Thanks for listening to the Best of Herd podcast. Are you sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS one. Find your local station for the Herd at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching heard. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowhern on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it's a Monday. It's going to be a very very busy Monday and a busy week. NFL Free Agency Live in La. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Great to have you in. Peter kingall stopped by today, Where Colin was right, Where Colin was wrong? One hour from now, plenty of both. J Macfield in Friday. That a great job I heard. And this is a fun week because you know that the Jets and the Packers, the framework's done for the deal. They can that stuff's all done. The question is now does Aaron say I want to stay or do I want to go? But behind the scenes there's an understanding the framework's all done for the trade, which is fascinating because I'm almost rooting for a trade so I can see what Aaron Rodgers is worth. Well, you know why I'm more in purple today? Why is that? Because Lamar Jackson is on the market. And when the jetson Rodgers break up before they even get together, give me Lamar Jackson in New York. Well, let's start with this. There was a really a big move. We kept saying, Chicago, move out. If you like justin fields and there's no Andrew luck Er, Trevor Lawrence, get out of the number one spot. You need a lot of good players. So the Bears went out and made a big move with Carolina on Friday. They got a first round pick, they got a couple of seconds, and they got a star receiver, Dj Moore who's been wildly productive with Kyle Allen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, really good player. So I've never had a ton of confidence in the Bears ownership or the Bears front office in my entire life. You can't even They've never had a great wide receiver. I mean, who's their best quarterback? Ever? They feel like now they're too defensive. Let even though their defense stinks right now, the culture has always been about defense. The NFL's moving to offense. But I thought this was a home run. I thought this was about as good as you could do. Listen, the Bears need a bunch of players, and they only moved down eight spots. And NFL general managers will tell you privately or publicly, the first round usually has somewhere between you know, sixteen to eighteen really elite players. After that, a lot of teams would rather move out of the first round. You got to pay a first round price for a second round guy. Not a big difference between the twentieth player in the first round and you know, the fiftieth player in the second round. There's usually fifteen to eighteen somewhere around. They're really elite players. And the Bears still get one of those picks, and then they got more draft capital. So and Dj Moore Again, this is a draft where the top quarterback prospect is historically small and historically light, which is of course historically trouble. And yet they got all this. And since the trading deadline last year, they have completely rebuilt their wide receiving corps. Chase Claypool, Dj Moore, Darnell Mooney, and tight end Cole Commet no more excuses. That's what this was. No more excuses for Justin Fields. Anytime you get one of these quarterbacks that gets criticized, that Daniel Jones or at Justin Fields, it is always, well, he doesn't have this and he doesn't have that. Forget the fact that Justin Herbert had the league's worst offensive line as a rookie and lit the league up. Forget the fact that Joe Burrow had an atrocious offensive line and was a play from winning and playing, you know, going to overtime or winning the Super Bowl. Justin Fields to this point is athletic. He's a highlight player, but doesn't complete enough passes. So everybody blames the offensive line, which was not as bad as the Giants. It was middle of the pack according to PF. And everybody blames the wide receiving core, which was better than the Giants. But now it's a grown up wide receiving tight end cores. They can add to it in the draft, but they don't necessarily have to. You've got three guys who are really nice NFL wide receivers, an ascending young tight end, capable, not special, but capable running backs, and again, the old line's not as bad as everybody says, that is if you look at PF and the rankings, So no more complaining, no more why You'll find out if Justin Fields can play and if he can't, and my guess has always been sixty forty he can. But if he can't, then the next guy's got all these draft picks, a grown up wide receiving core and whatever they get in this draft, which I imagine they'll fix a lot of their defense. Listen, when you have as many picks as they have now, which is a couple of seconds, a couple of force, a couple of fifths and their first you can solve a lot of issues. Defense is about athleticism and reaction. You can be young on defense and very very good generally offense. They're gonna go rebuild that old line. Apparently they're going to go get a tackle from the Niners and spend some money. So this was I thought this was about as good as you can do in a draft class that doesn't have a star receiver. I mean, you can always trade out of the number one spot, but to get that haul with this quarterback draft class, my guest is Caroline's owner, the impatient David Tepper, wanted to make a splash and wanted to figure out quarterback because he's tired of being the richest owner in the league and unwatchable. So they went whoever they draft, CJ. Stroud or Bryce Young. You know who knows who's gonna work. I think I think Bryce Young's the more naturally gifted quarterback. Small, but pretty naturally gifted. I said he could play in a dome or warm weather. I thought Chicago did great, and they also create clarity. I'm not saying they're gonna be a great football team, but now there's no more excuses. If Daniel Jones can get into the playoffs with that old line and that receiving corps in a division that had three playoff teams, okay, it's time for Justin Fields. These are good players DJ Moore to get DJ. When I saw that trade, my takeaway was they got DJ Moore in the trade. I get your thousand yards this season