Hour 2: Fantasy Football Power Rankings, 49ers Preview, plus Hall of Fame OT Joe Thomas

0:00Hey, I've got some game time tips to share with Frigidaire. When you're hosting during football season, you've got to be ready for every kind of craving. Somebody wants fresh pizza. Somebody wants crispy wings. Somebody's asking if there's sliders. That's when you need more than one call in the playbook. Frigidaire offers ranges and wall ovens with over 15 cooking modes so you can tackle hosting with confidence. There's stone baked pizza for restaurant quality pizza in as little as two minutes. Air fry mode for crispy favorites. and air sous vide for juicy tender sliders. Plus, there's slow cook, no preheat, and more.

0:35Stone-baked pizza and air fry, both built right in your oven. That's the game-time MVP combo. So when you're hosting before kickoff, Frigidaire helps you cover every craving. Available at The Home Depot, how doers get more done. Only when using stone-baked pizza mode, cook time requires preheat and reheat and may vary based on ingredients. Hey, Chicago. Class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new fave footwear? Step into a local croc store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up.

1:14It shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest croc store today.

1:24Rich Eisen:This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Let's do this! This is the Rich Eisen Show. Cleveland Browns can't do anything just straight up and normal. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. I like Todd Munkin. This is not a week-to-week decision.

2:06The Rich Eisen Show.

2:07Rich Eisen:But he's got a quarterback that's got a problem with the fan base. Earlier on the show, ESPN NFL analyst Chase Daniel. Coming up, Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas. Actor Will Forte. And now, it's Rich Eisen. our number two of the rich eisen show is on the air joe thomas is going to join us in about 20 minutes time talk a little bit more about the browns quarterback room and the decision to start deshaun watson for the 2026 season we already chalked talk to chase daniels as he's looked at the film and he just doesn't get it uh which means there might be a business reason business decisions yeah are made in the national football league all the time arch manning is that business will forte is on the program he's going to join us in studio hour number three in support of coyote versus acme which has got a gajillion rotten tomatoes going for it when it hits the theaters this weekend starting on friday at a theater near you it is the fantasy football marathon going on in the disney family of networks nice and espn radio as well you download the espn fantasy app lickety split why don't you and go to espn.com slash fantasy to get started today and it's uh now the official game of the nfl and maybe that's because the nfl network was bought by espn you know what i'm saying i'm just trying to connect that'll make sense fantasy is easy fun and free to play play in a private league with friends or join a public league and be matched with other fans the knockout leagues god do i love the knockout stuff it is awesome it might be my favorite version of fantasy football really well because you you play against the collective it's like if we're all in a fantasy league together which we will be right right it's me versus you one week sure and then it's him tj versus smitch right right or lead adult of the rich eyes and show james crittenden and i'm i'm not paying attention your game i'm paying attention to my game with you sure in a knockout league whoever has the lowest total out of the entire League.

4:17Rich Eisen:Don't come last. Knocked out. See ya. And so everybody's paying attention to who's the schmo that's on the chopping block. And then you start rooting for one team to be put on the chopping block because you look at that person's roster and know you can pick at it like you're a buzzard circling around. Oh, I need a tight end. Right. And you're watching Monday Night Football knowing this stuff's on the line. And you could bet a ridiculous amount of money Last year, Coop and I were in separate knockout guillotine leagues. And we both needed, I think, Josh Jacobs to score to get us off of the griddle.

4:57Rich Eisen:And when Josh Jacobs scored in the fourth quarter, Cooper and I celebrated like Michigan had just won the national championship. I'm telling you, it is awesome. But if you lose and you get knocked out early, it's depressing. like I wake up the next day and I'm like oh it's sunny out like I'm healthy the people I love are healthy like it's I need some sort of a sensibility to get through it I love these knockout leagues and now ESPN's fantasy side has put that together for anybody to use and so you are going to be out of the chair this week on Friday on Friday okay Bobby Bones will be here because I'll be part of Taylor's Bot Mitzvah Week that's going down.

