Breaking Down Who Aced (and Failed???) the 2026 NFL Draft

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1:16Rich Eisen:It's time for a post-NFL draft edition of Overreaction Monday brought to you by PayPal, the official peer-to-peer payment sponsor of the NFL. Welcome to this edition, fresh back from Pittsburgh, PA. Yes, sir. I am Rich Eisen alongside Chris Brockman. Good to see you, Christopher. Hey, man, how are you feeling, dude? I'm good. Yeah? 257 picks in, fresh as a daisy, ready for overreaction Monday. Rich Eisen show for the week. I love it, man. I love it. Hit the ground running, and it was just great. Yeah, Pittsburgh was phenomenal. Showed up, showed out. About 800 ,000 people. Set a record. Couldn't have been a better week there for the draft.

1:50Rich Eisen:City was lit figuratively, literally, beautifully, incredibly, and I still have, I woke up Monday morning humming Renegade in my head. Yeah, for sure. You know, in the same way that I used to play Tetris all the time and you'd close your eyes and you'd still see the pieces drop. I just Renegade over and over and over again. By the way, don't hate it. Love that song. And the Steelers fans waving their towels, going crazy every single time that they were on the clock, booing the heck out of the Ravens every single time they were on the clock. And then just some great surprises and warm moments as well.

2:24Rich Eisen:That's what the drafts are all about. I mean, the Thursday night, some surprises. Obviously, the Ty Simpson pick, I imagine there's something. We will talk about that. In your arsenal for today about that for Overreaction Monday. And then day three, two of the best moments in the draft happened in day three. The Eagles going into the international program and choosing Uar Bernard out of Nigeria. and his height, weight, speed rep and comp is Miles Garrett. Yeah, we can't keep letting them get away with this. And he came out with a Nigerian flag. That was incredible. And that was after the Bengals chose a Navy man in Landon Robinson with the Pat Tillman pick, 226.

3:11Rich Eisen:And then four picks later, the Steelers chose another Navy player, but he's a local guy, Eli Heidenreich, who was in the green room dressed in his uniform. Very cool, man. He comes out, place goes nuts. It was incredible. So great job by Pittsburgh at the draft. Great job by everybody covering it, to be quite honestly. Us, ESPN, the whole McGill. Are you ready? All right, here we go. Overreaction Monday post-NFL draft. Hit it. That was terrible. That was crap. That was garbage. This place sucks. Overreaction. Mondays. Monday. All right, go for it, Christopher. Rich, let's get right to it. You alluded to it, and I want to just start off with it.

3:57You know, I'm a Rams season ticket holder. I like them. You're a renowned Rams fan in your house, or everyone knows it. Yes, right. They're going to wish they had taken Reuben Bain or Makai Lemon last week. Like, come on, man. That's a wasted pick on Ty Simpson.

4:11Rich Eisen:I don't know about it yet. We just won't. We won't. We simply will not. The idea that they chose Ty Simpson 13 in a year that Matthew Stafford's coming off of his MVP season. Maybe the best year of his career. Correct. Age 38. Who knows how many more years you have left for him to play. that they go ahead and look over the steering wheel for the future and choose somebody who, if he plays this year, it will be because it's either A, unmitigated disaster, or B, they get him some reps just to keep him fresh in a win or whatever. And so, yes, Reuben Bain was on the board. McCann Lemon was on the board.

5:03That 100 % makes you think, why would you do that?

5:07Rich Eisen:And then on top of it, was anybody going to maybe get Ty Simpson 15th, 17th, 20th overall? You trade down and you could still get him? So these are all legitimate questions to be asked. And 1 million percent will be brought up if somehow, some way, the Rams don't make it as far as they want to. and you could, because you're going to nitpick. I don't think somebody's going to say, well, if you had the defensive player of the year, if Reuben Bain becomes the defensive rookie of the year, then you can point that out. So I don't know if any of you is going to be bringing up the draft if they lose an NFC championship game in February of 2027.

5:58Rich Eisen:But when it's all said and done, we don't know. the alternative is they do win the Super Bowl this year they do put another one in the case Matthew Stafford's like you know what I want to see if we can do it again they have a successful year and obviously an ultimate success would be they repeat and then they hand it off to Ty Simpson who comes out of the box looking like Jordan Love and now we're talking about the Rams like we talk about the Packers well you go from Goff make a Super Bowl don't win it to Stafford win a Super Bowl and then win another one he's an MVP and now you've got a kid who is mind melded with Sean McVay everything that I hear is one of the things they love about him is his ability to remember plays and his ability to get into the x's and o's deep into it like oh I remember when I looked this guy off in quarter three of game four and that's he's got a similar brain tissue to Sean McVay and a skill set that they like a lot, that this is why they did it, and that they are completely in lockstep, Les and McVay, Les Snead and McVay.