with Kyle Allen and Baker Mayfield and Darnold. You got a real player. He'll be their number one son. He's locked up for several years, so you're fine there financially. So there's a big win for Chicago. A franchise that I have never ever trusted upstairs. I've liked some of their coaches. Dave wants that that a good job. Matt Naggie got him into the playoffs. They've had coaches Mike Ditka, but upstairs never trusted him. Really good day for the Bears. Going to create all sorts of clarity over the next twelve months. What do we got it? Coach? If the coach can't develop Justin Fields, maybe you got the wrong coach. If Justin Fields can't get up and down the field without offense and those players, you got the wrong quarterback. But we'll know in a year because right now we're arguing the old line, the receivers, that ky all it is is all muddied up and Nope, in one year, no more excuses, and that's what you need. Okay, do we got the guy or not? Now the Chargers knew after the first year with that offensive line, Justin Herbert lit it up. We got the guy. Then they had to fire the coach. In this league, you're looking for clarity because you got to have the right coach in the right quarterback to win Super Bowls. We're gonna know both real soon. For the Bears. Okay, so the Rams traded away Jalen Ramsey and didn't get much for him. This is not the NBA, right, Like, Jalen Ramsey's really expensive and it's got two more really expensive years, and he's coming off not his best year and the Rams are like, yeah, we're gonna move him for a third round pick. I thought they'd get a second and a starter. They got a third and a backup, backup to a backup tight end. But my takeaway is this, what have the Rams done in the last couple of weeks. They've gotten rid of Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd, three defensive players. Why because Sean mc Sean McVay runs the show, and Sean McVay has leverage, and he has threatened retirement for two years and the first year, what did he get out of that threat? A big new contract this year? What did he get out of that threat? Control of personnel? I was told I said it on this show multiple times a month ago. McVay was going to move off defensive pieces. They were going to spend a year getting much better offensive personnel. So you know, Sean McVay sitting there thinking timeout, Mike McDaniel in Miami. He's got a loaded offense, Jalen Waddle, Gasecky, Tyree Kill. He's looking at Kyle Shanahan, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Jennings, Deebo, Samuel Brandon, I Yuke. He's looking at Zach Taylor, got t Higgins, got good tight ends, got Jamar Chase, got Joe Mixon. And he's sitting there and thinking time out. Zach Taylor worked under me. How does he have better offensive personnel than I do? Now Shannon doesn't have a super Bowl? Why's he got better offensive personnel than I? Mike McDaniel, That organization's moving heaven and earth to get him offensive pieces. And look what I got. I got too much money tied up on defense. So McVay is like, we want a super Bowl. We had like the fifteenth best defense in the league. He's I've shown you the blueprint. We don't need to have a great defense. I won you a Super Bowl. I think they had the fifteenth total defense in the seventeen scoring defense may have been flipped. It won't a great defense. And I want a Super Bowl, So I'm gonna have now power over personnel, a big say, and we're going offense. So they accumulate. Now they've got a second, a couple of thirds, they've got multiple six, round pig, multiple seven. They got all sorts of picks. Now most of them aren't great picks. They still don't have a number one. But he has used leverage twice about retirement. Wants to get a new contract and now to flip the organization like Miami get offensive pieces and so this is and I get it. He's looking around going time out. How's Mike McDaniel, Zach Taylor and Shanahan, all these brilliant offensive guys. They're stacked. I got Cooper Cup No. Number two. Not sure. I love my quarterback offensive lines of mass. I trade cam Akers in forty five minutes. You gotta give me some pieces. And so they're moving off. The defensive guys listen very rarely. They got eleven draft picks. Now you can win in this. In the NFL, defenses tends to be about speed and athleticism. You can load up if you don't have to have Pro bowlers everywhere. I mean, the Jets defense has a lot of kids. It's really good. You don't need to have veterans, but offense is choreography. You don't want a terribly young offensive line. So they're gonna spend they move off Jalen Ramsey. It's a it's a cash dump, and my guess is they're going to use any cash savings and go buy somebody in free agency on the offensive side. So you know, Sean McVay always had power with the Rams, but he's used this retirement for a contract and bigger personnel push on offense. We've been talking about it for the last month, and that's what you got with Jalen Ramsey. I don't know if you everybody loves what the Dolphins had the you know, everybody this morning is freaking out about the Dolphins, But do you really need two great corners. I don't know if you do. Jalen Ramsey's really expensive, didn't have a great year. And I'll say this outside there are certain players in this league are that are core pieces. It's and I would say like Aaron Donald, Cooper Cup. Jalen Ramsey's talented. He was talented at Florida State, he was talented at Jacksonville. He's talented with the Rams and now the Dolphins. He's not necessarily a guy I'm gonna build around. We talk about this all the time. You know, Derek Jeter, you build around, Tom Brady, you build around. There's guys you build around. Then then there's guys that are just really really talented. Jalen Ramsey's really really talented. Obj's really really talented. They're not gonna be core pieces that I'm gonna build around long term. And the Rams knew that outside of Aaron Donald, they're gonna go young on defense. They're gonna go young on defense, gonna spend first. They're gonna do the opposite of the Steelers. They're gonna put some money on offense and get young on defense. So we'll see how it works out. But it's interesting and this is gonna be a really interesting week. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Free agency starts Wednesday. There's a lot of different stories are out there about Aaron Rodgers and the Jets, but what you're hearing is the deal's essentially done. They've agreed on everything. I don't know what the Packers would get you know, I mean, look what the Bears got for a college quarterback. I my guarantee is they'll get the Jets first round pick, which is number thirteen, and you know the Packers pick is number fifteen, So they'll have two picks first round, right in the middle, and they can solve the green Bay rosters very solid. They need two or three things they could use. They need a tight end, they need another receiver, probably need to go get a left tackle, they can get that later in the draft, and edge rusher. But they get all sorts of picks. Green Bay historically drafts and develops very very well. Their offensive line has been good for twenty years and they almost never go in the first round and get offensive linemen. So you know, the Patriots and the Packers, they draft and develop the offensive line at a high level that most of the league doesn't. It doesn't mean they don't occasionally miss on wide receivers and miss on defensive players, but that's what the Packers do well. I can think two things on this number. One, if I was Green Bay, I would rip the band aid off. It's nothing against Aaron, but I would rip it off. Too much drama you moved up to get Jordan Love. If the guy can play, he can play. If he can't, you would know it. This is not a shot at Erin. But if you're going to get another first round pick, and my guess is they'll get a first round pick this year and maybe next year. I saw what the Bears got for Bryce Young. They and the Jets are desperate. So I would move off Aaron Rodgers. I'd roll the dice. He's going to retire in a couple of years anyway, get him over to the AFC. But I can also simultaneously think if I was Aaron Rodgers, I wouldn't leave head coach, edge packers, familiarity, edge packers, organization history, edge packers. You know. Both have emerging star wide receivers. Both have good backs, But I like green Bay's better because there's aren't coming off an injury. The conference. Green Bay's in a much easier conference. The division. I think green Bay's in an easier division. If I was Aaron Rodgers and I thought, I want to play for one more year, Why go to New York and then play for one year? What's the point he doesn't need to be more famous? You're going to an organization that has a history of chaos. The ownership situations dicey. The head coach is a defensive guy in the hot seat. The old line's better in green Bay. You both have emerging star wide receivers. But at least Aaron has worked with Christian Watson and hasn't worked with the Jets emerging star young wide receiver running back the weapons. They're both fine, but at least I know what I've gotten green Bay. Have worked with them, practice with them, played with them. I think I'd stay if I was Aaron, But if I was Green Bay, I'd ripped the band aid off. I don't know what the Jets are going to offer, but the CEO, Mark Murphy, was asked this past weekend about it, and there's a lot of past tense verbiage here. It sounds like they've already sort of come up psychologically emotionally and decided we're probably moving off erin. We're really hopeful that we can reach a resolution that works not only for Aaron but for us. Is there a scenario where Aaron is still the starting quarterback of the Packers next season? Yeah, I mean, unless if things don't work out the way we would want them. Yeah, I was obviously a great player, and you know, four time MVP, and but you know, I think it's you know, trying to find you know, what he wants and what we want. Hopefully we can find a win win situation. So if I'm the Jets, you know they're desperate, and so you know, if green Bay gets a haul, do it, I would rip the band aid off. I'm one of those people if you say give me the good news or bad news, I may just give me the bad news. Just just give me the bad news. I'll deal with it. And I also think you have to find out if Jordan Love can play. But if I was Aaron head coach, Online Familiarity, Leverage, Division Conference, it all leans toward EID, it all leans toward green Bay. They're better at all those. I do think Green Bay and the Jets have really young, interesting wide receiver talent, but Aaron's at least worked with Green Bay's guys already. I can't wait for it. I am fascinated to see what Aaron Rodgers gets. This is not the NBA. It's a hard cap. Now. The Jets don't pay most of their good players right now, They've got space for Aaron. It's not going to discombobulate the franchise. They're not paying anybody. I mean, they've got maybe the best corner in the league. They're not paying them. They're running back there. They've got a couple of good old linement that got banged up last year. They're not paying them either. So it feels like it could absolutely work. But if I was only going to play one more year, why would you leave? Why just stay with the organization that loves you. Moving is hard, even when you're rich, you know, I mean, there's a New York's not an easy move for I don't care if you're an accountant or a quarterback. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd Weekdays and nun Easter not a Empacific if you didn't see the game over the weekend, the Warriors and the Bucks played its wild game. Steph Curry. For all these dopes out there that still don't get Steph Curry, you're out of your gourd. The guy's unbelievable, one of the great players in NBA history. His intelligence, his shooting. He put on a clinic in the fourth quarter and overtime. If you hadn't seen the game, Go to YouTube watch the highlights. It was unbelievable. So the Warriors, I know, y'all don't like him because y'all resent how smart they are and how good they are. But they're getting huge breaks right now. Kevin Durant's already hurt for Phoenix. Huge break Memphis. John Mourant may have sabotaged his season. The Clippers added Russell Westbrook. They're playing him less now, but they're turnovers have shot up and he's bad situationally. And then start start looking at the playoffs. Sacramento has got no playoff experience. I know everybody loves Sacramento, but