Hour 1: NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah Talks NFL Mock Draft, plus USA Wins Hockey Gold

22:26Daniel Jeremiah:But I think this is a good reset for them. Get the coach, get the quarterback, and off you go. Where does he rank if you put him in the last two draft classes? I have the same grade on him as I gave Cam Ward. And you couldn't be any more different as players. So, you know, totally different stylistically. Cam Ward a little more loose, a little more flowing, a little bit more of a feel-type player, whereas Mendoza is very, you know, staccato. Like this, just like there's a almost, you know, a little robotic with how he is, but, you know, incredibly accurate, incredibly tough. Both guys, I think, are going to be really good players, even though they're so different.

23:03Daniel Jeremiah:I would stack him behind the big three from, you know, two years ago. For me, it was Caleb Williams, one, Drake May, two, Jaden Daniels, three. I would slide him in right behind those three guys. That is we've seen as, you know, was an incredible class. So, you know, he's he's he's going to be good, man.

23:21Rich Eisen:he's got a chance to really be good well no slight man I mean let's not forget I mean Josh Allen wasn't the first Josh Allen if I'm not mistaken was quarterback three taken in a draft class right I mean and uh and and the guy was taken second just won the Super Bowl after bouncing around for a bunch of teams so you're you're of the mindset of he's worthy of a first overall pick because he's the same greatest Cam Ward doesn't matter if the Raiders aren't ready to 100 surround him with the talent to make him successful right off the bat, you go ahead and you take him.

23:53Daniel Jeremiah:That's your opinion. My test on that is two things. Do you have, you know, if you're going to go to a bad team when you're picked up there. So, you know, how early do you get them on the field? To me, it's just, are you mentally and physically tough enough to withstand, you know, what's coming your way early on? And, you know, Drake May is a great example of that. The first year there, they didn't have anything in New England, but he was mentally tough and physically tough to get through that. I didn't hear, you know, obviously way ahead of schedule in the Super Bowl in the second year. But I think Mendoza, that's his calling card.

24:24Daniel Jeremiah:If you're going to say what is the best thing about him as a football player, I would say those two areas. Like he's physically tough. He is mentally tough. Physically tough from the beatings he takes in games and then, you know, gets right back up. And whether he's bleeding or not, he's out there rolling. And then mentally tough when you look at late game situations, you know, Penn State, you know, all the way through the playoff run. And every time they've had big moments and needed it, Iowa, he's been up to the challenge. So I think that's a good place to start.

24:56Rich Eisen:Daniel Jeremiah here on the Rich Eisen Show. You put out your top 50 draft prospects as well as another mock draft. But let's start with your top 50. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

25:04Daniel Jeremiah:Top 50 is getting updated this weekend. So that's just the original. There's some changes coming. All right. But I can only work with what I've got. I want you to get excited, Rich. I want you to have something to look forward to.

25:13Rich Eisen:No, no, I can only work with what I've got. You know what I mean? Like, this is all I've got right now. Um, so, uh, you've got Fernando Mendoza one and Jeremiah love is your second best prospect at the running back spot. So this is obviously a very talented kid. Like what's your comp is Bijan a comp.

25:34Daniel Jeremiah:Is that fair? What do you got? Well, first of all, I want to see you get in rich eyes and combine shape and to not play on words with Jeremiah love as my second player. It's a little disappointing, but I feel like you'll be there. You'll be there by the time we hit the –

25:48Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, a defender one-on-one on him would be on Love Island. Daniel, I mean, what else do you need? What else can I do right now? And that's just for starters. That's just for starters.

25:58Daniel Jeremiah:That's just for starters. Getting you some reps. Dude, he's so fun to watch. Like, my favorite thing about Jeremiah Love is, you know, we use terms in scouting, you know, like you're elusive. You've got make, miss, and space. And for most players, when you're going to make somebody miss, you have to gather. You have to kind of come to balance. You'll stop. Think about if you're watching a basketball game, you kind of come to balance, and then you might cross somebody over. He makes guys miss on the dead run. Like, he does not break down. You'll see him in the pit game. He's running full speed, and you'll see him spin in the open field.