7:15Rich Eisen:But what if that happens? Then we'll be talking about this like they are geniuses. We don't know. The way I've just described it is not out of the realm. We definitely don't know. We don't know. That's the thing about the draft. You get better by playing and you develop by playing. Correct. And I go back to what Joel Klatt told us on Friday. Like, this kid may not play only one season in six or seven years. Correct. That is kind of a big red flag for me. No, I understand it. I get what you're saying. I understand what the criticisms are. And I understand that we just don't know. Yeah. So I will call this an overreaction.

7:54Rich Eisen:It is entirely possible, though. It's not out of the realm. Either way, the way you're proposing it with the topic bar and the way that I'm talking about it, anybody out there can go, you know, Brockman's right. And other people might be like, Rich is right. We just don't know. And so let's just play it out. And by the way, they also got Trent McDuffie with the 29th overall pick. I get it. So it's not like they got nothing for this season. They got something highly significant that could put Stafford on short fields or up by seven. before he even takes a snap. There's also a reason Kansas City let him go.

8:33Rich Eisen:What else you got over there? Okay, Rich, thinking about, man, one of the big teams, Eagles. We talk about them all the time. They always come out of these drafts looking like roses. We know that they are going to most likely trade A.J. Brown come June 1st, but they did a lot to replace him in the draft. Makai Lemon in free agency. They made trades, Dontavian Wicks, et cetera, et cetera. Eli Stowers, too. really wanted him in New England. This is the ultimate prove-it season for Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. What do you mean he's not already proved? Prove what? Prove what? Is he going to go to the Super Bowl a third time in his career?

9:09Is he going to be the quarterback after next season, the year after? Is he going to get another contract there? We've heard behind the scenes that they have one big problem, right? And Jalen Hurts wears number one. Why is maybe their best offensive player pissed all the time at him? This guy seems like there's a lot of question marks surrounding him still, even though he was Super Bowl MVP and played great in another one. This guy still has a lot to prove.

9:36Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, they have a new offensive coordinator, and if Jalen Hurts doesn't have A.J. Brown there and has all these new receivers, so it will be on him to gel things. And I think also the offensive line's got to wear some of this too, Chris. I think Sirianni's got to wear some of this as well. I think the this being a year in which they won the division but didn't make the playoff, didn't playoff winner's circle. They didn't win a playoff game. They got won and done at home by San Francisco. So, yeah, man. This is something that collectively they must own. Quarterback gets the headlines, gets most of the grief.

10:24Rich Eisen:Just to prove it, he's made the Super Bowl twice and both had the games of his life, you know? Yeah, but there's still question marks surrounding his ability to push the ball downfield, to read the defense, to just be that dude. I agree that if you change out A.J. Brown and you change out the offensive coordinator and you change the way things are going, it normally would be right on the quarterback to say, well now you are officially the problem what what happens to the idea that it's all new to everybody and everybody collectively must gel together especially the guy who plays quarterback who's only had the same offensive coordinator in back-to-back years once in his career and that was Shane Steichen before he left and started a year-by-year switch at that crucial in the headset in the film room job.

11:26Rich Eisen:Honestly. So I'll call this an overreaction, but in the same way that I say I can see what you're saying about the Ty Simpson Rams pick, there's no doubt the phone lines will light up in Philadelphia. There's no doubt the topic bars and the split screens will be going haywire on all the cable networks. Whose seat is hotter this year, Hertz or Sirianni?

11:51Rich Eisen:if I had to guess, I'd go the coach. Okay. I'd go the coach. I mean, they're getting rid. They're getting rid. If you're saying Hertz is the intractable one and they're getting rid of the wide receiver, the coach will be next. I'd imagine. Or neither. You don't think Howie might be the guy to be like, you know what, Jalen, thank you for your service. We paid you. We got a trophy in the case. I don't know this contract off the top of my head to see how the money talks, the cap ramifications talk. I can't imagine that, no. So what else? I don't put anything past Howie. For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal.