they don't play defense. Who ended up in the finals last year, Celtics Warriors, great defensive team. Sacramento plays no defense, Dallas plays no defense, and Denver has no history of recent postseason success. So the Warriors are doing this and they're making their move without Andrew Wiggins. They didn't have Wiggins, nor did they have Kuminga, you know, against the Bucks who didn't have Jannis. But the point being is they're doing this without arguably they're most athletic defender, Andrew Wiggins. It's a personal absence. They know what's going on. Nobody else is and nobody's reporting it, so we don't know. But one of the things I've said about Golden State, when you have this sort of level of intelligence, it's just about getting healthy or staying healthy. They got rings, they're all rich, they're smart, they figured out their bench. If Wiggins comes back, I think they're going to end up in the final and the Eastern Conference. Let's be clear about the Eastern Conference. We know who the four best teams are. Milwaukee, Boston, Philly's playing great since December, and Cleveland. Those are the four best teams. There's no argument. I do think Miami's always dangerous because they're so well coached, and I love Jimmy Butler bam Onnabay, who's also a really good number two player. But the West is all over the place. You trust Denver, why would you Sacramento, the Clippers. It's just a lot of nonsense and a lot of people that are unproven. So now for the people that don't like the Warriors, which is everybody not in the Bay Area, remember they go five of their next six are on the road, and they've been an absolutely dreadful road team. So if you don't like the Warriors, you're gonna have a big laugh here at about ten to twelve days because they go on the road a couple of tough roadies, and they've been awful this year. But when you have the ring and you have the bag, and you have the championships, Golden State's playing for different stuff. They're trying to get healthy, get Wiggins back, get Kaminga back, They're trying to avoid injuries. And I thought Saturday night was just it felt like a playoff game. And by the way, I've seen Golden State in these games, and you know a lot of times without Andrew Wiggins. I saw him against Boston at Boston, I've seen him against Milwaukee. Seems like to me, when you put up against Memphis, when you put up a big challenge, all these veteran players come together unified. They still have the best starting five in the NBA, according to one hundred Possessions the advanced Analytics. When you put Steph Clay, Wiggins, Draymond and Looney on the floor, it's the best starting five in the NBA. I also think when Peyton's healthy in about a month, their bench gets fortified. It's a very good basketball team with Steph Corry put on a clinic. I don't know what it is about Steph Curry. I think three years ago, if you would have asked people, fifty percent of people would have taken Westbrook over Steph Curry. Blows my mind. It just blows my mind. But that's the case. He put on a clinic. So there's a lot of different stuff out there with the Jets and Aaron Rodgers. So there's they're different people in the media saying they're sitting The Jets are sitting there waiting, They've got the deal done, and it's they're just everybody's kind of waiting for Aaron Rodgers. My guess is in the next twenty four to thirty six hours he's going to have to give an answer. Aaron was at a golf tournament talk to Brandon Marshall. I think it was over the weekend. I'm not sure, you know. Here's the good news about Aaron to the Jets, He's not going to discombobulate their salary cap situation because they're not paying anybody. He makes them better at the most important position. But many of the same issues he had last year in green Bay. Young ascending players without much experience are still there. But the Jets are desperate. Everybody knows they're desperate. The conference, the AFC is loaded, the division now is very good, so the Jets are sort of trapped. They've only got six picks. So but they have the number thirteen pick, no question, green Bay. They got the fifteenth. Given the thirteenth that you're getting minimum for Aaron Rodgers, but I don't know the haul you can get. And it comes back to me. If you're the Jets, you go all in on this. But if you're Aaron Rodgers, it's a big question because remember the deal, the framework is done, and the only person that knows what they're gonna do this minute is Aaron Rodgers. Ask yourself when you move. I've done it three or four times in my life. I get out a yellow pad and I put pros and cons. I've done it every time. What do I like? What do I not like? Find me the edge the Jets have. It's not head coach. It's not familiarity. It's not ease of division, it's not on line, it's not ease of conference. The big advantage is defense. But it's not like green Bay's is atrocious. They've got personnel, they had guys banged up on the front last year, and they also have enough draft capital to solve some of those issues. What is the big advantage the Jets have over the Packers? If you're Aaron Rodgers, you can think two things at once. I'd rip the band aid off if I was Green Bay. It's time, it happens. It's you know, marriages, Sometimes it's just you grow apart. I think the commitment level with Aaron and Green Bay that drives them nuts. They moved up to get Jordan Love. But if I'm Aaron, if you're writing down on a yellow piece of paper, advantages green Bay advantages Jets. Outside of the defense is better. Okay, show me all the defensive coaches in the NFL right now. Show me where they finish in their division. So that's where I everybody's out there predicting Jets. Put yourself in Aaron Rodgers position. If you're only gonna play one or two more years, why move now? He may, but it's not like he wants to go to New York to be more famous or respected. He's respected and he's famous and he's rich. So he's not moving for money, he's not moving for fame. He's not moving for respect. Right, he got all those three. We all respect him as a player. He's already rich, he's already famous. You know, when you move it's because you're not getting something. What is he not getting in Green Bay? He's got an offensive coach, he's