanking in three years. But it feels like it's the same teams over and over and over. If they don't win the pin ping pong ball lottery, you know, you have to tank again. Seems to me. JMack with the news.

NO. NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. This is the herd line news. You know who had a good Super Bowl, Colin? Cooper Cup. Haven't talked much about him. He was everywhere. 61 yards, had 12 targets. Pretty good game from Cooper Cup. Afterward, Mike McDonald. He may have gone overboard on Cooper Cup's career and legacy. Take a listen.

Cooper is an absolute force multiplier. Um, an absolute stud of a person, stud of a teammate. Uh, this should cement him in the Hall of Fame in my opinion. I mean, Super Bowl MVP, two-time champion, um, all-time great teammate. Uh man I think the other thing that with with Coupe is like he just the way he's helped our program and how we build what we do from day to day is um, not talked about enough. You know, he's got he's got a great perspective. I'd be an idiot not to listen to him. You know, sometimes we don't do what he wants, but definitely listen to him.

You know, it's very interesting why he had a big game. So, if you're Seattle and preparing for a New England Vable team, aren't you thinking, "Oh, they're going to take away JSN." You go into a game knowing that's the Vrabel Bellich mantra. Make teams play left-handed. So, Seattle said, "We're going to stack it for Cooper Cup. He's going to be more open." So Seattle's game plan was like, "Okay, JSN's great, but we know what they're going to do. They're going to be all over JSN." And they were. And so again, the game plan by McDonald I thought was superior than the New England game plan, which is Seattle was like, "No, we're going to target we're going to target our number two guy because we know what you're going to do." And Cooper Cup ended up this is one of the biggest completions of the game.

So, you know, in Seattle also very much early is like, we're taking field goals. We're not going to play into your game

and go for it on fourth down. We're taking the points and just bleed you three nothing, 6 nothing, 9 nothing. So, Seattle went into this game clearly knowing we're not going to we know what everybody thinks you're going to do to us and we're going to counteract it. And I thought Seattle had a very smart game plan.

That's Kubak. Let's institutional knowledge walking out the door into uh where's he going? Oh, Raiders. Yeah. Yeah, Raiders. So, um listen, I I like McDonald a lot. I like Cooper Cup a lot. What a great story. Uh I think he went to the same college as you, right? Didn't Eastern Washington, something like that.

It's largely understood as the Princeton of the Paloo. Yes, I I've heard that somewhere before, I think, from you. Um I just don't like when McDonald goes overboard and says cement him as a Hall of Famer.

Can't we just say like one of the better receivers of his generation? Well, he's I I did a drill down, Colin, during the commercial break.

You know how many 1,000yard receiving seasons Cooper Cup has in his career? Three.

Two. Yeah. One amazing season. I think he's a very good player. I'm I don't know if he's I don't think he's a Hall of Famer.

I I don't like that. I mean, he's had a lot of injuries. Yeah. But I I just I don't like when guys go over put too much pressure.

He had, if I recall, like year three to year seven, he had like a fouryear stretch where he was just a monster.

Year three, he was really good. He was uh you know, 1100 yards, 10 touchdowns. I think that was with golf when they went to the Super Bowl. Then when they get Stafford, he had another monster year. But I I understand the force multiplier in the locker room. I think you told was it the New York Post? Did you tell them that about me when I joined the Staff Force?

I don't recall that quote. Um and I get it. Cooper Cub's work ethic and all that stuff. They they love him. He's a great guy. But let's just let's pump the brakes on Hall of Fame for Cooper Cup and I like him a lot. Um, all right. Let's move on to NFL draft season. Colin, the combine's coming up here in what, uh, two weeks?

Yeah. Joel Clatt has released mockdraft 1.0. And as you will find out when you look at a lot of these mock drafts, there's no surprise at the top. Everybody in their mom has Mendoza going one to the Raiders. Yeah.

Two, there is some question. Ruben Bane gets a lot of love. But Clatt has uh Arll Ree, the great linebacker from Ohio State. Um he played a lot of middle linebacker then came off the edge this season.

Great player. I would take an offensive lineman or an edge rusher over a outside linebacker.

I don't I mean we just saw a Super Bowl where the defense dominated. The Jets are rebuilding.