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13:32Rich Eisen:Hotels fill up fast. Energy builds. Everyone wants to be part of it. Now imagine that on a global scale. The FIFA World Cup is coming this summer, people, and with it, thousands of fans traveling to host cities across the country. If you happen to live in one of those cities and you're planning to be away, maybe you've got your own summer trip lined up, this could be a practical opportunity. While you're gone, you could list your space on Airbnb and welcome traveling fans who want to experience the FIFA World Cup in person. You're not changing your routine. You're not committing to anything year round.

14:05Rich Eisen:You're simply making the most of a moment when your city is in the global spotlight. I know when I'm on the road for a huge event, having a comfortable home base makes all the difference. and that's what fans will be searching for if you've ever thought about listing your space this summer is a great time as we welcome fifa world cup fans your home might be worth more than you think find out how much at airbnb.com slash host rich okay uh this really hurts me to say not jaylen actual physical pain nice the jets won the draft this year like i'm looking there pick i'm watching the first round three picks this year they have three picks next year okay yeah that should be six starters who are really really good yeah and i'm looking at these guys and i'm like they got that guy and they get cooper and sadi what really don't forget they got d 'angelo ponds 50th overall too sneaky great pick that guy was so good in the college football playoff i'm like oh they got four of the first 50 and they got um bona fide big men on campus studs including two you know obviously two guys from the national championship game coming in with the signetti stamp of approval and coaching pedigree um and you know david bailey graduating stanford in three years going and get the bag from texas tech and leading the fbs in sacks and their defense was no joke and the names of the players who come to the nfl um with as much experience as he has or and leading the league leading you know his uh leading college in sacks at least once in their careers others who have done that von miller and t sizzle you know chase young there have been some really successful players uh although i mentioned two hall of famers before i mentioned the buckeye there you know the jets did very well with four of the top 50 uh they also went and got cade club nick for their you know their back pocket um as a quarterback to you know groom and bring along if somehow some way next year doesn't work out um but yeah for for I keep saying it on the flagship show, for Jets fans to be asked over and over and over again to believe in a new general manager for yet another rebuild using players that they were initially told, these are the guys we're going to finally win it with.

16:43Rich Eisen:Nope, we're going to actually trade those guys to get the draft choices for the new guys that we're going to win it with. But you need to believe, you need to see something. And again, with a draft, one never knows. But Kenyon Sadiq, to bring him to the Jets and put him in an offense where I know Garrett Wilson was hurt last year. But 395 yards receiving led the team in receiving. A total complete disaster last year. But you're now adding Sadiq and you're adding also Omar Cooper Jr. to that offense. two guys that if you could point to in the college football playoffs say if you can get those two with your picks you're in good shape so yes they put their markers down using the draft capital very well yeah um you know and there could be some other teams that that wind up winning the draft let's see what the cowboys look like on defense with all those new defensive players that they got i liked what the steelers did as well um just to name two other teams but this is not an overreaction this is something where yeah you know you you choose four of the top 50 and you got three first rounders in your pocket next year for supposedly a better draft with a quarterback class that's deeper than this one um that that's not a bad that's not a i i i can't say that that's too far off it was really painful for me to say that so okay you got through it though i did i did thank you okay rich uh here's the deal draft was in pittsburgh yes sir steelers steelers yes you know fans everywhere yeah they're excited they should be they they got a playoff team they got a new coach excitement's high they don't have a quarterback still well they got drew aller now we're talking rich eisen drew aller is going to start the most games at quarterback for the steelers next year um i don't know let's let's see if rogers comes back i think he's gonna i think aaron rogers is coming back and if aaron rogers is coming back He's going to start all 17 games unless he gets hurt.

18:46Rich Eisen:And then we'll see who's next. You know, as soon as Aller got drafted, Ian Rappaport joined the NFL Network draft broadcast to say that Mason Rudolph, this means he gets moved. And so now you've got two youngins and you've got a veteran. Similar, dare I say, to what the Cleveland Browns set up was last year, although it's not two rookies behind a long-time 40-year-old dude. It's a second-year player, but practically a rookie because Will Howard was hurt for a good portion of last year. And, you know, two Big Ten, you know, dudes, one who won a national championship, one who did not have a great college career due to injury.

19:28Rich Eisen:And the other aspect that Joe Klatt kept saying is that James Franklin was running an offense that did not suit Drew Haller. Right, didn't showcase him, but by all accounts, this guy's got all the skills. I mean, he was talking about maybe a top-of-the-first-round guy before he got hurt and kind of had a disappointing end of his career. And this is apparently why you got one of the reasons why you went and hired Mike McCarthy is that he brings quarterbacks along. So will he wind up starting a game this year? I mean, Quinn Ewers was drafted in the seventh round last year. Most likely, yes. And drafted some at the end of the season, but that was because the dam had already broken and everything was a disaster in Miami.