5:46Rich Eisen:Taylor Palooza has started already. So you're out because you go to Seattle. You're in this league how long in? This is your 25. Okay. You're 25. You're 25 of this league. Yep. Okay. And so this goes back to college with some of these. Yeah, this is like our senior year. You're tight with these people. How many people are in this league? This is 14. 14. 14. And so every year the draft is in the town of the Super Bowl winner. Correct. All right. So you went home many times in this time, right? Yeah, yeah. Went back to New England many times. New England a couple times. We've had the draft at my house in L.A.

6:20Rich Eisen:a couple times. Okay. Yeah. All right. That was after, I imagine, the Rams won. After the Rams won. And then the Patriots won one year, but we're like, we're sick of going to New England. Let's do it in L.A. Let's do it in L.A. Yeah. And so you hosted. I have. That's great. Yeah. And so, but as the league has gotten older, so have the people in it, right? You started out 25 years ago. There was a pot and you didn't have much to put in it. Not really, no. Okay? Not really. Now look at you. Now look at you. A married man. A father. That's right. A dad and a husband. I don't even know who you are anymore.

7:02Rich Eisen:Sometimes neither do I. Right. But yet you are a paid professional to appear on this program. Correct. It's great. You're taking one of your days off. That's right. Leaving the wife, the kids. You're not going to the Bat Mitzvah this weekend. I know. I will be represented. It's all good. Don't worry about it. I understand what you're doing. I get it. I'm sad to miss it. That said, how many guys are going this year? Nine out of the four. Are we ebbing? Are we ebbing? This is usually, you know, if it's an East Coast venue, last year in Philadelphia we got, I think, 12 or 13. Okay. Because it's a little more geographically sound for a lot of the guys.

7:41Seattle's like an outpost.

7:42Rich Eisen:Seattle is not. I'd as well have it in another one of your home states of Alaska. Exactly. I'd as well keep going north. Nope. The reason why I don't like this man's league,

7:54Rich Eisen:I don't know why this upsets me. This is a Larry David type thing. I have no skin in this game. Okay. This does not affect me personally. You're not in the league. I'm not in it. Yeah. It's like the burger draft. But it upsets me so much that their draft has no time limit on how long you can take to choose a player. And I heard that, and it just triggers me. I'm triggered. Yeah. Okay, so an update on that. What do you got? Not entirely true anymore. We did sort of institute a loosely enforced five-minute time limit. Whoa. Starting last year. and it was we did shave about two hours off the top because you are off the top i imagine most of the people who have evolved like you in the draft have kids and jobs and things like that lots of kids and the last thing they want to do is spend time away sitting in a hotel room seattle's a beautiful city yeah you should go out and see it let's see go out and look at that beautiful sound are the mariners playing this weekend no we're actually going to the tacoma rainiers game on Thursday night.

9:06Rich Eisen:This is look at you evolving. But you can't do it if you're taking 25 minutes on deciding Isaac Tesla should be taken in the 15th round. That's about probably what happened. And it's just like that infuriates. Well, this goes back to... Go out, go to the fish market and dodge big, huge-ass fish. Yep, that's fun. That's what you should do with it. It's the 28 minutes for Brian Hartline in the eighth round from like 2012 or something. Did I accost that individual? You did. He was here once. That's right. Jason Sherman. And he gave me some. A fellow Staten Islander, too. I know. I hate to see rock on rock crime.

9:45Rich Eisen:Rock on rock crime. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Last time that happened was outside of Spark Steakhouse, I think. Hey, now. Paul Castellano's house is for sale now. I saw that. I sent that information. Wow. He lived in a nice spot, man. He did. Up there on Toad Hill. Yeah. Staten Island. So anyway, we're shooting for, you know, six-ish hours on the draft. We have gone into the nine hour before in past years. It's not that bad. I'd fight everybody. It's a full Saturday. Can you join me in this? We're all full Saturday. Wait. We're all full. Wait, wait. TJ just said you'd fight everybody? No, I said I would fight.

10:23I would fight everybody if we were that. You guys just did that. The first couple rounds, I don't understand why it takes so long.