Ruben Bane would be hard for me not to take. I like Bane a lot. Uh there's a lot of chatter about his short arms uh arm length could struggle with the

By the way, I don't want to see the Giants take a receiver. Take Spencer Fano from Utah. Get your right tackle fixed for Jackson Dart who is in the blue tent.

Yeah, I don't understand that either. Carnell Tate's great. You don't need another receiver. Get Jackson Dart and Scataboo a wall in front.

And uh not to knock the wide receivers, but if you look at like the last like 10 years, the first receiver usually is not the best one. And that happens because you get more value when the guy drops. Now, I don't know about Mai Lemon. You know him a lot.

I know him a lot. You think he goes eight? That's a little rich for my I can tell you um I can tell you there are teams that like him when you get into the 11 12 134.

Yes, I would agree. He is considered a can't miss. Not a superstar. Absolute. I would say the comp is a little Omaron St. Brown. Um but a you know and Oberon's been great that doesn't drop it. Route Tree. What's really happened? Carnell Tate's more of a physical specimen. Mai Lemon's just incredibly open and dependable. Strong hands, no drops, very good after the catch, but not a burner.

Was it the Illinois game? He was just unguardable. I forget which one it was. He was so good.

He didn't have off games at USC. Yeah, he he's exceptional. Um the Jeremiah Love stuff's going to be interesting.

I a lot of people are saying Chiefs that doesn't make sense. Oh, it does to me.

He has so many needs. Collet, are you kidding me? Oh, I think I think What line is he going to run by?

I think he is exceptional. The last time they took a number running back first round was Clyde Edwards air.

Yeah, that was bottom of the first still. Uh, it didn't really work out. A running back that high question. And then finally, Caleb DS. There is some, uh, I got to be careful here. There's a lot of love for what happened in the Super Bowl with Aman Wari, uh, the safety for the Seahawks.

Yes. And there's a couple other safeties around the league who are being moved around like chess pieces. Hugely valuable. I think Caleb DS is a little low at 12 to the Cowboys. If you can get Caleb downs at 12,

I think he's going to go higher than that. That's I I I think it's put put the uh put now. Is this your Oh, this is

This is Joel Clatt. This is Joel Clatt. I'm going to tell you something. Clatt's got a lot of Big 10 guys.

This is a really really good draft. Yeah, very good. Those are the top 12 players. There are some dude David Bailey at Texas Tech is unblockable.

Now, there is some off-field stuff about Bailey that's starting to bubble up. We'll see. I like him a lot. I'm not I'm not not taking shots, but obviously draft season's going to be fun.

Very good offensive tackle and edge rusher draft. And as you saw this season, that's massive. Final story, Con. Let's go to the NBA. Ooh, Lakers going to be very spicy here this off season. And uh may not be good for Rob Pelinka. There is a report, and I know there's a lot of reports out there, but this one indicates that if LA doesn't make a deep playoff run, Rob Pelinka's job will likely be on quote life support. despite him trading for Luca Dodis last year. Now, some of that has to do with this Dodgers new ownership situation.

You know how it goes. New front office, they want their guys and they could have a new GM targeted. Pelinka could be

you have the problem with Rob Pelinka. I walk in as the Dodger guy and I look at the league and I do analytics and it is a 3 and D league and you don't have any elite defenders and not enough shooters. I'm I'm I got nothing against Rob Pelinka who can be a little thin skinned, but Rob, you don't have what the league is. This is a fantasy offense.

Well, it's difficult to find those guys when you're handicapped by the LeBron contract.

I'm not I again I'm not saying it's all on Rob. What I'm saying is go look at OKC. That's what you want to be. You need and I'm not and I said people don't understand the wrecking ball. The Lakers need about five more B+ up players like like a male Bridges. They need but I mean

first round picks for one. They need two male Bridges. They need a better rim protector. They need at least two more three-point shooters.

And despite all that, they're fifth in the West. They're not They are a regular season team.