20:09Rich Eisen:But we get 60 to 65 starting quarterbacks during the season now. No, I know that. But if Rodgers is coming back, I mean, that's it. I mean, that's the end of it. I mean, he did miss one start last year. But weren't we supposed to have an answer before the draft? That's what he said originally. I have no idea what it is. I have no idea what it could be. Mike Tomlin did make his debut on NBC during the basket. Yeah, Mike Tomlin made his broadcasting debut more than, you know, sooner than Rodgers has made his decision. Yeah, which is wild. that shouldn't be the case but you know it is as they say what it is uh and unless there's something in his personal life that we're completely unfamiliar with or there is just a way that he does uh his business a decision is going to get made and i think he's coming back uh but um the the drew aller pick was as we would say noted i noted that and yeah i kind of went oh I know and by the way a huge cheer in the crowd for that too but they were also playing Renegade so I'll say this is an overreaction pretty much for sure Need parts fast?

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22:40Rich Eisen:Wherever the game is played or watched, PayPal moves with fans. You can send money through text, email, or directly to your friends with eligible accounts on Venmo. Just download the PayPal app and share all the moments that matter. Account with PayPal is required. Not available in all regions where PayPal operates. Second half. Go for it, Chris. Second half, and I want to stay in the AFC North. You know who's put together another great draft for the second year in a row? Cleveland Browns. Yeah. I believe. They're going to be no worse than second in the AFC North this year. Well, I'll say this is an overreaction right off the top.

23:19Rich Eisen:Right off the top. But in the same way that you could say that the Jets won the draft, you could sit here and say, Andrew Barry's done a very nice job drafting players over the last two years and managing the draft as well. And I'm going to ask my guy, Mike Hoskins, who's in the control room right now, to call up the, if you will, graphic that we have created for the Monday show on the Travis Hunter trade. Oh, and what we reaped. Okay. It's now complete, and it's very impressive at the end of the day what the Browns did with that because you've got yourself seven picks involved. No subsequent trades.

24:14Rich Eisen:Normally those do sort of branch out. What ended up happening on draft night is the Jaguars moving up one spot, got a fourth and sixth last year. The Browns moved down three spots, got a second and a fourth last year, and picked up the first round pick of Jacksonville in this year's draft. and we now know the players and who they are involved. So the Jaguars, in moving up, wound up getting two other picks and chose Basial Tootin, who's probably going to be the starter. Not probably. They've got a starting running back. And Rayon Lane, the third. Okay? Okay. And then the Browns moved down, as you know, snagged Mason Gratom.

24:58Rich Eisen:Terrific. Got Quinchon Judkins and Dylan Sampson in last year's draft. and this year turned the first rounder into Casey Concepcion. That's excellent. I mean, there's no other way to put it other than excellent. You've got to say Cleveland won the streak. And then, you know, on Thursday night, they wound up trading down from six to nine so the Chiefs could go up and take Mansoor Delane. And what they ended up still getting Spencer Fano and then got another tackle with a third-round pick in that trade and Austin Barber. So they got two pieces to their offensive line rather than just one, and with the one being the guy that they still got anyway by moving down three spots, and they still have in their back pocket a fourth from the Giants and a fourth from the Seahawks in next year's draft.

25:55Rich Eisen:It's really, really well done. You have to give it up. You're still scratching your head over Dylan Gabriel and Shador Sanders? Sure. You're still scratching your head years later? quarterback is but but still no there's still the rest of the afc north to talk about but you have to give the browns their flowers you really do absolutely rich and here's a here's the thing uh thinking about other winners from thursday and over the weekend i feel like tyler shuck was a big winner jordan tyson goes there there he really played well yes to end the season last year they also got a tight end for him in oscar delp too yeah from georgia and then we know those georgia boys can play rich the saints won't be picking in the top half of next year's end of top half won't be picking these are real these are you're you're really pushing the pedal of the metal on the overreaction well i thought about saying top 10 top 12 i'm gonna go top half the saints are gonna be who's the best team in that division um every year that division is so wide open so much better man there's it's so wide open too and they won the division last year but are you albeit under 500 but are you absolutely sold on bryce young i understand that who is the quarterback in atlanta tampa's got some question marks mike evans is gone uh uh david retired top half i mean reuben bain got picked right in the middle of the first round by an eight and 19 right okay the falcons choice eight and nine was 13th overall why can't we go nine and eight all right shock baby i i'm i understand that there's reasons for feeling good in that neighborhood uh i kind of i kind of dig it um i'm rooting for jordan tyson you see he was wearing his his brother jalen's shoes okay because you know jalen was busy playing in the nba playoffs for the calves so he wanted his brother to be with him it's pretty on draft night i dig that um and so So, yeah, I like what the Saints have been cooking.