10:28Rich Eisen:Like, the best players are right there. Just pick one. And I'm about to give a power rankings on my mock draft, my top 10 mock draft. If you see me out in Seattle, say what's up. I'm just saying, man, in my poker league, we have a 90 second. 90 seconds? You get 90 seconds to choose your player. And if it goes past 60 seconds, the heckling that begins is off the charts. Are you all in person? Huh? Are you all in person? We're mostly there, yeah, because once it's over at poker night, starts then you do it we want cards to fly so now you're waiting to fly you do it before yes oh yes this is and it's usually opening night of the football you guys always do it to the limit sometimes it goes into the game and then the big arguments are i'm going to take that player who just scored yeah that's not that's and start him and start him there was people almost quit the league when because of that yeah i could over stuff like that fistfights breaking out of you Yeah, you got it.

11:28Rich Eisen:Once the game starts, that's it. That's it. This is how the Rich Eisen Show celebrates the ESPN Fantasy Football Marathon. See, in my league— By talking about what's right and what's wrong. In my league, we actually do auctions, so it takes a little longer. But the best part about the auction is if you want somebody, you can really get them. But unfortunately, this year is going to be a tough one for us. I don't know if I'm cut out for an auction draft because it takes too long. It's fine if you've got the right— Wait, so how long, TJ, does your draft go? Because you do the full auction. I mean, it's less than two hours.

12:02Rich Eisen:That's not bad. It's not bad. Pretty impressive, actually. Well, like I said, it's the one time, like now that we're all older, it's the one time that we all, I probably will see half of these guys on that day, and I won't see them again the rest of the year. But this year will be tough because you guys might know Eric Dane was in our family. Oh, that's right. So this is going to be the first time in like 18 years. So this is going to be a tough one. Okay, so take your time. And if it goes any longer, then Mila kicks you out of the barn, right? Is that how it works? She really doesn't come out to the barn.

12:34Rich Eisen:She'll come out and say hi, and then she goes back. She's not in the league. That was my way of finding out, by the way. It is Ash's barn. That was my way. I didn't mean to drag Mila into this whole thing. We told you that when Eric was here a few years ago. I don't recall. So, yeah, this is going to be a hard one for the fans. Oh, man, I'm sorry. Sorry to hear that, obviously. But we're going to celebrate him, and we're going to have a good time, because that's what the draft is all about. He loves football. You would want that. I know he's been here before. Yeah, he's a big fan. He and I, like, about this time every year for, like, the last 17 years, we'll get on a phone call with each other just to kind of size each other up and be like, well, yo, I heard Drew Brees had a bad shoulder.

13:09Rich Eisen:You might not want to. Yeah, what are you doing? I heard Adrian Peterson has a high ankle. Like, we would do this every year, you know? Well, this is why we always have our draft at the last possible minute. That makes sense. You know what I mean? Yep. There's been a lot of injuries this preseason. Speaking of drafts, okay. We're going to do these power rankings. Normally it's on a Wednesday, but since today is the ESPN fantasy football marathon and I'm a team player, despite I being in Rich and Eisen and Disney. Yeah. And Disney. We're going to do my power rankings today. And I usually do a mock draft before the actual draft, the actual NFL draft every year in power rankings form.

13:53Rich Eisen:where I mock the first 10 of an actual NFL draft. I mock your draft. Well, now here is my 2026 come at me fantasy mock draft in power rankings form brought to you by SoFi.

14:11Rich Eisen:Power rankings. There are many like it, but this one is why. Power rankings. All right, here we go. Okay. Here we go. and in case anyone's wondering as I'm going to go from 10 up to 1 in the mock draft of what I think is going to happen in maybe your league and my come at me come at me bro alright so come at me if you come at me on X I won't see it come at me on threads might see it what pick do you have in your league? I have two and I'm hoping for one but at any rate here's the scoop we're gonna do this like uh full point ppr isn't that what the most everybody does yeah i'm taking cd lamb 10 oh okay now that might be a nice pick for somebody at 10 uh the only reason why i'm putting cd lamb at 10 and amanra at nine okay is i don't know how much pickens is gonna take some catches oh a lot jameson williams is gonna take some catches but I don't know as much, you know?

15:22Rich Eisen:J-Mo. And Amon Ra is that guy off the slot that how many times does Goff just go, too late, it's already gone. Beast. Right. So I'm going to go CD 10, Amon Ra 9. Okay. Okay. That's my thinking there. 8. I'm taking Devon Achan here. I was thinking of putting him higher because Jeff Halfley came on this show and said he does not want to see him tap his helmet all year long. and if he does carry it, touch it 40 to 45 times a game, which is definitely not how many times he's going to touch it, but the coach said it out loud, and I'm going to take him at his word that it's going to be fed and fed a lot to this guy.

