Hour 3: ESPN’s Matt Miller Talks NFL Draft, plus Rich’s Top 5 Sports “Patricks”

21:52They could look at this draft and say, maybe we don't value a receiver at four, but we think Jeremiah Love can be exactly the compliment that Cam Ward needs, much in the same way that the Giants had Daniel Jones, you had Sikamal Barkley, try to help each other out that way. So I think Love could go anywhere from four to seven. I don't know that he gets out of that window right now. It feels like Tennessee's the most interesting spot, but something I did hear at the Combine after we sat down together, Rich, was that the New York Giants should not be ruled out when it comes to Jeremiah Love. This is a team that's proven in the past.

22:23They'll take a running back early. And what was told to me, if you remember that amazing moment on Hard Knocks where John Mara just has his head in his hands and he's leaning against the wall and he's so upset that Saquon's going to Philly. They definitely have some remorse about losing a star running back. So here's your opportunity to get another one to help your young quarterback, which is exactly what they did when they drafted Saquon.

22:42Rich Eisen:Yeah, we had Cam Scadaboo on this program last week and he said, though, that he's going to be ready for Bear. He's going to be back. He said he can't outrun a baby hippo right now or he said that that's the only thing he could outrun. um but you know it would be tantalizing to say you know love in new york but again that scadaboo is going to have to get some touches and love appears to be that guy who's going to eventually be you know if if it all works out the way that we think that guy is going to be 20 25 30 touches bijon mcafree type of guy right i mean so i don't know if that would be a fit in the long run at the end of the day it'd be an interesting one and i think it would speak to does the new coaching staff value Scadaboo, who had such great moments in his rookie season.

23:28But it's a style thing, I think would be the biggest question there is what do you want out of your running back? Do you want that bruiser? But Scadaboo has some runaway capability. We certainly saw that at Arizona State. We saw it last year with the Giants. Love is just a different type of running back. He is that Bijan, Saquon, Christian McCaffrey type player that's going to help you as a receiver, as well as he can run inside, outside. He's got the speed. He has power. I mean, it's just truly everything you could want in a running back prospect. So it's not what I would do if I were the Giants of five, but I think those are the conversations that are happening around the league right now.

23:59Is this such a transcendent prospect that you evaluate your team a little bit differently and say, sure, we have a second year running back that had some moments last year, but do we look at this guy and think maybe he could be better?

24:10Rich Eisen:Matt Miller here on the Rich Eisen Show. The other thing that the signing of Travis Etienne or Etienne in New Orleans And then Kenneth Walker in Kansas City tells me is, again, Love's not getting there. But they're also, that's too high to take Price. Jadarian Price, who is Love's teammate, is the only other back who might be valued in a certain way as a difference maker with all due respect to everyone else. So that to me made it seem like this is not a very deep running back draft at the end of the day, despite what we saw on the field at the Combiner. Is that the general sense coming out of Indianapolis too, Matt?

24:52Yeah, it definitely is. We'll see the two Notre Dame backs go one, two, I think is the expectation. And J.J. Price should be a top 40 selection, maybe even a late first round pick. And I think with him, it's a lot of what could he have done had he been the number one running back somewhere else. He's a great return man. He runs with power. He has speed. In a lot of ways, he is a lot like Jeremiah Love, just not as proven. And I think the wild card will be Mike Washington, the running back from Arkansas, who had a great senior bowl week, had a great combine week. That was that cool moment where he's sobbing on the bench after running a 4-3-3 in the 40-yard dash.

25:24So he's the only other player that I think we can look at right now is saying probably a second round pick for Mike Washington. But it is a very weak class at running back. Some players that we expected to pop, you know, both running backs at Penn State had down years. We just didn't see the big years from players like C.J. Baxter at Texas, who actually went into the transfer portal and didn't enter the draft this year. Same with Trey Wisner, another Longhorn running back. So we didn't see the big pop from running backs this year that we expected. And it has left a pretty deluded class.

25:52Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, I'm looking at the end of the first round. Who would, barring any trades, take price? What about the Seahawks having lost Walker? Would you think that that would be a landing spot or that just isn't what the Seahawks would want to do with their first round Super Bowl selection? I think it's definitely he's in range there. And I think even looking at Houston, you know, and I know Houston's done some things in free agency, but that's still getting younger, getting younger, getting cheaper, having someone that's more of a long runway instead of the short term answer. So I think we can say Houston, we can say certainly would be an option there.