got weapons, he's got a friendly local media, he's got a winnable division. I mean, I get you said, what defense. You gotta be careful about that. Generally, we talked about this. I think last week is that great offenses. I can tell you five of the top ten offenses in the NFL next year, Kansas City and Cincinnati, San Francisco, Philadelphia. I can tell you who they are. But defense is different. Defenses tend to fluctuate year to year. Right. Some of it is what's the quality of quarterbacks you've played? So now Mac Jones for the Jets, they'll face Mac Jones twice, who as an offensive coordinator? Right, the Jets will face two or twice again Mike McDaniels, Right, So pretty productive. So we've talked about this. Defenses can ebb and flow. I mean, a bad defense is bad and the great. It's great, But a defense can ebb and flow statistically based on who did you play, what kind of quarterbacks did you play? So I think the Jets defense it's very possible that it's very good next year, but not quite as dominant. Mac Jones will actually have an offensive coordinator twice. That's a whole different mac Jones. So my question becomes, what are the Jets? Aaron's not trying to get rich, famous or respected. That's why you leave. You leave a company, any company. They're not pammy enough, they don't respect me enough, or it's time that I broke out and showed everybody how good I was. Those three are off the table. Don't try to get happier than happier if you're Aaron Rodgers. What do the Jets provide that the Packers don't? I don't know that. You tell me what do they provide a bigger media market? The dudes on every commercial on TV doesn't mean to be famous. In fact, I'd argue Aaron hides in the off season and darkness retreats. He's trying to get out of the public eye. He's I mean, seriously, in the off season, he hides. He doesn't want to. He has a place in Malibu. If you live in Los Angeles and want to hide, Malibuu is where a lot of the stars live. It's out in the middle. It's hard to get to, you can. They got places there where you can really relax where all the jim you know, the rich and the famous and the reclusive and the stars. A lot live in Malibu and up in the hills and Beverly Beverly Hills and Malibu. Aaron's decided he didn't move where you'd see him. He's trying to hide. He didn't want to be bothered in the off season. Is there an argument that maybe he feels underappreciated as the highest peat. I've been great. I've been here forever. We went to a I want a super Bowl and they still are wondering, you know, have I underperformed in my history in Green Bay? Given the MVP Awards, We're always kept to win. That's the media, not the packers. Well, what if he's feeling that in the town. I'm not on the ground. I don't boots on the ground there where. He don't think he's at Hooters tonight having wings with the peeps. I just don't see that I happened, I would agree. But if he's feeling that way, I'll go to the Jets. They never win, Jack squat. I will win with those guys, and I'll show them what winning is like and they will love me forever. Is there an argument for that? A guy who isn't really loved by what we said. He maybe doesn't have a ton of friends, he's had the family issue of the girlfriend rotation. I think Aaron's actually very private. He's a unique personality. He doesn't need a million friends. He doesn't need good I think Aaron. I think Aaron's a different guy right, not married, no kids, no pets. He's kind of his own dude. He's probably got a circle of very small circle of close friends. I'm not saying you know he's a recluse, but just ask yourself. If you're watching my show right now, you're driving, you're watching, you're listening. Have you ever left for a job. There's usually three things. You're either not challenged, well he's clearly challenged, you're not paid, you're not respected, or you want to show everybody what you can do. None of those boxes get checked, none of them. So let's just quickly if the Jets. If Roger says, hey, you know what, I'm gonna stay in Green Bay, what the hell do the Jets do? Well, that's that's your problem. I don't know what they do. This is embarrassing. They're sitting here waiting for someone to decide whether they want to go to New York And do you go to my social account? What do the Jets prove our defense? Rams won a Super Bowl with the fifteenth rate of defense that he can't move just for that. Hey, I'm Doug gottlie The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talked to coaches, we talked to players, We tell you stories. You download it, you listen to it. I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Gotlieb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Colin right, Colin wrong on a Monday, plenty of both. Here we go where Colin was right. I have said if I was the Packers, I would rip the band aid off with Aaron Rodgers and Mark Murphy this weekend talked a lot of past tense. We wanted to help Aaron Rodgers. I think they've come to terms that they want Jordan Loved to play. Now Aaron could decide to come back, which again, I can think two things. If I was Aaron, I'd go to the Packers. If I was the Packers, I'd rip the band aid off. But it looks like it's run its course. A lot of people are speculating that Green Bay wants to get rid of Aaron Rodgers. That's something I've been saying for weeks. I understand it. It's listen, it's a commitment thing. With Jordan Love, you're gonna have him offseason, OTA's at your disposal. And with Aaron, he's kind of doing sometimes his own thing. Where Colin was wrong, Well, I thought the Bear should trade down. I didn't think they'd get that haul for this quarterback draft class. In fact, I predicted they would make multiple moves to get three or four picks for them without an A plus plus prospect to get a first two seconds and Dj Moore, that's fantastic. They have solved their wide receiver talent issue. They can concentrate now with a lot of picks to rebuild that defense. I did not think Chicago would get this much for Bryce Young or CJ. Stroud. Way to go where Colin was right, Well, I've been predicting for several weeks. J. Mack is my witness. The Rams were going to move off Jalen Ramsey. I've been told they like him. He's talented, but he's not a core piece. I