That's also true. And they are they are so built for now. Yeah. Check in April, May when people start defending the they went into the Minnesota series. A lot of Oh, you were one of them. This could be interesting. Austin,

it was a complete mismatch cuz once you play a team over and over and over, then they can hunt your weaknesses. Lakers have a lot of weaknesses. Reex's first postseason. I'm going to excuse it away. I'll just say this. Pelinka better go into that meeting with ownership armed with a lot of stats and an offseason game plan or Colin, you know how these Dodgers guys operate. I think he could be ushered out quite quickly if he doesn't come with like a great offseason game plan. And there's a lot of good free agents out there. I think the Lakers are in good shape. Um I think a Clippers fan on staff put this together.

The Lakers under Pelinka, we have their history here. I don't know if we're going to show it, but from 2017 to 2025, uh uh let's just say a lot of first round exits for Pelinka in Los Angeles. Not great. Jac with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. Todd McShane last hour. We're going to we're going to go back into that draft. It is a really good draft with a star quarterback at the top. It's the herd. Todd McShay last hour uh we we we called it five up and five down. Five teams in the league we think are trending up will be noticeably better teams. It won't all be just record and then five teams and and many teams I like I feel like they'll pull back the five up teams. The Giants is the easiest call in the league. I also think the Chargers and Lions big hits at offensive coordinator will empower the teams. I like both front offices. Kansas City is not going 6 and 11 again. And I think Jaden Daniels is healthy and if he's healthy, he's a very good quarterback. I like the Texans and the Patriots and the 49ers. I really do. But we got a question about CJ Strad and they have not been good

outside of their division. The Texans have dominated their division. Jacksonville could be better. Um I think Tennessee is going to be one of one of the You got to keep your eye on Tennessee. My guess is they're much better. New England, again, I like New England and the Ners, but they got lucky to some degree. Didn't have to face Bo Knicks. Uh, bad weather, you know, that was kind of they were a limited offense with a great defense. Bad weather maybe played into it a little bit. I mean, they played a Chargers team that had the 32nd ranked O line. Uh, I could see the Patriots being a 10- win team, an 11- win team, and playing road games, and against a Patrick Mahomes or a Josh Allen. Uh, Ners, I think, are wellrun, but they've missed on enough draft picks that they have holes in their roster, and I think Seattle and the Rams are stacked. I think it's unbelievable. One of the coaching jobs of the year, I said

I was giving coach of the year to Kyle Shanahan. That's who I gave coach of the year to at 12 and five. They did not have 12 and five personnel. Shanahan and Salah were remarkable. And now Salah just walk out the door. Bosa, he's getting older, getting dinged up. And I don't know what they're going to do at wide receiver. And McAffrey is coming off a 450 touch season. Cowboys, Eagles, I think Dallas unravels, and I think Philadelphia is just its musical chairs with coordinators. Is there one that you adamantly disagree with? Uh, I I largely agree with your trending up.

I don't know about the Commanders, though. Not sure. Dan Quinn had to basically gut his coaching staff, old roster. I would swap out the Commanders and put in the Cincinnati Bengals who get Joe Burrow hopefully for a full season. And, you know, they're going to eclipse six wins. On the trending downside, I'm surprised you didn't have the Pittsburgh Steelers on there. I mean, we've talked about

I think Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers. Whoa, whoa. Is it going to be Rogers or

We don't know. So, I'm waiting for that. Okay. So, I I I think they could be a 10- win team. I think Mike McCarthy wins with B plus quarterbacks.

So, just again, I know we don't talk Houston Texans a lot on this show. Why are they trending downward? Remember, Nico Collins missed the playoffs.

They are last year 10 and two in division, five- n playoff teams. They're just I mean, I love I'm the CJ Stra defender. He not the same quarterback.

That's That's fair. They started 0 and3. They had Stout had a couple concussions. Nico Collins in and out, but they got the quarterback on the rookie deal and that defense is all coming down.

How long they going to have that quarterback on the rookie? They have big decisions to make.

I think they got one more year before Demo Ryan is on the hot seat. Again, I can like I like San Francisco, but 12 and five was shockingly effective.

Got a couple big offseason decisions. Jawan Jennings is a sneaky big one for them.

I like him. I don't even think it's sneaky. Yeah, I that's a big decision. hour three. Well, um you know, it's one of the stronger drafts in a while, certainly better than last years. Um it is not a quarterback heavy draft. We've got one star quarterback at the top. Todd McShet does this for a living. McShay13 is the Twitter account. College football analyst, draft guy known for a long time. So, you know, listen, they're New England went bad to good very quickly based on coaching hires, uh, and the ascension of Drake May who was already in house. I mean, if you look at Clint Kubak, who doesn't have Vrabel's, you know, uh, pedigree yet, could be great.