27:55Rich Eisen:But top half of the 2027 NFL draft, I will just call an overreaction for the moment and ask you to move on. What else you got over there, Christopher? Number third overall, Jeremiah Love gets picked. And kind of like, whoa, even though we had kind of been hearing about it, it's still kind of surprising to hear a running back's name at third overall. Still, everyone kind of can sense his best player in the draft, right? Can't miss the speed, the size. We met him in Indy. He's going to be the first rookie running back since Ezekiel Elliott to lead the NFL in rushing yards. 2016 Z-Club, the NFL in rushing yards.

28:33Rich Eisen:I don't know. He's got the ultimate, just ask anybody who used to have B. John Robinson as a rookie. He's got the ultimate vulture on his team now, and Tyler Algier. Yeah, but Algier was there the last two years. Arthur Smith's not the offensive coordinator there. And James Conner's coming back. I mean, there's going to be some sharing of the football. There's just going to be. I think you're going to watch this dude play, and you're going to be like, he's got to touch it 20 times a game. I understand that. There's ways of working it all where he's also coming out of the backfield to catch it.

29:10Rich Eisen:I just think there's too many mouths to feed to sit here and say that they're going to feed him like Zeke. James Cook had 1 ,600 yards last year. He can't get to 1 ,600 yards? Not with two other guys who are veterans and also 100 % bona fide veterans who carry the rock. I don't think James Conner's coming back and rehabbing just to go, oh, sure, this is all good. One could get traded in training camp. I don't know. Feels like they got too many. I understand that. Yeah. I understand that. All right. But still, I'm with you on the excitement. I'm with you on the optimism. I think that the Cardinals made the right move.

29:55Rich Eisen:I think that they got a generationally terrific player with a heart of a champion. And also when we met him at the combine, he's just like, yeah, I want to play special teams. I want to be a Hall of Famer. I don't want to come off the field. You know what I mean? So I understand your optimism and your excitement. He's not going to play special teams. But I just, I think that's the way it's going to go. And there's an offensive line that, is in play here too right so true i'm excited i'm you know and and cardinals fans have every right to be so you want to finish up strong last one last one rich ism yes sir when and whenever you can have maybe the best defensive player fall to you at number five i think you you kind of are a big winner i think the giants are big winners uh you know and malik neighbors said what are we doing taking him well come on the giants are gonna have the most ferocious pass rush in 2026 I don't think that's an overreaction.

30:52Rich Eisen:You know, they basically kept Kayvon Thibodeau. They announced that pretty much at the draft, that they're going to hold on to him. Oh, by the way, they still have Brian Burns. Right. Beast. I was going to... Abdul Carter. Abdul Carter. I'm like, come on. The two best Big Ten pass rushers in the last two years are now on the Giants. That is correct. With John Harbaugh, who, by the way, maybe you guys forgot, always had great defenses in Baltimore. Right. Always. And I think the fact that Arvel Reese dropped to them at five caused them to maybe change their plan at ten. Probably. You know, that Carnell Tate goes four and Love goes three.

31:32Rich Eisen:That I don't think the Giants sitting in their facility, gaming this out, mocking it out, had both Love and Tate going before them. No. And thus they would be able to wind up with whoever the Jets left on the board defensively. I don't think they had that game down too many times. Was it Ian who said he tried to game out the top five? And it never happened. And it never happened where Reese fell. Right, where Reese fell. Correct, to five. Because nobody traded up in between the Jets and the Giants. Right. And nobody went off the board between the Jets and the Giants on defense. I that that you know how many how many mock drafts anywhere had carnell tate being the first buckeye taken right out of reese styles and downs being the other three definitely not that they were that carnell tate was I don't know what that was on on sites you know on on places where Americans put their hard-earned dollars to wager um but I think that affected them at 10 as well that they probably didn't game it out where Francis Maui Noah was available for them at 10 either so to come away with Reese and Maui Noah is great like two maybe top five guys I know and and so what they do with Reese is crucial obviously and hopefully Maui Noah does in fact develop and is a crucial member of this offensive line hopefully he's the real deal because if not they passed on one of the more surefire guys in the draft.