26:28And then, like you said, looking at these teams that don't have that answer because you lose a free agent. When you lose Kenneth Walker, you have Zach Charbonnet, but there's been injury concerns there. So I think Price, if you're looking late first round and we're trying to squeeze the second running back in, those are the two spots that make the most sense to me.

26:45Rich Eisen:Cowboys at 12 and 20. By the way, I don't know if it was that John Schneider calling you with the answer to my question during the middle of the year. It might have been the Giants upset with us about Cam Scadaboo. You'll let me know afterwards. Just text me when we're done. Cowboys at 12 and 20. They tried for N 'Kobe Dean, and he said the gut feeling apparently, according to my colleague Jane Slater from NFL Network, was to go to the Raiders. They apparently tried for Max Crosby and were, I guess, maybe fortunate that they didn't land him based on the way the Ravens handled their business. What do you think the Cowboys at 12 and 20 are looking like right now from what you're coming post-Combine, post-free agency?

27:23Rich Eisen:Two defenders right there, do you think? Boom, boom? I think it has to be. And honestly, why not two players in the secondary? Why not just be aggressive in fixing the secondary? It's funny when you have a team like Dallas and they say we were in on Max Crosby. I could have kept Micah Parsons and just solved, you know, a lot of your problems that you created on your own. If you had just kept the guy that was in house and quite a bit younger and loved being there. But I think now looking at where they've kind of made their bed, how they're going to fix this team is the secondary needs help. And I think corner at 12, that could be the first corner off the board this year.

27:54So you might have your pick of Mansoor Delane from LSU, who I thought was the best corner in college football last year. Or you're going to have a player in Jermon McCoy from Tennessee who missed the 2025 season because of an ACL injury. And then you loop back around at 20 and you've got a shot at maybe the number two safety off the board with Dylan Daneman from Oregon or Emmanuel McNeil Warren from Toledo. So if you want to aggressively fix your secondary, and I think thinking about it from a salary cap perspective, if you can get a number one corner on a rookie deal for five years, that's great calculus to be in to where you can say, okay, now we're not paying$25 million,$39 for a corner.

28:28We're paying responsible money for one. That's where Dallas kind of has to be with the superstars they have on offense and the way they're trying to build this defense with quite a few veterans up front. I would think you have to be aggressive in the secondary. And then there is that need of linebacker. I think in round two, you look at someone like Anthony Hill Jr. from Texas, who was a three-year starter there, has tons of athletic ability, has some upside as a pass rusher off the edge as well. you can get three starters for this defense in the first two rounds how did free agency at all

28:56Rich Eisen:affect the quarterback draft anything I mean what do you think Matt yeah I think if you're Ty Simpson you're probably you've crossed Miami off and that was a reasonable landing spot for him you know his number 11 overall I'm still not sold on Ty Simpson I'm just I'm I'm waiting to have that conversation where someone tells me I'm wrong and then explains why but I look at a quarterback who started 15 games in college and doesn't have those elite physical traits, 6 '1", 210 pounds. The first nine games of the year were great, but you get into SEC competition, the final six were not good at all. And yes, he was banged up.

29:32And yes, the offensive line wasn't great this year, but Ty Simpson's a really interesting quarterback conversation because do you play him immediately because he needs more experience, he needs more reps, or do you hold him back because he doesn't have that experience? So I think the landing spots for him, strength, due to free agency. I don't think Arizona drafts him at number three overall. So I think that, you know, maybe is it around two where they trade back into round one if they are in love with him? I don't think the Jets draft him at two. Maybe they're an option in the middle of the first round, but it feels like a game of musical chairs where the ideal spots for him might be more round two than round one.