Fernando Menoza, Brock Bowers, Ashton Genty, Colton Mililder comes back. Defense are they were banged up, but they've they're they Max Crosby's obviously elite. Let's just talk about the offense. Is Fernando Mendoza a good fit for Clint Kubak? Darnold was I don't think they're the same kind of player. Is Kubiaak and Mendoza, does that work immediately to you? It works. I mean, I think we should start with the jumping off point and I hope we've we've learned from from the Sam Darnold situation like talent is talent, right? And and I I really like Fernando Mendoza. He's tall. He's 6'5, 220. He's got mobility for his size.

He's got a lot of energy on the ball and he's smart, but he's not, if we're talking physically, he's not some of the guys we've seen in the last few drafts. He's not Caleb. He's not Jaden. He's not Drake.

Yeah. He's not even Cam Ward. So, there's that to unpack, right? And then the the other part is what you're asking here is the fit. I think he can be a good fit. I mean, you know, with Kubak, you're talking about kind of his touch in 2025 on the the Shanahan system, right? Outside zone, play action,

right? On the move, bootlegs, you know, getting the ball out. They want to be physical and run the ball and they've got the running back to do it. They've got to improve their offensive line. They've, you know, there's some things that have to fall into place. I think off of play action is where Mendoza does a lot of really good work. Now, it's an adjustment to, you know, the play action off the outside zone versus kind of the RPO stuff he was doing in Indiana. But both, I mean, he's used to Kubak, a quarterback who's can be overaggressive.

Yeah. And and he was able to manage that. And Sam Darnold, you'll say, well, during the regular season, he didn't. Yeah. But in the playoffs, he did. And you could see Sam Darnold continue to grow and develop. And he had his best game of his career, the second to last outing in the NFC Championship game. So, I think you'll see a lot of that and it's the same thing when I watched his tape at Cal Mendozas. I loved him and I was kind of the first on the train. He could be a first round pick, but I also recognize it's just far too many turnover worthy plays.

Yeah, eyes drop when that initial pressure comes and there's this little like quarter count of panic in his game. Still has that. But what what Signetti and that whole staff for Indiana was able to do is bottle up, make his reads easier. If the you know, let's read the cornerback on this two by two and let's make a decision. If it's not there, we can take off and run, but we're not going to get in a position where we're asking you to sit in the pocket, go through read after read after read and and allow yourself to get into some old habits. So Kubak actually going to pick up where they left off if Mendoza is in fact the pit.

Yeah. Is there um I mean outside of Mendoza, usually the rule is for the top 15 picks, just take the best guy on the board. There's about 15 special players every draft and then you know if they're unless you've already got your tackles, take the tackle if he's the best guy. Is there a definitive second best player? Here's your mock draft. You have Reese who was a remarkable linebacker at Ohio State. Uh David Bailey is really good man. I mean Ruben Bane. I like Jeremiah Love. I don't think he's a second pick. Is there to you a definitive got to take him at number two?

If you're asking me the first of all, I think it's the best prospect in this class is Arll Reese, but he is a projection. He's 6'4, 245. He's he's one of those guy like he's going to if he works out at the combine or at Ohio State's proday, it's going to get a lot of attention. Uh he was a one-year starter at Ohio State after kind of backing up two guys that'll wind up being NFL guys uh and playing in a rotation in 2024. His ability to cover and play sideline to sideline, the power he has, the length he has, it's unique, man, for an offball linebacker. But what you're doing is you're projecting him as an edge. Now, is it the same career arc as Micah Parsons? I think people forget he was an off ball linebacker till injuries happened with Dallas as a rookie and then he becomes the edge that we all know and love now. Um I could see a similar arc. He's just not developed as an edge rusher.

If you're ask me the best player in this draft though, I think it's a different question. Prospect is Reese. Player is Jeremiah Love, but he's a running back coming out of Notre Dame.