26:32Daniel Jeremiah:And it's like he was just, like, running a 40 and just kind of mixes in a spin, makes you miss, and he's gone. And, you know, you've got the ability to run all the routes out of the backfield. You can line him up in the formation, let him run wide receiver routes. You'll see one-handed catches. He's a really dynamic athlete. So he would be in that playmaker category where you're talking about running backs going up there in the top 10. You like to say he's more than just a runner. Think about the McCaffreys and the Bijons and all the different things, Saquon. These guys can do all these different things.

27:06Daniel Jeremiah:He's a different build, maybe a little more narrow, maybe looks physically a little different. but someone that can impact the game big time, both as a runner and a receiver. Okay.

27:15Rich Eisen:And then you look at, again, the top 50 draft prospects in the top 10. I see four Buckeyes, which is amazing for a team that couldn't even win their conference or even a college football playoff game with so much talent. But that's neither here nor there. Why do you have Reese three and David Bailey four? and then if we look at your first few picks of your mock draft, you've got the Jets having an opportunity to take either Reese or Bailey, and they take Bailey, and Reese drops all the way down to seven. How do we square this circle, Dan?

27:56Daniel Jeremiah:Well, a couple things. Number one, as I mentioned, we'll have an update on the top 50 coming up, so there'll be a little shuffle there. All right. But this is the debate and the conversation that teams are going to have, and I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunity to have it with ourselves, is it's the age-old discussion of production versus potential. So you've got a player in Reese who plays off the ball. He plays on the ball. They kind of move him around. I like him best as an edge rusher. I think that's where he's got a chance to really thrive going forward. But there's not as much proof of concept as a rusher.

28:29Daniel Jeremiah:He's got some production there. But you're watching Bailey. You're seeing a polished pass rusher with elite, elite, elite getoff who knows how to win, who has a college career full of production going back to Stanford and was really a dominant rusher this year. He just further advanced as a pass rusher. So he gives you the production. He's also, I think, will test extremely well. Both these guys are going to test well. They're both freak athletes. But when you're sitting there and you're the Jets and you look, we don't need to take any chances. Let's just get a sure thing here. It feels to me like Bailey's a little safer in that.

29:04Daniel Jeremiah:And then you also have Reuben Bain, who's factored into this whole thing as well. He's awesome. He's awesome. I just wrote down, like, he is a junkyard dog. Like, he is just an absolute warrior who not only, you know, wins reps, he just beats people up. So, if you're looking for an identity, a physical identity, I think I had him going to the Titans for a team with Robert Sala. All of a sudden, now you look up and you've got Jeffrey Simmons and you also have Reuben Bain on that same front. you all of a sudden now you're a little bit of a bully up front with how you play. So those three guys, I think you're going to see teams with all different orders.

29:41Daniel Jeremiah:Bailey, Bain, and Reese, three totally different flavors, but three great football players.

29:47Rich Eisen:And you got Tate at the top of a very talented wide receiver group and worthy of that. He's awesome. And I know Jeremiah Smith gets a lot of the pub and for good reason. This kid's awesome. And you think the Giants at five at him for for Dart neighbors comes back. Scadaboo stops, you know, bashing his head against a brick wall and he's ready to roll. Right. Although Caleb Downs has got to be a tempting choice at five as well for for the Giants. Certainly when, you know, John Harbaugh enjoyed having Kyle Hamilton at the back of that defense, right, for all those years before leaving for the Giants.

30:30Rich Eisen:What do you think about the Giants choice there, Daniel?

30:33Daniel Jeremiah:Yeah, I mean, they've got some needs, so they can go in different areas. Right. But I just had to look at it with these organizations with a fresh start, with a new coach, and you have a quarterback here in year number two. You know, to me, if you're going to have to sacrifice something, I'd rather sacrifice and maybe wait a little longer on the defensive side of the ball and give Jackson Dart some help. I mean, after neighbors got hurt last year, it was not a whole lot for him to work with. And he, you know, he actually played pretty well. I want to arm him with some weapons. I want to see Jackson Dart take a big leap next year.