thought they could get a second and the starter. They end up getting a third in a backup tight end. But the bottom line is he's very expensive for the next two years and he kims off a so so season. And the truth is you can win at the highest level in the NFL without great, consistent cornerback play. You can't win if you got a bad offensive line, and the Rams currently do, so they're going to solve that side of the football. Let Jalen Ramsey go Where Colin was wrong. I loved Kadi to the Suns so much, and he's already hurt and he's out for the regular season. He got hurt in the layup line brutal, and I really like Kad, but I mean the fact that injury knocks him out for the regular season. All the critics of this deal that said he's old and fallen apart. Look right, worst case scenario, hurt early out for the regular season, where you build chemistry, because that's what you want to do. Now, you want to you want to build chemistry. Now he goes into the playoffs hopefully fingers crossed, having not played much with the guys where Colin was right. Odell Beckham reportedly looking for a twenty million dollars a year contract. Wow. I said this when he did that show with Lebron James and Maverick Carter. I said, he sees himself as an NBA player, but the NBA doesn't have as hard a cap as the NFL does. He's not a twenty million dollar wide receiver. He was out all last year because of injuries. He's hurt all the time. No franchise is going to see him as a number one. He's got number one talent, but he's not a number one receiver. And college football now consistently gives us fifteen to eighteen really good wide receivers annually. So I think he is just I think he lacks a little bit of self awareness here at twenty million dollars a year, he sees himself almost like an NBA player, and those contracts for brittle aging players do not exist. Where Colin was raw, I've been saying I don't trust the Sexers, but they are thirty three and ten since December. James Harden's like reinvented himself, leads the NBA and assists. MBAD leads the NBA in scoring, and they're a number three seed and they're not that many games out of being the number one seed. I just my question is always James Harden in the postseason Mbad's health. But James Harden deserves credit from a very ball centric scorer to now a more and we saw this a little bit in Brooklyn. He's become a much more willing distributor of the basketball, leads the NBA and assists. So right now I'm wrong where Colin was right. There are reports that the Carolina Panthers would prefer CJ. Stroud the quarterback. This is what's interesting. I said, when CJ. Stroud against Georgia showed running ability, it reminded me so much of Justin Herbert at Oregon against Wisconsin in the Bowl game. I watched Ohio State play six seven times a year. I didn't know he was that mobile and be that mobile against Georgia. He's a lot like Herbert. He's big, he's apparently mobile, he is quiet, sort of personally reserved. He's accurate, he played at a big time school. He's productive. So we could be sleeping on CJ. Strout? Are we picking them apart? Because Ohio States never had a great NFL quarterback. There's some Herbert vibes here for me and CJ. Strout where Colin was raw. I don't really buy the Sacramento Kings, but I will say I think they're a better story than a team. But they're going to be the number two seed in the West. They're number one in the NBA in scoring, and Deamonte Sabonis is leading the NBA and double doubles. Daron Fox is giving you twenty five a night. They're one of the more talented teams. They don't have any playoff history, But I thought this team was, you know, it was a fun, flashy offensive team. But eventually they'll kind of meet their ceiling. But I will say this for young teams that don't have a ring, those regular season games, those weekend games, those TV games, they become a big deal and the Sacramento right now is getting the last laugh. They're playing really really well. We've had the Aaron Fox on the show Good Guy, One More Heard. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you like. So an interesting move just happened. Sean Payton, coach to the Broncos, went out and just free agent signed Jarrett Stidham, the Raiders quarterback. It feels like a chess move because they're already paying a fortune for Russell Wilson. Why pay for Jarrett Stidham. I'll just throw this out because now the Raiders have to overpay for Jimmy Garoppolo, who gets hurt a lot. The quarterback market drying up, so now the Raiders in the same division with then have to probably overspend for Jimmy Garoppolo, who the Texans want, and also the Jets may go after if Aaron decides to be a Packer. It's a little bit of a chess move. They don't plan on playing Jarrett Stidham, I would guess, unless they've seen something that deeply troubles them about Russell Wilson, But to go spend more money at quarterback feels to me like a chess move. Now the Raiders have to overspend for the often injured Jimmy Garoppolo. Really interesting, Peter King, Football Morning in America, NBC Sports dot Com. That is a fascinating I don't know if they need Jarret Stidham, but you know what, Peter, so much of this I learned this watching Belichick and all those years I lived in the Northeast. There's a lot of chess moves in this league. What's your initial reaction that Jarret Stidham more money at quarterback for the Broncos. That is a shocking development. And there's no other word for it's a shocking development. The Raiders wanted to keep, Yeah, Jared Stidham, there is no question about that, and Sean Payton went in and trumped the Raiders. I'm a little bit surprised at Stidham actually doing that, even if it's for a little bit more money. And the reason is that he's he was going to be able to play, most likely with the Raiders at least early. There's no guarantee the Raiders were going to get Jimmy Garoppolo, none whatsoever. They're gonna be multiple teams in on Jimmy Garoppolo. Yeah, so, I mean that's one part. But Colin, the reason that it really does shock me is that I think if you're Sean Payton, what you want to do is you want to tell Russell Wilson, Russell, we are all in with you, all in. And what this says is, Russell, we're hedging our bets with you. We're