16:01Rich Eisen:He said he would help carry Devon A-Chan off the field. Yeah, he basically gave us the blueprint. And he almost said 1 ,400 yards last year on the ground. That's a good pick. Okay, seven. Out of respect, he's in my top ten. Respect. Respect. I'm putting JSN here. Okay. Jackson Smith and Jigba. I really want to see how he follows up his offensive player of the year. Very curious. Okay. New OC, too. I don't know what the hell this is going to look like. Correct. So I'm a little bit jumpy here, but I'm still going to say he's the same guy. He's the same guy. Watching Hard Knocks, he's the same guy.

16:42Rich Eisen:He sure is. Yeah, that's true. Okay. Probably better. Six. Out of respect again. Respect. like henry hill the tightness concerns me i'm concerned by the tightness oh you're concerned by tightness why wouldn't i be concerned this isn't he told you it was load management i got it i understand there's a load there's management it's tightness but this is my fantasy team i understand man but i'm putting mccaffrey six cmc yep because i think jonathan taylor is gonna have another oh so you're you're bumping jt up okay jt is five okay if i'm sitting there I can't believe I'm saying this out loud. I know McCaffrey is thousand thousand.

17:21Rich Eisen:Like a lock. I know. But this guy could get 2K. Don't you think? He's amazing. Yeah, he could do it. Okay. And there are weeks where he'll just like. Three touchdowns, 120 yards. Yeah, and it's like, again, you know, Hoskins put up that picture against Atlanta in Germany last year. It was a wrap. 244 yards. And I know because he's going against me. He was going against me, too. By the way, when you are playing against somebody who has a massive game in the early window of a four-window football day on a Sunday, it destroys our whole day. Our whole day is shot. Oh, gosh. All right. I don't know why I'm getting that.

18:00Rich Eisen:Because it's fantasy. I played against him that week. And I was looking at Chris, and I thought of his fantasy league, and it just enraged me. I get it. I'm going to FaceTime you during the draft. You better not. Four. Four. I'm also concerned about him, period. Oh. But Puka is still Puka. Yeah. All right. Puka is still Puka. The king of the 10-catch, buck 40, two touchdowns. Day. All right. Rich, on the flip, having the West Coast player on your team. I love a West Coast player. Get that at the end of the night. Oh, baby. Nothing very good. It's up for somebody to come back from that. I need him to just not play as reckless as he maybe has.

18:39Rich Eisen:Or just be as reckless maybe in life. That too. Straight up. That too. Three. it's still jamar chase is still the first wide receiver off the board fact okay jamar chase you see what he said he's like i don't care about yards i want the touchdown record okay he's coming for randy moss okay good for him and he's got the quarterback who says there is no tomorrow and i work here he didn't say those words he had it all right now but do you think he didn't say I have the second overall choice. So this is who you want? Are you wish casting? I am not wish casting. But I think at the end of the day, the preseason is going to affect it.

19:27Rich Eisen:I think the preseason is going to affect this because Atlanta has looked like a hot garbage. Correct. And I think B. John's going to drop to two in most drafts. lefts at your danger thank you tj for going to me have gibbs at your danger at your danger you let this man drop to two because he is all world all pro all purpose all of that and the biscuit we can trade bro but i think at the end of the day it's it's jameer gibbs's world fantasy wise and we're all rent paying because he got paid bjohn got paid and at the end of the day golf runs the offense a heck of a lot better than whatever atlanta might do if that even matters to bjohn i mean it's not like the last two years were weren't like the most efficient quarterback play you've seen everywhere and he's he was incredible i would be stunned if either guy doesn't get 2 ,500 total yards and 20 touchdowns.

20:33Rich Eisen:I would be shocked. That's my come-at-me fantasy mock draft brought to you by SoFi. Get your money right. What do you think? I'm missing anything? I mean, obviously. You know, I was looking at Field Yates' top 150 PPR standings. James Cook, he had 10th. I know you had CD there. I did. no justin jefferson but everyone else you know that's justin jefferson has got to be sitting around and going this is this is i'm going to take this thing over and back i don't know fun stuff 844-204 rich number to dial right here on the program running a small business means every hire matters a bad hire costs time and money but the right one helps your business grow the challenge is finding that person without sorting through resumes and that's where linkedin hiring Pro comes in.