I I think he's just a stud. Oh man, you think about like NFL films, right? With the music going with the camera view from from behind the defense as they're running like a freight train. It's like this combination of like poetry and and beauty with the music going behind, but also like just like devastation of running through tacklers. That's what Jeremiah Love is. He's got this like kind of the weave in and out, the the contact balance. you see that long run obviously in the college playoff a year ago. Um he's got all the tools whether you're going back to like Eric Dickerson or you know like the EMTT Smith but he's faster than EMTT if you go to M Bejian Robinson like he's that caliber of talent. Most teams I've talked to if he's not one he's two or three on their board. problem is again he's a running back so maybe he falls to Kansas City and becomes a treasure there for the Chiefs at nine or maybe the

Saints one pick earlier at eight. Yeah, boy he's he's we agree with that. Um I could there are certain teams here I mean the Jets could trade down and I mean they they need multiple players whereas Kansas City needs a specific player. Um you know Tennessee Giants. Um, could you see the Giants trading down? Like if I said to you, "This team specifically trades up or down." What's a trade that seems feasible to you?

Here's the deal with this draft, Colin. Right. It is a really good draft, and it's a lot better than some people may may think because the quarterback class isn't great. So, everyone's already talking about 2027 on the White House lawn and how special that group's going to be with Arch and Julian Sean and Dante Moore and and uh Brandon Sorsby and all these other quarterbacks, right?

This group is really talented at positions that matter that we're reminded of in the Super Bowl

like edge, interior defensive line. Yeah. U offensive tackle. The wide receiver group is outstanding. Even though there there there's not maybe a Calvin Johnson in this class, there is there are four guys that I think are day one impact starters in the league in Carnell Tate from Ohio State. Uh Mai Lemon from from USC, uh Jordan Tyson from Arizona State, and Denzel Boston from from Washington. But the issue is if you're trying to trade back and I'll be intrigued to see does Tom Brady Kubak do they look at Mendoza and say he's absolutely the guy or do we want to trade out of this spot to a Jets organization that might want to move up or or or Cleveland potentially. Do we want to trade out of this spot when we get closer to the draft and load up for next year? That's going to be one story line to follow.

The other is I don't know outside who's trading up. I can get this a similar level or caliber offensive tackle or edge or wide receiver or cornerback like later in the first early in the second is maybe I can get and pick eight or 12. So that's going to be interesting. I don't know that there's going to be a lot of movement in the first round this year. Yeah, the um you know, I I I look at Tai Simpson at Bama and I do think he has a pretty good arm, but I've always believed you've got to have a wow trait. Now, that's why I missed on Kyler Murray because I thought he had a wow elusiveness and I thought because of a baseball player, the sliding, the elusiveness, the quick release, I was like, "Oh, that's elus." And he hasn't been that. So, I missed on that. I I thought he would be better. I thought his trajectory was up and then stuff that I didn't know about. I look at Ty Simpson and I'm like, boy, they had a

great offensive coach. They had great wide receivers. They couldn't run the ball. So, he's, you know, he did he had an unbalanced offense. What is the trait with him that Todd McShane goes that's a franchise guy? Is it the arm strength?

It's not It's not a physical trait. And he's got two strikes against him, right? because I do believe in in what's the physical trait that that's excellent that's different and he doesn't have the physical trait. The other part is the 15 starts, man. It is it it's real. We've talked about it before on this show. Like there are a couple guys who are super human that have 25 starts that are great in the league. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. He's not that. Uh Bryce Young, we'll see. The verdict's still out. Played really well down the stretch this year and and you can see some positive things. He's in that like 28 29 starts coming out of college. Everyone else is like 34 starts or more. And so those are two strikes right there. The thing I will say with Tai, and I'm probably more on on board with Tai Simpson than a lot of other people, if you go back and I I can't wait for coaches to get involved, OC's,

quarterback coaches, head coaches that are offensive minded. You watch the first nine games of the season. Mendoza was really good. Tai Simpson was the best quarterback in college football. Processing, ball out, anticipation, had receivers. Ryan Williams is supposed to be as good as Jeremiah Love at Ohio State. Drops. He's got like the yips, man. Like he disappeared. So, he's got Jeremy Bernard who's a really good player, is his only like reliable, consistent target for a while. Run game, I think they finished like 126 or

like how is that Alabama? And then they they faced Venibals Brent Venibals def defensive minded head coach for Oklahoma and they were able to show okay here's how you beat his protections. So now I'm behind a line and everyone after that followed and and you know fell in suit. Now I'm behind a line that's not protecting me great. I'm banged up. I don't have a run game and my best wide receivers decided to disappear. I'm telling you this guy's got something in him. Coach's son. Dad's been a life lifelong coach. 18 years he's been the head coach at uh Middle Tennessee State.