30:07Unless we think Pittsburgh goes the Kenny Pickett draft again and has the quarterback fall to them and they say, oh, well, we have to do it because we don't have one. But that so clearly didn't work out for them before that I think you'd have to be a little gunshot

30:19Rich Eisen:yeah man it just seems like 2027 you're talking about it everyone's talking about it everyone is putting their draft capital into it I wouldn't be surprised if we do see some teams maybe at the back end of this first round in Pittsburgh trade out and be happy to trade out to get more capital next year right Matt am I wrong yes no no you're right then when even so when Baltimore traded with with the Raiders before it all fell through. My initial thought was, why would you give up a 2027 first round pick? You would have to pry that pick from my cold dead hands before I would give up a 2027 first rounder.

30:53There's just no way that the value is there. And I think even looking at trades that are happening, the first thing I do is scroll to see 2027. You know, when Schefter or Rappaport tweet, I want to see what 2027 capital has been given up because it's not just Arch Manning and players like that at the top. It is a much deeper draft, top to bottom. And, you know, it's going to be fun to start talking about that in early May. I don't want to put this class to bed and not talk about these players in the next 45 days. But I think if I was in a front office, we would be doing everything possible to get picks for next year.

31:25And we've seen that conversation with Jim's already who are focused on getting comp picks for next year. And that's third and fourth round picks that they're thinking about a year and 45 days away. They're already thinking about how to get that extra capital.

31:37Rich Eisen:Well, not to have you stray out of your lane of being a draft expert and into information, but information is part of your bag. The reaction that you heard from sources of yours, if you don't mind, about the Max Crosby reversal, and now that we're a week plus away from all that, is what, Matt? Yeah, the biggest thing I heard was that Baltimore is hard to work with now. You know, this kind of puts a sour taste in your mouth of who is going to want to do those pre-deadline deals with them where you're essentially waiting for this date because the tampering period. I think that has certainly taken a franchise that has always been viewed as one of the model franchises for drafting and team building and player development.

32:22Now, Eric DaCosta has looked at a little bit differently because I'm not sure if you've heard differently or if people have said differently. Everything that I heard was they just got cold feet. This wasn't about a failed physical. This wasn't about Max Crosby's demands or anything of that nature. It was just a team that realized that they could go back on a deal that they had made. And maybe they had the same conversation we're having, Rich, and said, we sure we want to give up a 2027 first rounder for a 29-year-old pass rusher that we're now going to have to pay top of market. So, you know, it's their right to change their mind because of that window that exists there.

32:54But I think the perception about Baltimore has definitely taken a hit in the last week.

32:59Rich Eisen:Yeah, I mean, I'm hearing similar to what you're hearing is the fact that they, you know, thought about some of the information that they already had on Crosby, potentially did get a little bit more of an independent view on things. And that independent view came after losing their center and tight end and fullback and And punter and knowing that there were going to be more holes to fill and fewer draft choices in two different drafts at the very top of those drafts with which to fill it and had their finger on a chess piece. Maybe if they really were going to pull off a double dip with Trey Hendrickson, they decided to just go in that direction and send the trade back.

33:41Rich Eisen:And I find it, you know, appropriate and interesting that you just said, Matt, that it's not dealing with the Ravens in the pre new league year portion, not throughout the rest. I mean, if somebody is going to want to trade up and get a player, they're not going to not call Eric DaCosta because they they're fearful of the way, you know, the trade could go down. I just think it's that portion of the year where maybe next year, though, somebody might think twice as opposed to any other time throughout the year. you know without a doubt and pick 14 this year is quite valuable it's interesting uh i have 12 players with a first round grade this year so 14 is that spot where you you're probably hoping that a couple teams reach for need and you're still capable of getting a true first round caliber players that there is a lot of value in that pick this year i understand baltimore's mindset of you're right we lost tyler linderbaum we lose isaiah likely maybe we're looking at a situation where kenyan sadiq from oregon the top tight end in this draft is there for them and maybe that is more valuable than than this trade for a pass rusher especially once you saw the price go down on Hendrickson like watching his stock drop the the price ticker on Hendrickson uh probably did i did the cold feet they were having in Baltimore but that that tampering period will be very different from Baltimore moving forward you know this happens to agents all the time where an agent doesn't operate in good faith and teams say we don't really want to work with that agent for a little while you know you kind of put them in timeout so to speak and I would not be surprised if we we see a little bit of that for baltimore too all right last one for you since we spoke to you at the combine the player whose stock is just going through the roof that we might not be um aware of matt you got one for me there yeah i think it's miami right tackles francis malinoa i have a seven round mock draft coming out uh in about 10 days okay and he will be featured very very highly in that seven round mock draft i think he's one of the cleanest safest players in this draft and because he's an offensive lineman because he's a right tackle They don't get a lot of the praise, a lot of the buzz.

