Hour 2: Rich’s Combine Takeaways, Carson Beck Booed, plus The Ringer’s Todd McShay

0:00Rich Eisen:We're leaving today and entering a world of Mickey Mouse waving, princess meeting and greeting, lightsaber clashing, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror dropping, Banshee flying, Space Mountain launching, galaxy rewinding, what's the whole deck with galaxy rewinding, fireworks igniting, World of Other Worlds. For whatever you love, infinite worlds await at the most magical place on Earth. Walt Disney World Resort. So good, so good, so good. New markdowns up to 70 % off are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. And that means so many new reasons to rack. Because I always find something amazing. There's so many good brands.

0:44Rich Eisen:Because there's always something new. Join the Nordiclub to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. 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 richeisenshow and you'll never miss a moment.

1:26Rich Eisen:Now, on with the show. Leg up. This, this, this is the Rich Eisen Show. Show. Show. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Have you chatted with Mendoza yet? He said, I want to be the best quarterback when I take the field in the NFL. Earlier on the show, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero. Coming up, the ringer NFL draft analyst Todd McShay. Former NFL general manager Mike Mayock. And now, it's Rich Eisen. hour number two the rich eyes and show is on the air i'm fresh back from the combine um and i'll give you some more thoughts on what i saw sitting up there in the 50 yard line booth next to daniel jeremiah mike mayock who i used to occupy that booth with he's going to join us in hour number three and then there's you at 844-204-rich whether you're watching on disney plus in the espn app or listening on espn radio or sirius xm channel 80 kind enough to join us here on this very busy Monday.

2:27Rich Eisen:I'm sure he was very busy taking notes and taking everything down as the host of the McShay Show, and he writes on The Ringer, and his stuff today is must-read. He's Todd McShay back here on the Rich Eisen Show. Good to see you, Todd. How are you, sir? What's happening, Rich? What do you think?

2:44Todd McShay:You should have the round of applause, man. Awesome job again.

2:50Rich Eisen:Well done, Rich. Thank you, guys. DJ was okay, too. Yeah, right, Todd. Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate it. You know, we love doing it. You know, we've got a lot to work with and people that work behind the scenes to make it all work. So thank you for that. What's your takeaway? What's your big takeaway from the combine, Todd?

3:13Todd McShay:This 2026 draft class sucks, right? It's just not a good group.

3:17Rich Eisen:That was it going in. That's what we heard. And then I'm sitting here.

3:21Todd McShay:Washington, D.C. next year. We get the lawn. We get all the quarterbacks. It was record after record. You guys did an amazing job of just accounting for what was going on in every position group. And it kind of kicked off with Caleb Banks, right, who checks in with the largest wingspan of any defensive tackle in like 25 years. And then he runs out, what, a 5.040 at 327 pounds? Insane. And then it kept going. How about the two things I loved, right? the position groups where you had guys butting heads first of all the teammates with arvel reese and sunny styles and their names are because their last names are so close it's like all right i'm gonna run a 447 you he runs a 446 you know like back and forth between those two and then we get to the tight ends and um and kenyan sadiq runs the 439 and meanwhile you got thenaman with setting records in the in the in the jumps it was just awesome to watch man the whole the whole weekend where in a draft class it's getting a lot of heat for where are the quarterbacks there's no blue guys at the top no blue chippers um to see them set records both individually and and as a group

4:38Rich Eisen:throughout the weekend it just made for a lot of fun yeah after the defensive linemen and linebackers worked out sunny style is one of the most impressive workouts i've seen in my 22 combines and then a Reese and David Bailey doing what they're doing you also mentioned the defensive tackle group being just spectacular uh I turned to Daniel Jeremiah and I'm like no doubt the second overall pick in the draft worked out on this field tonight and he goes yep so what do you think the Jets decision is now that we just saw all those workouts obviously pro days free agency to come but what do you think the Jets decision to two looks like right now you know what's interesting

5:18Todd McShay:rich i think you'll appreciate this of all a lot of conversations we had like six gms on on the show this week and talking to personnel directors and other gms it was this common theme you know we talked about a lot of different players and different things going on but there was one theme that kind of carried over in every conversation i had is that what makes this year so unique is there are some very clear blue chip talent players in the top of this draft and none of them are at positions that we typically want to spend a top five pick on we've got jeremiah love who i believe is the the best player in the entire class sunny styles goes out and does what he does and caleb downs is you know didn't work out and it doesn't have the measurables that that were you'd like to see from an elite talent but like he just is and then venga i i i always have to remind myself I want a Hall of Fame guard is basically how I remind myself.