He's different. He's different than some of those other im young immature guys that have come out with the the fewer than 20 starts. So, I could see him being the exception to the rule. But, I don't know that it's going to be like I think with McVey with one year behind Stafford, let's say, in that offensive system with a coach's son's mind, I think that could work. I put him at 13 in this mock draft. As of right now, I don't think that that's going to happen. But wait for it. Like too many I've been doing this two and a half decades. As we get closer without other quarterbacks, someone's going to rise. And I could see Tai winning over a lot of coaches in those meetings.

The um let's go back to the Super Bowl. Wrap it up with this Sam Darnold. Um listen, when he was in Carolina and it wasn't working, I I was like, "Yeah, I don't know if it's going to work." I I really like him. Um, but I always I just thought I mean size, arm, athletic ability leadership toughness like it's just too many things, too many boxes get checked. Where were you on Darnold when he was it was man overboard in New York?

I have a show that's twice a week, the Mcshay show, right? And and on Monday we released Mach 2.0, so I didn't really get into it. I haven't had my Bleep You tour like you've like you've been able to have with Sam Darnold. I mean, he was in my mind and I put a like I planted that flag on Darnold in a class that obviously had a lot of talented quarterbacks, including Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, um Josh Rosen at the time, and uh Lamar Jackson, right? I saw something in Sam that I thought was special. the creativity, the arm, enough mobility in the pocket, aggressiveness, and I knew this the turnovers were an issue, but I thought in the right, you know, coached the right way with the right supporting cast, we could see something like we're seeing now. And was he brilliant in the Super Bowl? No. But he was brilliant and got him there in the NFC Championship game. And I all here's the thing, and

I'm going to go on a tangent here real quickly. It two things came to mind is one stay like stay true to your evaluation. It's about the talent, but also you got to figure out what's here and you got to figure out what's here. The mind and like that that toughness, the heart, all of that. And I saw all those things in Sam. The other thing is I get so tired of listening to people around draft season saying, "Well, if you tell me where he goes, I'll tell you how he's going to be." You know, we don't put enough emphasis on the on where he lands and more too much emphasis on the player.

It ain't my job, man. Yeah. talent up here and down there. And Sam Darnold was the best player in that class in my opinion. Now Josh Allen has developed more than I thought he would and Lamar has developed more than I thought he would. All three are phenomenal players. So is Baker, but I always saw this in Sam. And so I this is my little chance to like I I haven't gotten any fruit baskets or like apology letters in the mail from the media or or from like all the people that were just ripping me during his Jets and and Panthers day. So I'm waiting on those.

Colin. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I wouldn't I wouldn't hold your breath. Uh, no. No. We We know how this works.

From the ringer, Todd McShane. Great seeing you, bud, as always. Love your insights.

All right, man. I appreciate it. Talk to you soon. Yeah, it's uh the Arville Reing player, you know, like he's what he's going to do in the NFL, he may not be currently doing now. That was I I like Bane from Miami. Like that game just translates. I I think both those early Miami guys, Hurricanes are really good day one. Uh Carnell Tate's another one. Really good day one, but it's a good draft. Good receivers, good tackles, good edge rushers. Uh and again, I think I like Mendoza. Um he wasn't the best quarterback in college football in the first month. He was in the uh in the first month or two. He was in the last two, three months. I think a lot of that is his ability to improve and be coachable and listen and lead. and uh he's not going to wow you with his athletic stuff, but um man, he seemed big and athletic and coachable and a leader and tough and gets popped and I I like him. I think he's really good. He

may not be an A++, but I I I think Mendoza is a really good really really good high-end quarterback prospect. Jack with the news.