31:04Daniel Jeremiah:You know, this team has a chance to potentially make a pretty quick turnaround because the defensive line's in great shape. But if a year from now they don't make the playoffs, but we're talking about Jackson Dart, you know, establishing himself as the guy there, I think you'd feel a lot better than if we're sitting there saying, hey, they had a top five defense, but we don't know what we have in Jackson Dart. It feels to me like this would be, you know, a little more heavy on the offensive side of the ball. Let's get that kid up and running.

31:31Rich Eisen:Okay. And you, Jeremiah Love being, it's so highly touted, not just by you, right? sitting there at nine the Chiefs just can sit there and just wait for him to drop or you know with you could see the commanders sitting there at seven Saints at eight would this be the inflection point for the draft for trades do you think just to hop up and take this kid or or not like where

32:00Daniel Jeremiah:do you see the inflection points here yeah I you know it's it's interesting to me it's always usually after there's a drop off at the position. So we need to find out where the separation points are. Right now, I have a little bit of separation with the top two tackles in that next group, but I think that could end up squeezing down a little bit closer. You know, there is, he is the one true running back that's, you know, got a lock first round grade across the league. There's his teammate now as a good player who's got some support in that early second round. Maybe he sneaks into the bottom of the first round.

32:34Daniel Jeremiah:but I don't really see as great, and I love him, no pun intended. I just don't know if we're going to see teams parting with picks to get Jeremiah Love. That's where the running back thing might come into play, but in terms of the inflection points, we don't really know what's going to happen with the second quarterback. That's usually a spot where you could see it. I don't get the sense that there's going to be a trade-up market there for wherever Ty Simpson, if Ty Simpson were to land somewhere in the first round. So I think that's TBD, Rich. We're looking for a divider of where the separation is.

33:06Daniel Jeremiah:The problem is we've got, you know, only one quarterback right now. That's, you know, for sure a lock first round pick quarterbacks are normally a trade, you know, market edge rushers. We've got those big three, which are great, but then there's another whole wave of them. It's one of the deepest positions in the draft. And that's the other position where you typically see a lot of movement. So, you know, we'll have to see if something emerges, but I don't have one off the top of my head looking at it right now.

33:29Rich Eisen:Yeah, you just kind of transitioned me to my next question for you, Daniel Jeremiah, which is you don't have Ty Simpson being drafted in the first round. You have Mendoza starting the first round off and then zero quarterbacks in your 2.0 mock draft for the rest of the first round. And you got the Jets having a shot at 16. You've got the Rams sitting there at 29. Everybody's thinking that the Rams might use their second first round pick that they got from Atlanta in last year's draft. I guess their second first round pick that they'd use would be their own. Maybe on a Stafford successor, but you don't have it.

34:11Daniel Jeremiah:Why is that? What's your thought? Well, there's the three teams there, and I'll take them one by one here because you look at the teams that could be those quarterback teams, the Jets. it feels to me a lot more like they have their assets in next year's draft and that's where they're pointing towards and this year you know take a flyer I've been you know advocating hey let's why don't you try and make a move for Tanner McKee or Davis Mills and maybe you get lucky hit lightning in a bottle with with a you know with a mid-round pick for a trade for one of those guys and then everything's going towards the future so using this draft to build up your resources to support the quarterback you get in the 27 draft.

34:48Daniel Jeremiah:So that's the Jets. Then we get to the Rams. And this is the one where there's the most, you know, conversation and the most smoke. You know, there's a lot, there's room, like it's a rumor season, Rich. So, you know, you talk to scouts around the league and they, they feel like Ty Simpson must've been told by somebody that he was going to be a lock to go in the first round because he had, you know, five and$6 million offers in the transfer portal. Why would he turn that down unless somebody had given him some sort of assurance as he'd go in the first round? And people have thought maybe that was the Rams.