hedging our bets. Yeah. So, the Aaron Rodgers Green Bay situation, multiple reports, there's a framework done. I offered this, Peter. I've left companies before. Generally the new company has to provide something the old company didn't. Aaron's not going to New York for money. He's not going for a better coach. He's not going for fame. He mostly hides in the offseason. He's not going for respect. He's respected by everybody in Green Bay. What do the Jets provide? Better offensive line? No easier division, no easier conference. No. If you were going to leave a company, somebody's providing something a company's not. I don't know what the Jets are provide. It's an offensive league. They've got a defensive coach on the hot seat. You're is he going to go to the Jets? What do they provide? My gut feeling is that he will go to the Jets, And if he wants to go anywhere, it probably is the Jets. Here's the thing, Colin, you can tell when Adam Schefter a month ago said there's a good chance Aaron Rodgers is going to be traded. Now, I don't know that Aaron Rodgers at that moment in time knew exactly what was going you know, what was going on. But the point is, Colin, that he knows that it's over in Green Bay. So if he really does want to play somewhere where he's welcome and where he's going to be a partner and all that, he's got to leave Green Bay. So now you tell me where's the best place for Aaron Rodgers to go. There aren't many laces who want a thirty five year old quarterback who can be hard to deal with and who has either one or two years left most likely who I mean, name the teams. And by the way, who's gonna have to pay him fifty nine million bucks this year and compensate Green Bay with something fairly significant. I mean, Colin. It's it's like when people try to oversimplify Lamar Jackson and say, oh my god, he's an MVP. He's only twenty six years old. Why aren't there teams out the door waiting for him. It's because Lamar Jackson would cost a lot in compensation, and in the last two years he's missed thirty four percent of the snaps to the injury. It's not hard to figure out, and same way, it's not hard to figure out that there's not the teams lined up at the Green Bay window to take Aaron Rodgers off their hands. I was shocked, and I'm not shocked very much, but I was shocked that in a quarterback class that we don't really have a slam dunk, that the Bears got a first two seconds and essentially DJ Moore solves their receiver issue. Now they've got Mooney, Claypool Cole come at DJ Moore. He's a terrific receiver, Peter who gets you a thousand yards a year in Carolina with Kyle, Allen, Darnold and Baker, so it's like they can now the receiving room. It's grown ups. It's really productive players. How surprised were you when I saw DJ Moore and the picks? I get if it was Caleb Williams at USC who everybody thinks is a slam dunk. I was blown up. I thought it was a hall. That was how it landed for me. What about you? Well, nine days ago I sat, I sat with Ryan Poles and he told me about everything that pretty much is going on two or three times in a conversation that lasted about fifty minutes. He talked about the contingency of how the trade could change if there were a significant player involved. And I found out this weekend Colin that for a long time, since they've been talking to Carolina, that poll said there will be no trade without DJ Moore in it. So the Panthers want to solve their quarterback problem forever, okay, and the only way that they thought they could do that is by making a trade for this pick now, even though I don't believe that they are solid on who exactly they want right now. Wow, Finally, you know Sean McVeigh has threatened retirement twice. The first time got him a new contract. This time I think got him. Moore saying person and now so they've moved off Floyd, Bobby Wagner, Jalen Ramsey, and I you know what it feels like to me Peter is that he looks at Zach Taylor and all those offensive weapons and Shanahan's offensive weapons and Mike McDaniel's offensive weapons. He's like, Hey, I want a super Bowl and we were fifteenth in defense. You gotta give me some weapons on the offensive side. And I think Sean has used that sort of i'm gonna retire thing. I'm not blaming him. I think it's leverage. Everybody, when you have it, use it. But it looks like to me, they're gonna really move toward them. They're gonna do the opposite of the Steelers. Their money's gonna be on offense from if McBay is going to be the head coach. That's what it feels like to me, that it was a cash dump to free app stuff for offense. How did it land for you? I think there's a couple of a couple of points to be made. Number One, the Rams aren't the Rams of two years ago anymore. Those days are over, Colin. Right now, they've got eleven picks in this draft, and I believe that you're going to see right now, I think the Rams are going to make another trade to try to even multiply that second round pick that they have the thirty six overall and get two or three picks out of that one. There's a very simple reason. There's an old philosophy. Jimmy Johnson had it. He said, I want maximum picks every year. And it's and he always said, I'm no smarter than anybody else when it comes to drafting guys. I'm gonna make mistakes just like everybody else will. I want more picks so I can make mistakes, so if I hit on half of them, I've got more chances to be right. And that's what I think less Sneed is doing. I think you're going to see him do it next year as well. And the other thing Colin costs efficiency, control of costs. They want again get a bunch of Ernest Joneses, a bunch of Nick Scotts. They want to get a bunch of those guys, and so that is what this is all about. They don't want Jalen Ramsey doesn't do them any good. Right now. This is a team that's not going to be good probably for another couple of years. They need building blocks, and that's what every move they're gonna make in the next few weeks is about. By the way, I like Lamar Jackson. I'd sign him. He win seventy five percent of his games. I think he's a more accurate thrower of the football than he gets credit for. Again, I'd sign him. And nobody wants to pick on a parent, but I do believe it's fair to say lack of an agent has not