NO, NO, NO. TURN ON THE NEWS. This is the Herdline news. So, we haven't talked about your guy Caleb Williams. It's been like two weeks the Sam Darnold love fest. I wonder if Caleb is not feeling the love, but man, what a good season he had under Ben Johnson. Just tremendous upside for Caleb and Ben Johnson together. Well, Bears legend Brian Erlacer love what he saw from Caleb adding that he should be in Chicago's future for the next 20 years. Think that's a little rich. But we did pull together some stats here, Colin. In the last 15 starts, Caleb and Ben Johnson

Yeah. 11-4, 255 yards per game. Look at the touchdown to interception ratio. He was exceptional.

And and you you can only say they're just scratching the surface. This is year one.

We believe you and I believe Seattle and the Rams were the two best teams in the league.

Yeah. I think Chicago's got an argument with about four other teams depending on the Sunday with Caleb Williams growth. Is Chicago third? They gave the Ram I mean the Rams remember no penalties, no turnovers, didn't drop a pass, maybe may have had one penalty. Rams played perfect in Chicago,

you know, and Green Bay again, they they last time they beat, they beat Green Bay. You start Michael Parson,

if you start looking at the third best team in this league, you can say, "Oh, Philadelphia, Ben Johnson's a better coach. Caleb's a better quarterback than Jaylen Herz, Nick Seriani." I don't think

Caleb will be better. Is he better now? Oh god. Go look at the numbers. He can throw over the middle. He can see.

Wow. Super MVP. I don't think it's wild to say Caleb Williams is on our short list. If I said to you by Thanksgiving Caleb Williams top five quarterback. That's not a reach. That feels I thought at the end are basically cemented, right? We would agree the big

five has been open. It was I thought it was Herz after the Super Bowl MVP when he was great. Um, some people thought Jaden Daniels, uh, Justin Herbert's always been

We have new information on Jaden. He struggles to stay healthy. That's new information.

He got hurt last year. Yeah. Boy, I' been hurt first year. Dinged up first year.

Yeah. I mean, so there's new information on Jaylen Herz. He's not great in the room. He really struggles seeing the field. There's new information on Kyler Murray a couple years ago. He's not really

Oh, yes. I mean, so you this idea that I get new information and don't change my opinion. If you're a pilot, there's a lightning storm 28 miles out. You want to go around it or right through it. You get new information.

I got new information on the Patriots. They stink against good teams. Well, that's a bridge too far for you. All right, let's go to the next story. Colin, I love this preface. Okay, so the Seahawks entered the season as a massive 60 to1 underdog to win the Super Bowl. So, our staff found out um the newest Super Bowl odds for next season, Super Bowl 61. Now, obviously, we have the draft and free agency. Here are the top Super Bowl odds. Rams and Seahawks are tied for the best Super Bowl odds next year, followed by the Bills. No surprise.

Yeah. Uh I think the Patriots are way too high. Eagles are up there and the Ravens, I don't know what they're doing there.

Here's my thing. a year ago at this time if I had told you hey Seahawks you got to bet on them to win the Super Bowl you would have laughed and you did like them so Colin for me I'm looking at okay so who are some long shots that

Chargers that that's not a bad one um I don't know if their defense losing mentor is going to be as

I don't either I don't think their defense will be as good I think their offense will be significantly better they have a ton of cap space they really like the receiver Trey Harris the tackles come back upgraded OC. I think the Chargers are the Seahawks.

Okay, I'm going to give you one now. Just remember, if anybody had said Seattle a year ago, you would have been Come on, Sam Darnold. The Vikings just kicked him kicked him to the curb.

All right, I'm ready. Okay, so looking at cheap quarterback. Okay, let me upside. Cheap quarterback with upside.

Okay, amazing defense, great defensive coordinator who is in high demand. Okay,

and they're 60 to1 right now. And that's that's Oh, that's it. Oh, that's that's the Minnesota Vikings.

Oh, come on. See, I knew you'd do that. Why Why wouldn't I say Denver? Denver's not 60 to1. They're going to be one of the favorites. And we know the favorites don't

Denver is a good bet to me. Cheap quarterback, great coach, excellent pass rush. Denver is going to be really good.

I'm just going to remind you who just made the Super Bowl. Drake May. After last Drake May's rookie year, nobody would have said that's the team I think.

