NFL Combine Takeaways, Draft & Free Agency Predictions

0:005 a.m.

0:01Chris Brockman:I'm up with a crisp Celsius energy drink running 12 miles today. Grab a green juice, quick change and head to work. Meetings, workshops, one more Celsius, no slowing down. Working late, but obviously still meeting the girls for a little dancing. Celsius, live, fit, go. Grab a cold, refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate now at Celsius.com.

0:26Rich Eisen:back here for another edition of overreaction monday now that the nfl scouting combine is in the books we hurtle towards free agency stuff already flying in the national football league chris brockman along with rich eisen good to see you christopher how are you what's up man congratulations another great combine in the books it is over we did it let me just sitting down on a chair talking about people running and moving around tones i mean it's still quiet in

0:54Chris Brockman:there man i gotta say we went and checked it out on thursday and it it was kind of like jarringly quiet i know it's like a lot it's a library yeah i know you're supposed to be quiet but now there's

1:04Rich Eisen:fans in there too and carson beck has to work out to booze so much went down over the weekend overreaction monday is back hit it hit it that was terrible that was crap that was garbage this

1:16Chris Brockman:place sucks over reaction mondays monday all right chris for what do you have over there imagine you're at your job interview a law firm doctor whatever and there's a boom it was crazy and i

1:30Rich Eisen:almost wanted because because the fans in the stands we'll talk about it on the flagship later on the fans in the stands uh many of them have our broadcast so i'm legitimately potentially for sure speaking to them if I decided to address them. Okay, maybe tone it down. At one point, I was like, okay, you made your point. By the way, just check the scoreboard. Yeah, you won. You won the game. He threw the interception to help you seal it. He's the one who had Ray Lewis come right up to him on the sideline and say, let's go. And he's the one who's got to go back to Ray Lewis and say, oh, man, too bad.

2:07Chris Brockman:They should have been like, hey, thank you. Dude. All right. That's a lot. What do you got over there? Let's start with this, and I think I know what you're going to say, but I want to get it out there because it kind of was the story of the first day of the combine, second day of the combine. Not one, not two, not three, four. Ohio State players are going to go in the top ten of the first round.

2:26Rich Eisen:I don't think that's an overreaction at all. Carnell Tate was the one who ran a 4-5-4 twice over, according to all the metrics. Now, there might have been faster hand times by the scouts, but I don't think there's a single scout on the planet that's going to look at that and go, oh, well, we got to knock him down a peg or two. I don't know if you watched it live on NFL Network. No, no. Okay, you might have been running around, getting back into real life for yourself. But we had Brandon Beam, the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, in our booth as Carnell Tate, ran a 4-5-4 for the second time.

3:05Rich Eisen:and he's sitting there between me and Daniel Jeremiah and as soon as he runs it, he says something to the effect of, man, I would definitely let him fall in the draft if I were. I would definitely start overlooking him was essentially the general gist of what he had to say. I love that. And we just laughed because that's the only response you can possibly have. The tape doesn't lie. And you look at some other people who ran four fives or above cd lamb's one of them i mean is anybody sitting here talking about his 40 time as he's wide open wide ass open no no okay so i don't think um now caleb downs didn't work out but his uh conversations apparently with teams were off the charts everyone's raving about him we had him on our show he was beyond impressive he's already talking like he's a pro uh refused to talk about which teams he's interviewing with because some kids don't like doing that they might think it's like uh talking out of school or whatever um and i don't think he's falling out of the top 10 arvel reese looks like robocop he's not falling out of the top five if he does the i think the the commander is at seven that is the lowest he's gonna go in this draft yeah if at all um Then you look at Sonny Styles and all those mocks of him being 12th overall.

4:33Rich Eisen:It's up in smoke.

4:34Chris Brockman:Yeah, I saw one Monday morning. I was curious how the mocks would react. And the first one I saw had all four guys going in the top 10. And I was like, okay, okay. Right.

4:45Rich Eisen:Well, I mean, you just have to take a look. It had Tate at 10. The question is, is who else goes in the top 10? Mendoza goes in the top 10. Love goes in the top 10. I think Maui Noah, the left tackle of Miami, goes in the top 10. Right. Or the tackle from Miami goes in the top 10. I think Ioane, the guard, the interior guard of the Penn State Nittany Lions, I think he goes in the top 10. And, you know, Bailey goes in the top 10. I don't know about Bain. Bain is an interesting question about his arms, dude. Yeah, I know. And, you know, because nobody with his shortness of his arms has been a top 10 pick.

5:29Rich Eisen:No one with the shortness of his arms has been a double digit sack guy. I mean, so shortness of his arms for his position. That one is kind of up in the air. I don't think this is an overreaction. Yeah. Even though the only other time it's happened in the common draft was 1967, as I mentioned on the show on Friday, when Michigan State, with Bubba Smith going first overall, many people might remember him from Police Academy movies and the Miller Lite commercials with John Madden back in the day. He led the pack first overall. Four Michigan State Spartans went in the top ten. That's it. So I think we might see a record.