35:19Daniel Jeremiah:Maybe the Rams could be that team. So that's the theory there. But the way I look at it is the Rams in the past looked at Jared Goff and said, you know what? He's good enough to get us to a Super Bowl. We don't feel like we can win a Super Bowl with Jared Goff. So we're going to make this move and go get Matthew Stafford. And we've seen how Matthew Stafford throws a football as well as anybody who's ever thrown it. And then now you're going to, at the end of Matthew Stafford's era, then go to Ty Simpson. That just, I couldn't wrap my mind around that. It is, you know, it kind of, to me, he's a lesser version of Jared Goff who you deemed wasn't good enough.

35:56Daniel Jeremiah:So that one, you know, I couldn't make sense of. And then you look at the last one. So we've got the Jets, we've got the Rams, and you've got the Steelers. and the Steelers. Look, I like Ty Simpson better than Kenny Pickett, but you could see how maybe that would scare you off of that a little bit. He's not the biggest guy. He's not real imposing. I think they do really like Will Howard, and I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to kind of see what he can do. So I didn't have the Steelers as a Ty Simpson team either, which then leaves me with I don't know where to put him. I don't know where to sneak him in.

36:29Rich Eisen:Well, we'll see, obviously, and this is something you and I are going to chop up quite a bit when we're on the air on NFL Network with the on-field drill starting next Thursday in Indianapolis. Before I let you go, it's my annual question. Who's got a shot to break the record for fastest 40? Who can track down Xavier Worthy next week, DJ?

36:51Daniel Jeremiah:Brennan Thompson. Brennan Thompson is an undersized wide receiver for Mississippi State who, going through the training and the testing part as he's been getting ready for this thing, has been throwing up some unbelievable times, and everybody has him as the clear favorite here to at least give this thing a run.

37:08Rich Eisen:Okay, so that's next week. We'll see the receivers out there on NFL Network very well. Do you think Mendoza's going to throw? What do you think?

37:18Daniel Jeremiah:I hope so. I would probably be surprised if he did. I'd be pleasantly surprised. But the good news is we've had years, Rich, where we've had five, six quarterbacks not throw. I do think everyone else is going to throw, and that includes Ty Simpson. So I'm excited to see him and see what he looks like in person and see how he spends it. So we'll have some fun.

37:36Rich Eisen:All right. Now I'll take one last question, crack at you. How will the Seahawks winning affect the draft? What do you think? The copycat league. Everyone's going to look for the next Eamon Worry. I remember last year, you and I were talking in the booth like, this kid's unbelievable. He's a freak. You know what I mean? And he drops the second round. Will kids like him now get pushed up if there's another one? I mean, how will it affect the draft, what the Seahawks just did?

38:01Daniel Jeremiah:Yeah, I don't even think it's just Eamon Worry. I think when you look at Eamon Worry, Derwin James, Hamilton from the Ravens, like trying to find that body type. And that's, to me, is McNeil Warren, the safety from Toledo. We get a chance to watch him work out. And he's 6 '3 1⁄2", 210 pounds and can run. So he would be that guy in this draft. I also think you look at a team, as I mentioned, that waves of pass rushers. This is the second year in a row. The Eagles did not have anybody with 10 sacks. The Seahawks did not have anybody with 10 sacks. What they did is they had seven or eight defensive linemen and just waves of dudes keeping guys fresh and not only wearing you out over the course of a game, but being able to sustain that through a very long season.

38:38Daniel Jeremiah:So I always laugh when people say, you know, you got to be good in the trenches. And then you come out with a mock draft. You go, we don't need another defensive lineman. I need a receiver. So I think you'll see a little bit more of that. Teams that already have existing good fronts want more.

38:53Rich Eisen:Well, Daniel, well done, as always. I will see you next week. great cut. Great. Thank you, buddy. Great lid. Your lid's ready. Your information's clearly always ready. And I look forward to seeing you there next week, pal.