21:27Rich Eisen:It screens candidates. Oh, pardon me. My bad. It's Pella. When it comes to you and your home, Pella Windows and Doors are the experts at taking care of you and your home. At Pella, they find the products that meet your needs and their experts install them. That means working with a company that builds and installs a quality product with real pricing, real simple, really beautiful. And when a trusted name like Pella chooses to partner with us here at the Rich Eisen Show, that certainly says a lot and we appreciate it. 0 % financing options are available. Certain restrictions apply. Find your local Pella Windows and Doors showroom today at Pella.com slash Eisen for details.

22:02Rich Eisen:Make life brighter with Pella Windows and Doors. I'm sorry I got thrown. I saw the very handsome Joe Thomas check in on Zoom. Understandable. You know what I'm saying? I feel you. And he is next.

22:19Rich Eisen:Rich Eisen here with some advice. If high-interest credit card debt is grinding you down, it might be time to call an audible with a SoFi personal loan. It consolidates your debt into one low monthly payment with no fees required. And with as soon as the same day funding, you can make the right play fast. Call an audible on your debt today at SoFi.com slash debtplay. Loans originated by SoFi Bank N.A. Member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS 696891. Fast funds terms apply at SoFi.com slash debtplay. Rich Eisen here for Gusto. After all these years talking to athletes, coaches, entertainers, and people at the top of what they do, one thing is pretty clear.

22:58Rich Eisen:Success usually depends on getting the details right. For small business owners, that includes payroll, hiring, onboarding, benefits, you know, the work that keeps everything moving, even if it's not the reason you started the business in the first place. That's why there's Gusto. Gusto is online payroll and benefit software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Automatic payroll tax filing, simple direct deposits, health benefits, commuter benefits, workers' comp, 401k, you name it.

23:31Rich Eisen:Gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget, and it's all built to save you time with built-in automated tools for offer letters, onboarding docs, direct deposit, and more. Plus, you get unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price. No hidden fees, no surprises. Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash rich and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash rich. One more time, gusto.com slash rich. Taking a quick break to tell you how Saturday's game time can get a little messy. Your crew just came over to watch. Snacks on the table, drinks in hand, and somebody celebrating like they just won the whole season and beyond.

24:13And when that energy gets going, your walls can end up taking the hit. Whether it's a big spill or a noticeable scuff, that's where Behr Ultra Interior Paint comes in. It adds an extra durable, stain-blocking finish that helps your walls hold up for the whole season. It also delivers outstanding coverage and hide in fewer coats with easy application and a smooth, even finish that goes on clean from the first pass. Plus, that easy, clean finish helps walls stay looking new longer So before the next kickoff, give your space game-ready defense and coverage that goes the distance. Bear Ultra, only at the Home Depot.

24:51Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show Podcast. Joe Thomas is here on the program. So Joe, let's just jump right into it. Because you're in the booth, right? You're calling these games locally, you and Chris Rose, right? Yep. how does Deshaun Watson look to you on the hoof, if you will, since we're talking about you and Farms? And how does he look in person to you, Joe? So it's interesting. I got a chance for the last couple weeks to watch practice, coached a little bit on the ground, got to watch their joint practice against the Bills. And everybody from the fans that were there to the local media had said, both quarterbacks are making great progress in Todd Munkin's system.

25:37But Deshaun Watson probably is a little bit ahead and leaning into his experience a little bit, being able to operate in Coach Munkin's system, which puts a lot on their quarterback at the line of scrimmage. A lot of these play calls, they have built in two plays so that the quarterback has a wide latitude to be able to change the play at the line of scrimmage, change the snap count, try to use the snap count as a weapon against the defense. And I think most people were saying, hey, we expect Deshaun Watson to be the starter. until the game that happened this past weekend against the Bills where Shadur Sanders went out, played very well throughout the first half, and then Deshaun Watson came in in the third quarter and did not play very well against the third team of the Buffalo Bills.