6:08Rich Eisen:I really do. I really think that's not an overreaction.

6:10Chris Brockman:All right, let's talk about who's going first, Fernando Mendoza. He didn't work out, obviously. Super impressive, though, when he did speak, mentioned Tom Brady. Fernando Mendoza is going to have a better statistical rookie season than Tom Brady's 2001 year, his first year starter. That's 64 % completions, 2 ,900 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 12 picks.

6:36Rich Eisen:Interesting. I'll just say, sure. Why not? I mean, it's just a bigger passing league now than it was then. It just really is.

6:45Chris Brockman:I mean, and, you know, I say statistical because obviously Tom Brady won the Super Bowl in 2001. Don't think Mendoza is going to do that. But I think, you know, as far as stats wise, super impressive. They're built kind of the same. Six, five, two thirty. Maybe Tom's not that heavy, but I kind of like this guy. And I think he's going to be a star. Raiders have lots of weapons.

7:07Rich Eisen:I hear you. OK, I hear you. You know, Brady didn't have anybody like Brock Bowers. Definitely not. Did you see Mendoza said a team told him to get arrested so he could drop?

7:18Chris Brockman:I got to say, I'm sure that was tongue in cheek. I thought that was hilarious.

7:22Rich Eisen:I think that's super funny. He said that one team said, you know, you should get arrested. It's the same way Brandon Bean's like, yeah, that 4-5-4. I wouldn't draft Carnell Tate if I were you. I'm sitting there at 26. I'd love to get Carnell Tate for Josh Allen.

7:37Chris Brockman:Maybe he wouldn't do it on the record. Maybe if you call a Raider game this year, Rich, try to get that information. I want to know what team, you know, has a good enough sense of humor to tell him that.

7:45Rich Eisen:I don't deny it. I mean, just the mere fact that this day and age, that passing stats are through the roof. And I certainly hope, you know, for this kid and the Raiders fans that he is everything as advertised. And he is as advertised. There was that moment when he, and I knew it was coming. I mentioned it on the top five list of workouts that I was most eager to see at the combine, that Mendoza was my one more, even though I knew he wasn't working out because I knew when he would walk into the arena that all the fans that were there, 15 ,000 fans came on Saturday. They were all the ones who were booing Carson Beck were the ones who were excited to just get a glimpse of Mendoza.

8:30Rich Eisen:And then there was a 40-yard dash being run by a wide out in the group before his and as soon as he came out and I think this is the photograph those who are watching our our um our overreaction Monday podcast on YouTube I believe this was the moment where he came out and he sat with a couple of his fellow group nine mates and there was this massive applause massive ovation for him and I we were just wondering what's happening and you know our producer Mark Teitelman, T-Man, gets in my ear, goes, Mendoza just walked in, and they got a shot of him just sitting down, and he's just, like, waving, you know?

9:10Rich Eisen:He's like a beetle. Honestly, and I think Raiders fans are going to fall in love with him just because of that and everything that he says, everything that he does, the way that he holds himself. So you put it all together, I can't imagine we don't have this happening. I mean, obviously, anything can happen. Sure. where he has an injury-marred season or whatever. Yeah, I mean, I don't think Cam Ward put up those types of numbers. I mean, those numbers are attainable. What else you got over there?

9:39Chris Brockman:Okay, obviously Mendoza didn't work out. And kind of being there on Thursday and throughout the weekend, a lot of guys didn't. It was kind of jarring the number of guys who are, you know, they're weeding the list of guys who aren't working out. Obviously saving it for the pro day. I think we need to come together collectively and figure something out so the combine becomes the place where guys work out. college pro days should only be for players not invited to the combine oh no that's not happening that's not that's not the question i like this is not an overreaction right it is an overreaction

10:14Rich Eisen:um let me let me just give you numbers to back up what you're saying first of all um of the 320 players invited to the nfl scouting combine this year only 189 ran come on that's the fewest at an NFL combine ever the previous low was last year 201 so there's fewer who did it this year than last year's low previous low so yes um that is an issue secondly uh for the broadcast to be honest with you it goes faster things go faster at the combine when fewer people run okay um there are some people who aren't running because they know they're going to run slow they're dinged up they're this they're that they had a long season now in college football you know if i'm not mistaken um i think next year's national championship game is is january 20 something because the same reason why the nfl super bowl is on valentine's day because of labor day being late uh and the calendar year everything's pushed deeper so you've got you've got players who have longer college seasons and and they have longer rehabs for injuries or at least injuries that occur later in the season so there's that but I truly feel the incentive to run at the combine still is there to be a aired on NFL Network and be every single coach or general manager that came to our booth when we were off camera and i think a couple said it on camera too that we were talking about gee do you see how fast everybody is out there and they would say yeah if i'm the agent i would say run at the combine because that's the fastest track on planet earth yes yes some of these turfs are on grass for your pro day some of the turf could be you know um loose some could be on a rainy day some could be a day after a rainy day here you're on you know the home sideline of the indianapolis colts where by day three day four that thing is tamped down like that thing is hard as a rock that thing you can burn on it and a lot of the official times got knocked down by one one thousandth of a second um and so i think at the end of the day if you're gonna run your 40 you should do it at the combine and then don't do anything else if you don't want to like that carnell tate did that he ran the 40 and then nothing else um because some of the drills you You might, you know, get dinged up here, get dinged up there.