39:04Daniel Jeremiah:No, we're going to have, we're going to have fun.

39:05Rich Eisen:We always do. Daniel Jeremiah. I'm going to spend so much time with him next week, but not enough time to continue our chat right now. I'll see you in Indy. See you, buddy. Daniel Jeremiah right here at Move the Sticks. Follow him in everything that he does. 844-204-RICH number to dial. We'll take your phone calls as we wrap up our number one before Chris Weber and Tommy P. Tom Pellicero join us.

39:32Rich Eisen:In my line of work, I'm fortunate enough to travel quite a bit covering the biggest moments through the football season. While I'm on the road, I sometimes miss the comforts of home, which is why when I travel with my family, we always check Airbnb for places to stay. It's our home away from home, providing the comfort and safety that allows us to wind down and relax. Families like mine are looking for homes that fit their needs to make new memories in, and your home may be exactly what they're looking for. If you're looking to save up for a new addition to your house or a once-in-a-lifetime trip to see your favorite band in another country, for instance, hosting your house on Airbnb could help you reach those goals.

40:12Rich Eisen:It's easy to list your home for short trips or extended periods of time, allowing your house to earn you some extra money make your home work for you while you're away and enjoy the benefits of hosting on airbnb your home may be worth more than you think find out how much at airbnb.com slash host o'reilly auto parts can help take the guesswork out of your check engine abs or maintenance light with o'reilly veriscan the service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians. O 'Reilly Veriscan can identify the most likely problem with just one scan. If you need help, O 'Reilly Auto Parts can recommend a shop for you.

40:54Rich Eisen:Don't ignore a check engine, ABS, or maintenance light. Ask for O 'Reilly Veriscan today. A free service exclusively at O 'Reilly Auto Parts.

41:03Daniel Jeremiah:As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery. They're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by.

41:37Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show. the podcast. Back here on the Rich Eisen Show. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial. We just showed to our radio audience a clip of Michael Ruzzioni chatting with Al Michaels in 2018, way back when my beard matched my mustache.

41:56Daniel Jeremiah:I can't get over it.

41:59Rich Eisen:Can we walk through your mindset this morning? I just shaved. I shaved and I didn't notice it until I showed up on TV. What the hell's happening? I actually think this is a good look for you. I appreciate you saying that. Canada just tied it up. And we led the show with the women's team beating Canada in the gold medal game. Gwyneth Phillips, who's one of the goalies, although she was not between the pipes yesterday. Abby Murphy, two members of the team, were on Women's Sports Now last year. and you could see their interviews. I think, did Sarah conduct them? Sarah did the interviews. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

42:38Rich Eisen:It's all sitting on our YouTube channel, youtube.com slash RichEyesAndShow, and season two of Women's Sports Now. Stay tuned. Just put a pin in that for the moment. There's some news at some point to let you know about on that front. Certainly, since our friends at ESPN are, do you see what they're doing on Sunday nights with baseball gone? It's going to be an all-women's sports night focusing on the WNBA, you know, when it returns. Yeah. and WSL as well. So fun stuff in the women's sports world that we love being part of right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Christian in Toronto, are you hanging on while watching Canada take on Finland right now?

43:16Rich Eisen:Is that happening?

43:17Daniel Jeremiah:It's funny you say that. My power's out. I can't watch it. Oh, no. I'm glad that you gave me an update. Thank you, Rich. You're welcome. I've been trying to figure out what's going on.

43:27Rich Eisen:Shea Theodore, apparently, with the tying goal. Anything else you need to know, Christian? Was it from the slot? Hoskins, where was it from? It was a one-timer. It was a one-timer. You said it was a filthy snipe. Is that what you said in the commercial break? It was pretty sick. Okay. There you go, Christian. There's your update.

43:43Daniel Jeremiah:Thank you. You're welcome. I just wanted to follow up on a fun conversation that we had last week. After I quote-unquote put Rich Eisen in a blender, I heard Brockman state that Jaden Daniels was four on his list, which I think is blasphemy.