6:16Todd McShay:Nice. Those are really, if you really talk to people in the league, those are the best players in this draft. But it's a guard, it's a safety, it's an off-the-ball linebacker, and it's a running back. So you get to the Jets too, and that's why I brought this up. Everyone in the league kind of agrees with this, and everyone is saying the right thing right now. You don't pass up on a Hall of Fame player because you need something at a premium position. but the jets you know they just gave up jermaine johnson in a trade and they clearly want to bring in an edge and you'd like to draft an edge rusher with that pick david bailey's a great edge rusher but can he can he defend the run and what about his his lateral agility uh ruben bain obviously is is a short-armed edge who's an awesome player and was dominant throughout the college football playoff arvel reese arvel reese is one gm said he's a cyborg yep but if if if you don't have a plan for him he is a heck of a lot better going up the field than he is turning and running and so i guess i'm getting to all this and saying is it truly positionless football now on the defensive side because if it is sunny styles is the is the one of the top two or three players in this draft and he's better and higher graded and his measurables just match up and by the way i i had multiple gms say something along the lines of this guy's going to run his own business his own company one day he's like the all-time character guy sonny styles and so now you get six five you get 244 you've got this elite workout from top to bottom i mean just looking at his numbers it was it was insane he's 43 and a half inch vertical combine record for heightened speed or heightened position 11 2 broad jump best 4 4 6 tied for best with with reese 1 5 6 in his 10 so and and if you look at the analytics on it he what he didn't blitz and rush the passer as much but there's not there's almost no difference between when he did in the production in terms of pressures and sacks compared to arvelle reese now reese is going to be an edge sonny's not going to be but as an overhang who can turn a running cover and also can come after the quarterback i don't know i think everyone's going to say edge with that pick but i think the jets have have a decision to make do we take the player with the higher grade which i believe is sunny styles or do we take arvel

8:36Rich Eisen:reese or david bailey who we we want as an edge rusher todd i'm with you man uh this whole business of don't take a safety that high you know what are you going to tell caleb downs pound sand because you're not supposed to take a safety that high when it is positionless football i mean take take a look at derwin james take a look at kyle hamilton take a look at christian gonzalez just to name some nicky manwari right you you can you can put these guys in different spots you can use them in different situations if they're the best player then go ahead and grab them and i i feel the same way about jeremiah love todd he's six foot running jameer gibbs 40 yard dash time at

9:17Todd McShay:six was like 14 14 15 pounds heavier running running oh come on right and you know what's more impressive than you meet him you know oh right yeah and and the drive he has the focus he has i mean that between i people just were were heaping praise both jeremiah love and sunny styles like these guys are different man you like you got to spend some time with them they're just so and but to me jeremiah love i mean that number's awesome right he runs the the 40 and we get the official number it's like wow when you start doing the historical context and with your mere gibbs and and and the fact that he you know he's got the size on gibbs um but which is uh yeah 15 pounds heavier ran the same time but the wide receiver stuff the routes catching the ball now and another gm i talked to put he said this this draft is going to force you as a gm and a decision maker during that draft weekend to be really in line with your coordinators.

10:19Todd McShay:Because if there's a plan there and you can, with a plan, you can maximize value. With a plan for Sonny Stiles, he's worth a top five pick. Jeremiah Love, like the obvious plan is we're going to get him touches both as a receiver and as a runner. And so if you have a system and a coordinator who's in lockstep with the value that you see in this individual, now you've got something. Listen, the Jets are going to take a defensive player, and the Raiders at one are going to take Fernando Mendoza. Three, four, and five are interesting to me. I don't see Jeremiah Love getting out of the top five. I think he could absolutely go to Arizona at three.

10:57Todd McShay:I think if he's not the third pick to the Cardinals, I think he will be the fourth pick to the Titans, and if they surprise me, I still think the Giants could take him at five. He's not getting out of the top five.

11:07Rich Eisen:I don't think so either, and I think Sonny Stiles not getting out of the top ten anymore, and I understand that there are two really talented linemen here on the offensive side of the ball. You know, Downs, Tate, I don't care what he ran. That doesn't matter to me.

11:25Todd McShay:Who are the two offensive linemen? Just curious. I don't know. Bowie, Noah, and Fon? Because I think Freeling's in that mix.