35:37They're working out on Sunday in Indy when a lot of folks have hit the road, but I have a strong feeling that he will not get very far out of the top five. He is just such a good prospect in a draft that lacks a lot of blue-chip players. He's on the fringe of being a blue-chip right tackle and would be on par with a lot of the really good offensive linemen we've seen drafted early the last couple of years.

35:57Rich Eisen:All right, Matt, thanks for the time. We'll get you back on. We'll keep on checking in, see if any of this information changes or upgrades or downgrades and anything like that. I appreciate the time, brother. Appreciate it. Yep, thanks, guys. That's Matt Miller, everybody, right here on the Rich Eisen Show. Mendoza goes, and then the Jets choose somebody of Bailey and Reese or Stiles. Right, exactly. Yep. That leaves everybody not named two of those guys for the Cardinals. Let's just say they do go with the Miami right tackle. They go with Maui Noah there. Yep. Okay? that leaves the titans with every offensive skilled player if you will uh not named fernando mendoza fact right or they might just say screw it we'll go with whoever the jets didn't take at the pass rush they love styles or they love bailey let's just say reese goes there right that leaves every other uh offensive player not named fernando mendoza for the giants or the third player that, right, not named Bailey or Reese or Stiles.

37:06Rich Eisen:Yeah, exactly. Or named one of those. What do the Browns do at six? Because Tate's sitting there too, the Ohio State. I think the Browns would go for Carnell Tate in a heartbeat, right? Which leaves potentially Jeremiah Love for the Commanders.

37:29Rich Eisen:Wow. Right. I just kind of named all that, which leaves every wide receiver on the board for the Saints, not named Tate. That also leaves Downs still on the board, right? Correct. There's another offense. The Browns could go offensive lineman there too. Spencer for no. He could be taken off the board there. The kid from Georgia, I believe, is out there sitting out there. as well, which would push everybody named Tate and Love down another one.

38:07Rich Eisen:Just throwing some scenarios out how some really good offensive players could get pushed down into that Saints-Chiefs category. And let's just say Love is available there for the Saints.

38:21Rich Eisen:Would you call up Mickey Loomis and start making a trade? And if you're the Saints, you'd have to accept it, right? have to because you've just sound you just signed travis hn

38:36Rich Eisen:who i i can't stop talking about not only because he's a good player but i just want to show off my french accent do you think uh thank you for the thank you for that chuckle do you think devin should now change his pronunciation to a chain atn just to screw with us why not i i mean these These mock drafts are going to be very interesting because there are ways for really good, because let's just say, if you put that up one more time, let's just reverse it, okay? Let's just say, again, the Jets are totally going defense, right? Totally. And so what if the Cardinals go Love and the Titans go Tate?

39:18Rich Eisen:now it's every defensive player not named either whoever the jets take available for the giants jeez okay and then whatever lineman not what any lineman all the linemen get the third guy there and the miami kid still drops right it's possible yeah browns go defense I don't know. Commanders go protector for Daniels. No idea. No clue. But there's some really good players that get pushed down to the Commanders, Saints, Chiefs, and Bengals just sitting tight. You know? I just think at the end of the day, Tate being there for 11 for the Dolphins is a pipe dream. Yeah, they're going to have to move up.

40:06Rich Eisen:Let's take a break here. Tankathon has him at 11, by the way. Who does? I just think it's a pipe dream. I honestly think it is. He's that good. And people who just don't know about him or think he's not because he ran some 4-5 at the Combine or, you know, Jeremiah Smith is the one who gets all the pub for Ohio State. Take my word for it. You want a piece of that guy on your team, and you don't want a piece of him when he's going against yours. 844-204-RICH is the number to dial right here on the program. Top five sports Patrick's here on St. Patrick's Day to get us out the door. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

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42:17Rich Eisen:Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. I've got a top five list, everybody. Go ahead and hit it. Hit it, please. Hit it. It's my top five. High five. One, two, three, four, five. Rich's top five. It's my top five presented by Hyundai, and it's my top five favorite Patrick's here on St. Patrick's Day. Why wouldn't you want to get a list like this from a Jewish man not wearing green? Number five on my list of my favorite sports Patrick's. This is personal to me. ESPN, as you know, was my 30-year anniversary of my sports center from the other day. Just 30 years ago, my first ever sports center. Once I departed ways and got handed a cardboard box, I wound up working with this man in my first gig after getting bounced from Bristol, Connecticut.