Well, if you're going to give me a long shot, what are the Bears? Bears are not a long shot. Broncos, by the way, are 1,800. That's not a long shot. It's 60 to1.

Okay. Well, that that's an outlier. What are the Bears? So, the Seahawks are out.

What are the Bears? Bears are 25 to1. Oh, I I'm I'm going to I'm going to bet a lot on Chicago.

I don't hate that. 25. I can get 25 to one in the Bears. Yeah. You know, you know what? I My son's got another year of college.

I think it's time to roll the 529. Take it to Vegas. You sell some jet skis and buy Bears

Bears at 25 to1 is a bargain, right? But again, so you you scoff at Vikings 60 to1, right? You just say

I would I wouldn't put a nickel on that. Okay. Ryan Flores is back in Minnesota.

Who's the quarterback? JJ. I think maybe Aaron I think Aaron Rogers. No, I don't want I want JJ. He'll he'll be fine. Kevin O. Can I bet Aaron Rogers to the Vikings on any platform?

I mean, I'll take your money. Yeah, I'll I'll book your action. Oh, you'll Okay, great.

Final story to the NBA. Listen, this should have been first hour story. Colin, this is spicy. Last night, James Harden and Darius uh not Darius Garland, James Harden and Donovan Mitchell went off and beat Joic in Denver. A great win, a monster fourth quarter. They listen, Harden and Mitchell all of a sudden is a dynamic backcourt. You can stop one, but you can't stop both. Colin, after the game, Donovan Mitchell talked about integrating Harden into the offense.

James found something that he liked when they're playing the offense. Him and Jay have be phenomenal. Obviously, Sam, Jaylen, and then it's tough, you know, to pick. Do you guard him? Do you guard me? Do you help off Sam? Like, there's so many different things. Jayen hits a big top of the key. Jay's getting his flossers. I come down, throw Jay a lob. Like, there's so many different things that we found and we still haven't practiced. Um, we're just hooping on vibes right now. Like, you know what I'm saying? just figured it out.

I like Donovan Mitchell. I think this is they they won by two. The I don't think the Nuggets are a great defensive back call.

Well, they don't have Aaron Gordon still but that's a great win. Nuggets fans are I rate at the coach

for not playing Joic Moore. He's on like still a minute. Well, he's like that. He just came off an injury.

Yeah. Well, you didn't get that leniency to Austin Re. Also, it's you're not you don't How do you scout guys that haven't played together? This is one of these Denver's like we have to watch them play cuz we don't know what they want to do. So, give me your top three in the East right now.

Detroit, Celtics Knicks. Interesting. Well, what's your I don't know what's going on with Jason Tatum. There's so much chatter that he may come back. 30 games left. I hope he doesn't force it, but I think the Cavs are a danger

in a seven game series. Give me the Cavs. Fallen for James Harden has a You fell for the Cavs last year.

Well, I didn't fall for it. They were number one. I know. I know. They were a good team.

Yeah, I got Knicks. Knicks Cavs in the conference finals. No Pistons. No Pistons. Fool's gold, my friend. Sorry, Kate. I like Kate.

Yeah, I don't buy that at all. They defend. James Harden, you know what he's going to do in the postseason?

I do. Not get the whistle and complain. Jmack with the news. Well, that's the news

and thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Colin Cowherd & Nick Wright DEBATE: Seahawks-Patriots, NFL predictions, trending teams | HERD"?

Colin Cowherd (Host), Nick Wright (Guest).

What is "Colin Cowherd & Nick Wright DEBATE: Seahawks-Patriots, NFL predictions, trending teams | HERD" about?

Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright debate the potential of various NFL teams, highlighting five franchises poised for improvement and five expected to decline next season. They analyze factors like team rosters, coaching changes, and past performance in close games to support their predictions, including positive projections for the New York Giants and Washington Commanders.

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

42 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Colin Cowherd, NFL, Super Bowl, Sam Darnold, Kansas City Chiefs, Curtis Wayne Wright. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Colin Cowherd & Nick Wright DEBATE: Seahawks-Patriots, NFL predictions, trending teams | HERD"?

The episode runs 1 h 5 min; the transcript is about 12,141 words in 190 timestamped sections.

More from The Herd with Colin Cowherd

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 12, 2026.