11:32Rich Eisen:No, I think, screw the fact that he plays guard. You mentioned, you know, Ioane is, you know, Ioane is, he's amazing. I don't care that he's an interior player. You know what I mean? Like, again, I don't do this for a living all 22. I also, my job isn't dependent on whether they're terrific or not. But he's amazing. He's big. He's also a good dude. These guys are all clean off the field, it appears, on top of it. everybody that we just mentioned um so i i think all bets are off i don't care if it's a guard or a safety or you know a running back if they can change the game for you if they can change everything for you if they can unlock um thing you know wins for you on the spot you got to take

12:29Todd McShay:them you know yeah and i even to go into the the offensive line stuff like fano's an awesome player you saw the three cone the the energy stacy dales was awesome by the way too no offense she might have been mvp for just awesome we agree we all agree um but just watching him and like the energy he brings and his love for the game and then like the shuttles and and the 40 and all the athletic traits but he's got 32 and an eighth inch arm i think it was what it was and and so and you see him taking snaps to center so maybe maybe you i don't know maybe you wind up with another linderbump and is that the worst thing in the world no but the the the argument that was being made or the conversations i was having with with decision makers was maui no is a great player he might have to kick in the guard fano is a great player he might have to kick in the center so why wouldn't i just take the guard that i know is going to be you know it could be a hall of fame type level guard in in uh in juana and and and just move on so i mean we could if everyone in the league stayed true which we know won't happen it would be mendoza one and then some order of iwane uh downs styles and love rounding out the top five it's not going to happen but honestly like those are the conversations it's interesting how they are now and then let's fast forward to when the pressure starts to build in mid late april and everyone's looking at can we really take a guard at four or five you know yeah you can you know what i mean yeah you can but again

14:01Rich Eisen:And I understand what the hallmark positions are. Defensive end, clearly, quarterback, I get it. You know, I understand tackles, all of that business. But I saw some really talented kids here over the weekend. Todd McShay here on the Rich Eisen Show. Where are you on the second quarterback? Where are you on that?

14:27Todd McShay:Ty Simpson. Ty Simpson all day long.

14:29Rich Eisen:He was spinning it. I'm in the – Really nicely. I thought he looked the part, Todd, but the question is where? Where do you have him landing? What do you think?

14:35Todd McShay:I'm in the camp that the gap between he and Mendoza is not nearly as big as the public seems to think.

14:41Rich Eisen:Okay.

14:42Todd McShay:Although there is, I understand it. And it's much greater between Simpson and QB3. Specifically, if you were kind of dropped into this as an NFL coach, right? and you were handed the first eight or even nine tapes for both Mendoza and Simpson, I promise you Simpson's tapes better. It just is. Now, Simpson's 6 '1". He's 211 pounds. He's got 15 starts. In his one year as a starter, he wasn't able to stay healthy throughout the year. So let's dig a little deeper into it. What happened from games about 10, 11 on? Offensive line, the protections were kind of figured out by Brent Venables in that first game, and it just didn't get better as the season went on.

15:29Todd McShay:They were copycat in terms of, all right, we figured out the tendencies, so we're going to get more pressure on Ty. Running game was 126th in the nation, I think it was, which is like you can't even fathom that if you're an Alabama fan. Then you've got your star wide receiver just disappears. Ryan Williams came into recruiting. It was him and Jeremiah Smith were like 1-1-A, and Ryan Williams can't catch the ball confidence, and he's gone. And so the hits start to pile up and the injuries and the beating that he's taking. And he put gastritis, I think it is, down to 190 pounds by the time the Rose Bowl came along.

16:06Todd McShay:So listen, they're all excuses and it is what it is. But if you're looking for the best of Ty Simpson versus the best of Mendoza, I don't see it as a huge gap. Now, Mendoza's tape wasn't great versus Iowa until the end when they needed it. his tape versus Oregon the first time around wasn't great till the end needed it Penn State through that pick in the you know early fourth quarter I think it was then leads him down to that and then keeps getting better and the confidence is growing and then you get to know the young man and you understand like football is everything his brain the way he processes the things he doesn't know or was not asked to do in college you believe strongly he's going to be able to pick up on that so there i understand why there is a gap between the two and there's a lot more questions about simpson than there are about mendoza but i think we we as nationally like media wise or whatever you want to call it i think it's been a little bit of a disservice in that it's just mendoza and like who else is qb2 like it's so clear cut and i don't you know there's starting to be talk i've heard this morning talk about maybe he goes to cleveland at six i don't want him to go to Cleveland I think that would be a death sentence to Ty Simpson I want him to go to the Rams if you're you're pulling for the individual and what's best for his future but I think it's closer to the Rams than people thought in terms of 13 not 29 yeah I hear you on

17:33Rich Eisen:that I'm I kind of feel like though the Rams are gonna hold off on finding the replacement in this year's draft you know and and I'm not saying he's going no I got it that's the only reason I bring it up is is uh is it's going to be tough at least dj seems to feel this way and i i'm i i sit next to him more than i've been able to sit next to you as he keeps on talking about finding a difficulty to find somebody who's going to pull the trigger on simpson towards the end of the first round right so he might be a second round guy at the end of the day um i take that bet you think he'll