43:08Rich Eisen:I covered the U.S. Open for CBS Sports, and I sat there at the U.S. Tennis Center with this man, and I fell in love with one Patrick McEnroe. Hey! I got to have Patrick McEnroe number five on this list. Number five is Patrick McEnroe. By the way, can you get more Irish than a guy named Patrick McEnroe? You cannot. You tell me. What's up, Pat? Certainly since your brother was hazing me nonstop when I showed up at the U.S. Open. Number four on the list is maybe the greatest player in the history of United States hockey players born in the United States of America. The man who passed Mike Madonna for most goals scored by an American hockey player.

43:47Rich Eisen:Three times Stanley Cup winner Patrick Kane, who will never buy a meal in the city of Chicago, I think, the rest of his day. Good one. Okay. Number three on this list, Patrick Kane is not the highest rated hockey player named Patrick on this list. Oh. When I did start at SportsCenter back in 1996, the first Stanley Cup playoffs I ever covered was this one that involved Patrick Waugh getting a leg up, if you will, on Jeremy Roenick after the avalanche, bounced the Blackhawks, and Jeremy Roenick was critical of Patrick Waugh's play. saying, I want to know where he was in game three, probably getting his jock out of the rafters at the United Center, is what Jeremy Vironik had to say about Patrick Waugh, who retorted with this.

44:33I can't really hurt what Jeremy says because I got my two Stanley Cup rings plug in my ear.

44:43Rich Eisen:What an all-timer. That puts Patrick Waugh third on my all-time sports Patrick's list. Number two, again, near and dear to my heart, one of the best players in the history of the NBA. He was just born at the wrong time when Michael Jordan was playing collegiate and professional basketball. That's a problem. When Michael Jordan's playing for North Carolina, he's playing for Georgetown. Michael Jordan's playing for the Bulls. He's playing for the New York Knickerbockers. Patrick Ewing's number two on the list. And then number one on the list. I've got to do it this way. Keep the camera where it is.

45:16Okay.

45:20Rich Eisen:number one on the list has got to be Patrick Mahomes I mean I ought to slide in here and tell you my favorite Patrick is Mahomes what do you think I did the slide and everything of the impression or the list what do you mean man how is Patrick Mahomes not number one on the list he's already on the Mount Rushmore before he even turned 30 in the history of the National Football League I mean look there's a lot that you left off is what i'm saying well i got i can't and i can't and give me give me the one more all right we'll get one more if i didn't put this man on the list he would never talk to me again and plus i feel this way about him because he was there for me 30 years ago when i did my first sports center this week he was hazing me non-stop dp hey dan patrick without him this show doesn't exist nice uh dan dan wants me to say this i owe my entire career to him i would have totally flunked out of sports center if he wasn't there in high school i'll never forget it was probably like three weeks after my first ever sports center get ready for that 2 a.m sports center looking at all the tapes feel this presence to my left look up it's dan looking down at me go so you're nervous without that i wouldn't be the man i am today and this top five is brought to you by hyundai get into the hyundai getaway sales event and get away with the deal so right it almost feels wrong.

46:43Rich Eisen:Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. Happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody, for all the Tostitos. They're always after me, lucky charms. Thank you so much for that drop. Thanks for taking in this program. Back to wrap up this show in just a matter of moments here to wrap up this Wednesday and get you ready for an actual Wednesday show here on this Tuesday. That's how we're ending it. I'm drunk already. thanks for listening to the rich eisen show podcast you can watch and listen to the rich eisen show live weekdays from noon to 3 eastern on espn radio disney plus and on the espn app the rich eisen show the podcast

47:29Rich Eisen:from 30 for 30 podcasts

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47:56Rich Eisen:We had a killer amongst us. Murder at the U. Listen now.