13:04Rich Eisen:Anything can happen when you're working out. But to basically say college pro day should only be for anybody that wasn't invited to the NFL scouting combine, there are some times when you're not able to perform at the combine. The pro days are there for that. The pro days are there for the scouts. Everything that I understand that we're viewing the combine as a television event. Look who you're talking to. Sure, of course. Obviously, as I mentioned to the NFL Network group before going on the air, we were all talking about it. This is the proudest achievement I think NFL Network has ever created, which is the combine.

13:46Rich Eisen:Everything else that we've done for NFL Network or with NFL Network is in support of an event that already existed or adding another option for your viewing pleasure for an event that's already existed. The combine is something we helped create out of whole cloth as a television event. So I'm very proud that it's a television event. I know we're viewing it as such, but at the end of the day, the combine is for interviews between players and their prospective employers. It's for a medical evaluation that is a crucial component for whether someone gets drafted here or there. A measurement component, whether somebody gets drafted here or there.

14:22Rich Eisen:and at the end of the day the workouts are televised because we're all keenly interested in just wondering how our team's going to get better that's the beautiful part about the nfl and how its popularity keeps exploding is the level of interest so at the end of the day college pro days are going to be there for people like for met fernando mendoza who's like you know what if i'm going to do any workouts i want to do it for some guys who aren't drafted at the you who are invited to the combine. I want to be there with my guys and throwing to my guys because it's also better for him to do that rather than how you're going to throw to a certain spot and a receiver you've never thrown to in your life isn't going to be there at the right time and your ball suddenly looks like it's a misthrow.

15:06Rich Eisen:Which, by the way, scouts always say they can tell the difference. That said, I'll just call this an overreaction. I appreciate you're trying to support this as a television event, but ask you to move on. All right. All right.

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16:27Chris Brockman:This guy, you mentioned the speed. He was blistering in his 40. We talked to him. Jeremiah, love. This kid is awesome. Love him, yeah. And you know what? He's going to have a better 2026 season than last year's touted top 10 running back. Ashton Jenty. And I gotta say, Ashton Jenty's rookie year kind of gets a bad rap. 1 ,321 total yards, nearly 1 ,000 rushing, 55 catches, 10 total touchdowns. Those are big numbers.

16:57Rich Eisen:I'm gonna say this, okay? I was just thinking about that. We're talking about it with Coop this morning. And I drafted Ashton Jenty in fantasy.

17:08Chris Brockman:I mean, hand up. Me too. Every week I could.

17:11Rich Eisen:And I regretted it almost every week. And again, it wasn't like eye-popping. I'm not denigrating his talent, okay? Anybody will tell you the number of times that he got hit behind the line of scrimmage, you lose track. It was every single time, I think. Just terrible. And obviously, Chip Kelly was an awful fit with a head coach that I'm sure laments many of his choices at the end of the day looking back, okay? but at the at the eyesight just looking at his abilities his size and his abilities and doing it for Notre Dame makes me think differently about Jeremiah Love if I have him in a fantasy draft I just love talking to him I loved he's just like yeah I'm talking mess about USC I'm talking mess to anybody trash talker you know I love uh you know vaulting people that was his favorite thing about his about playing running back he said i'll play gunner on special teams

18:13Chris Brockman:and i think he really meant it he wanted to play special teams like bro you are not going to be

18:18Rich Eisen:out there on punt coverage that's what i that's what i basically told him right um so he is something else and i i he's six foot genties five and a half and an eight five he's five eight and a half yep okay he's got genti by a pound um his hand size is smaller his arm length his arm length he's got a genti by almost three inches um and so you take a look at genti robinson and jameer gibbs are the last three running backs selected in the top 16 of an nfl draft um and and his measurables are are up there actually with uh robinson with bijon more than more than any of the other uh three that i just mentioned he's got to be taller than the only notre dame running back in the common draft era to be selected in the top 10 picks of the nfl draft is jerome bettis obviously bettis had him in weight and in hand but he's he's taller than jerome uh his 4.36 40 He's the best 40-yard dash by a combine running back at least six inches tall since 2003.

19:28Rich Eisen:The others didn't do much in their careers at all. Mike Washington Jr., who is the fastest. He's a combine made of his. The others are Darren McFadden. There's one. Isaac Garendo is the other. But his 40-time, loves 40-time. Here's the comparison for you. It was crazy fast. 4.36. It's the same as Jameer Gibbs. And it's faster than Jamal Charles, Kenneth Walker, and Jonathan Taylor. That's all you need to know. So you bet. I don't think this is an overreaction by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think Jeremiah loves getting out of the top five. How about that?