18:11Todd McShay:be a first rounder is what you think i would be absolutely shocked if ty sims is not a first

18:15Rich Eisen:round pick i keep thinking the rams are just going to sit back keep on loading up with with with uh stafford still there ride stafford as long as possible and then at some point you know you and i both know todd there's going to be i think there's going to be an nba type rush of quarterbacks who are in their current spots and if they don't win it there over the next year or two they're going to force a trade nba style wanting to be the next mcveigh quarterback for the next five ten years of their careers and make the hall of fame i can absolutely see that and i'd play that out if i if i were the rams uh before i before i run out of time with you give me the gems who are the gems that uh that come out of the combine that you think um can can make a team mid-round first round late first round what do you think todd who are the gems there's a bunch

19:07Todd McShay:of them i mean jeff caldwell just blew my socks off and i gotta dig deeper into his tape because there's like the good lord only makes so many guys like caldwell and a big he's a six five plus receiver and and running the way he did uh six five 216 pounds ran a four three one jumping through the roof like that's a special talent that i'm intrigued to to see more of um sam roush is a player that i've loved for a while the tight end from from stanford and what i loved about it too like in in sam roush style like it just completely got i'm not saying this is a slight on you guys but i think like nationally it kind of got overlooked because he had sadique and he had stowers and the 40s and all sure but if you you go put look at his like his his raz or whatever whatever you follow in terms of like the height the weight all like adjusted and what he what he did he had a 38 and a half inch vertically six foot six 267 pounds best blocking tight end in the class uh 9 11 in the broad 4 7 which you say well 4 7 that's not great but at that size i think sam roush is a dime in the rough the other guy that i've really started to come around on and he wasn't at the senior bowl he had a teammate at ucf who was an edge rusher at the senior senior bowl the real long guy but malachi lawrence from ucf he was awesome he had a hell of a he had a

20:29Rich Eisen:He's great.

20:30Todd McShay:He's 6 '4 and change, 253, second best vertical, best broad, second best 40, second best 10. I mean, and the best part is I just got done watching his tape, and he was at the East-West Shrine game. He can actually rush the quarterback. So this is a guy who's going to be top 100 pick, who I think has been slept on for way too long.

20:50Rich Eisen:You're the man, Todd. Thanks for the time. Look for more of my calls. Let's do this more often. I love chopping it up with you, and I'm with you. You go in your, certainly again, because I'm not the all 22. I'm not grinding tape like you. I hear what I heard about this draft. I'm like, okay, I'll try and make some lemonade over four days of broadcasting. And one after the other after that, I'm like, holy cow. Like, who thinks this draft isn't filled with players, you know? It's wild. They did the work for us. They certainly did. Todd, thanks for the time, man. Take care, brother. NFL draft analyst for The Ringer and The McShay Show.

21:28Rich Eisen:Check it all out on the ringer. Todd McShay here on the program. That was just dynamite. I love chopping up with him. Let's take a break. I'll give you, again, some behind-the-scenes stories of the combine. We'll take you behind a couple of curtains. That's next. This is The Rich Eisen Show.

21:47Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show podcast.

21:54Rich Eisen:Get into the Hyundai Getaway sales event and get away with a deal so right, it almost feels wrong because right now you can get great deals on our most popular models including our adventure-ready suvs like the hyundai santa fe or santa fe hybrid and the tucson or tucson hybrid plus there's our bold and stylish elantra loaded with the latest tech or go all electric with the ionic 5 or ionic 9 so get down to your local hyundai dealer and get away with a deal you'll love during the hyundai getaway sales event visit hyundaiusa.com for details. If you're like me and my family, you're all about creating amazing memories while on vacation.

22:29Rich Eisen:And for me, many of those have involved a home we found on Airbnb. We had such great experiences that whenever we travel somewhere new, we always check Airbnb first to find a place that fits our needs. The homes we've stayed in, comfortable, safe, private. You feel like you're part of the community. After a long day of exploring or sitting on a beach, it really is nice to come back to a place you can call your own. Airbnb is also a great way if you want to earn some extra money while you're traveling or out of your house for an extended period of time. You can make your home work for you while you're away.

23:04Rich Eisen:Not as a full-time thing, not as some big production, just something that fits into trips you're already taking. You can use the money for that dream vacation or put that money towards that outdoor kitchen you always wanted. Hosting on Airbnb just feel smart. Your home may be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. Rich Eisen here. You know that feeling of handing off your taxes and then hearing nothing? Total radio silence. Well, not anymore. Now your taxes are done for you by a TurboTax full service expert who checks for every deduction and keeps you in the loop with real-time updates on your phone.