helped him. When all these teams came out and said pass on Lamar Jackson, you wouldn't do that if you had a bona fide, big time agent, because you don't want to offend agents because they have a bunch of players and you may want some. What's how has it fallen for you on Lamar Jackson? Again, he's just dynamic player that wins in a tough division, a tough conference seventy six percent of his games. I don't think I could move off that all your years. Only the Ravens want to. I don't think the Ravens want to move off at Colin. The only problem is Lamar Jackson has started one of twelve started and finished one of twelve December and January games in the last two years, so at the time when the games are biggest, he's been hurt two years in a row. Now, I'm not saying that he's injury prone. I don't mean that. But he is a guy who runs more than ten times a game on average in his career. So if you're gonna run, get out of the pocket, get into the open field ten times a game, and you're gonna get hit in the pocket anyway when you stay back there. Sometimes the point is very, very simple that you can't do an ear responsible contract. You can't do a real long term contract and guarantee at all if he's not gonna stay standing. I just don't think it's a smart contract for anybody to do. Yeah. Peter King, NBC Sports dot Com Hall of Fame voters since the early nineties, covered it since the early eighties. Good seeing you, Peter, Thank you, Colin. Take care of Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter nine Ampacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. And they've got Jarret Stidham from the Raiders. I think that's a I think that's a chess move, forcing the Raiders now to overpay for Jimmy Garoppolo, who the Texans want, So they're going to get into a bidding war for Jimmy Garoppolo, So it's a chess move. They got Jarrett Stidham out of the Raiders, That's what it feels like to me, because he doesn't even play the same style as Russell Wilson. They don't. They don't have a similar aesthetic or style. So Stidham's a big guy, pocket guy. Russell smaller guy, move around guy. So that feels like a little bit of a chess move. But I like McGlinchey is a real solid right tackle. So first thing Sean Payton wants to do is get that on line cleaned up. The Broncos are also reportedly they are shopping all their wide receivers, including Courtland Sutton, who's a terrific receiver. So Denver's taking phone calls and not a shock. Sean Payton is very busy so far. At this moment, the Raiders are closing in on a deal boom with Jimmy Garoppolo. There you go, So this is what we said once Stidham signed It forces the Raiders to have to make a move on Jimmy Garoppolo, and they had to. So listen. Garoppolo is a winner. He's good in the locker room. I will say this about the Raiders. I love their offensive pieces. Find me another team in the NFL, another team that has a star back, a star sideline receiver, a star slot receiver, excellent left tackle, and a star tight end on Kansas City doesn't. Kansas City does not have that good weapons. They don't. They don't have a star veteran back and a star sideline receiver. They have a star tight end and guys in the slot. So the Raider Garoppolo, Garoppolo hit the lottery. He got Belichick, then he gets the Niners Kyle Shannon, and now Garoppolo. It's it's the good Luck's the lucky charm. Now he gets an absolutely gifted offensive personnel group. Raiders are stacked offensively. I do wonder he went from being there was a moment last year he was the best quarterback in his division. Kyler Murray had gotten hurt. Ye Gino Smith is what he is. Matt Stafford was hurt. Jimmy one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC right when healthy. Now he goes to the AFC ranked the quarterbacks in the well, it's different, it's a different ballgame. The Raiders are sitting there thinking, Josh McDaniel's like, I gotta win games, and Jared Stidham is not a starter. But this, we just said it five minutes ago. This really forced the Raider's hand. So now that you've got to go pay for Jimmy Garoppolo, which he was already in the running. So and I'm sure the Raiders were willing to pay more than Houston because Houston has the number two pick and Houston can draft a quarterback the Raiders don't. So again, on paper, the Raiders are fascinating. In the new NFL. There's six positions where you've got to be good. You've got to be good at Jimmy Garoppolo is more than capable. He may be a bat quarterback, he's more than capable quarterback, star receiver, left tackle, edge rusher. And I think it helps to have a good corner or a good running back and an offensive coach. So you can tell what the Raiders are going to do in the draft. They're gonna go heavy defense. They need a corner and their safety, and that's fine. They've got an edge rush, they need an interior d lineman, another corner or two and a safety. So that gives the Raiders clarity. This is going to be a heavy, heavy defensive draft. Oh by the way, outside of Max Crosby, Raiders previous regime butchered a lot of defensive picks. So listen, clarity. We got our quarterback and we know what we're doing in the draft, and we didn't have to give up any picks to get him. Okay, breaking news, Garoppolo is a Raider. Earlier today, Sean Payton Denver Go arguably overpay for a backup Jared Stidham, forcing the Raiders hands to probably overpay for Garoppolo. I think Garoppolo is going to have some success. I mean, remember Josh McDaniels coached him in New England, so they have a relationship. They were already in discussions. This probably just they made sure they spent it up and got it done. So I'll tell you this is where the NFL is great. I can't wait to watch Garoppolo with the Raiders. I'm very interesting. He's gone from Belichick to Kyle Shanahan to a stacked offense. I mean, Garoppolos, He's gotten like the trieffect of breaks and I like him, but sometimes people have a lucky charm. He's had a lot of winning in his career, that's for sure. He got more talent. He's had more offensive talent than almost anybody in the league over the last eight years, more offensive talent than he has armed talent. Right, that's not a shot. I mean, that's reality. He's not a big time thrower. I think that's totally fair.