43:56Rich Eisen:Of what? Fourth on your list for what? QBs from the 2024 draft, right, Christian? So he's behind Nix, May, and Caleb. Yeah, he's behind Nix. Okay.

44:05Daniel Jeremiah:That's just a combination of him not playing this year, really. He's got to be out there. And we saw what Bo Nix did. Bo Nix might have won the Super Bowl this year if he doesn't get injured. Yeah, true. Okay, but he also got injured. And I think using injuries is kind of unfair to discredit quarterbacks because I think on our list, we're not dropping Burrow down to 10 or Lamar down to 8 because they're getting hurt. They're still up there because they have the talent and they have the upside, right? Right. I think Jaden...

44:31Rich Eisen:They've also, Christian, they've also given us more than one year of a body of work as well.

44:36Daniel Jeremiah:Right. But Rich, I think Jaden Daniels elevated a pretty bad team to where they got. Whereas, not to discredit the other three, I think they're all fantastic, but they all have top defenses that turn the ball over and get them in good field position and help them win, right? So just in terms of Jaden's talent, I think it's up there. Maybe, I mean, obviously I have a little bit of a bias because I'm a Washington fan, but I just think he is higher than four, and I just wanted to follow up on that because I didn't get to do that that day, so I just thought I'd call in.

45:06Rich Eisen:Christian, thank you for calling. Call in next hour if your power's out. Thanks, man. I'm glad you're doing your phone still. We can update you, Bill. Okay. Christy in Detroit. Let's take Christy's call before hour one ends. What's up, Christy?

45:18Daniel Jeremiah:Well, hello, gentlemen. How are you doing today? What's going on? Fantastic. I was just calling because I am a huge Pistons fan.

45:26Rich Eisen:I've been following my entire life forever and ever and ever.

45:28Daniel Jeremiah:And I've got to say, it all changed when we hired JV and Trajan in the front office. Last year when we had our home opener and the guys came out to play, they were just a completely different team. And so it's just fun to see them grow. It's fun to see Cade. I was ecstatic to watch him crush your poor Knicks last night. I'm so sorry. It's all good. He's dominating. Not really.

45:53Rich Eisen:Christy, he looks awesome. He looks all the part of being drafted as high as he was drafted. All of it.

45:59Daniel Jeremiah:I know.

45:59Rich Eisen:We took, I have three boys, and we had a draft party at LCA where the Pistons played when he was drafted in 2021. And so when we picked him first pick, and he came out with the Buffs on, we were just like, okay, this is it.

46:13Daniel Jeremiah:This is going to make sense. And then we added Jalen Dern. And then we got Isaiah Stewart. And then I've got Jenkins, who's a great story, too. And it's just all just making sense.

46:22Rich Eisen:And I don't want anything to change. I don't want him. Like last year there was talk about us getting KB, and I was like, no. There was talk about Devin Booker, and I was like, no.

46:31Daniel Jeremiah:I was a little sad to see Jay and Isingale, but it's okay.

46:34Rich Eisen:You've got to make small adjustments. We'll see what happens.

46:36Daniel Jeremiah:So I'm excited to see that they led your hour. So I appreciate it as a Detroiter.

46:40Rich Eisen:Hey, man. Pardon me. Hey, Christy. He is all that, and I can't wait. Thanks for the call to talk about him with Chris Weber next hour. And another thing to talk about with Chris is Michigan Duke. Oh, Rich is good. Can you tell I've got that game on my brain? Oh, there's some family business to settle. I can stay under the Godfather. I can't wait. The Ridge Eisen Show podcast.

47:06Daniel Jeremiah:Monster Energy. Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the OG. It kicked off this whole Zero Sugar Energy drink thing. But Ultra is a whole lineup now. You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian, Sunrise, and Vice Guava. And they all bring the Monster Energy punch. So if you've been living in the white can, branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe. And every single one is zero sugar.

47:33Rich Eisen:Tap the banner to learn more.