The Insiders Podcast: Mahomes Returns & Rams vs 49ers in Australia

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Believe it or not, the NFL draft is now just 29 days away. We will take you inside pro day workouts at Ohio State and Alabama for some of the top prospects for back on the field today.

So who's moving up draft for and who could really shake things up in the top five.

Lance Sirline and Bucky Brooks will be here tonight break down some surprises in buckies latest mock draft.

We'll also chat with former LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeyer who is healthy again winner of the Super Senior Bowl MVP and hoping he's put himself back in the conversation as a franchise quarterback.

Welcome inside with the insiders alongside Ian Rappaport and Judy Batista.

I am Tom Pellissero. It is a Wednesday or as we are calling it for 2026 a football day.

That is the upshot of today's announcement. Yes.

The sea ox will begin their title defense on Wednesday September 9th this as a result of another game.

We'll get to momentarily here first game since COVID played on a Wednesday.

Opponent to be determined, but that's when things will kick off in Seattle.

The next night, it is going to be the 49ers and the Rams or as the folks watching live in Melbourne will say the next morning, 10.35 a.m.

local time 8.35 p.m. Eastern the inaugural game in Australia.

It is in Melbourne. It is an NFC West clash the debut of Mike Evans in a 49ers uniform.

There's so many storylines there.

Well, we see this guy in week one, no national TV for Patrick Mahomes,

but given the fact that he and the last time we saw him on a football field,

his knee was pointed the wrong direction.

This certainly seems like a good sign.

It is an excellent sign for the Kansas City Chiefs and really inside the organization,

this has been something they've been pretty clear on.

Patrick Mahomes, who hasn't been in public view in quite some time,

is three months out from an ACL and LCL tearing from what the Chiefs people have been speaking with are saying.

He has been in the facility for seven hours a day every single day.

And if you know Patrick Mahomes, if you're aware of the kind of work ethic that he has,

that really is not surprising, but as good as he is going to possibly be,

that's what you're going to see.

So this is good news.

That said, there is still some uncertainty.

There's a lot of uncertainty because he is, as I mentioned, just three months out,

from a nine to 12 month recovery.

It is not just an ACL tear.

It is also an LCL tear.

It included surgery right away just to accelerate the rehab.

It also is a kind of thing that can sometimes take a little longer if the knee can be a little stiff.

We saw that with Carson Wentz when he was recovering from the same injury.

If Patrick Mahomes is not ready in September,

he is just not going to be on the field.

This is a conservative and very, very good medical staff.

That duty is why they traded for Justin Fields,

who has plenty of starter experience,

even if it's just the first couple of games of the season.

Yeah, we should tap the brakes a little bit here because,

well, it is great to see Patrick Mahomes on a field and throwing a football.

We're not medical professionals.

We can't tell what we're looking at.

I'm sure all of the internet doctors will weigh in on exactly how that leg looks.

Having said that, Patrick Mahomes is aiming to be ready for the start of the season.

That is a very, very aggressive timeline where 100 days out,

so a little bit more than three months out from his surgery.

That means you're looking at six months to go.

That is really pushing the calendar, as you mentioned.

They signed Justin Fields.

They also signed at Kenneth Walker.

Don't forget, Patrick Mahomes had to do a lot of running for the Chiefs last year.

They certainly don't want him to have to do that under any circumstances.

But especially coming off as big a knee injury as this,

the real question is not, what day will he be able to get back on the field?

It's how much like Patrick Mahomes will he be looking whenever he is back on the field?

He could be medically cleared.

Will he be the player, the dynamic, a playmaking kind of Patrick Mahomes were used to seeing?

Or will he be some fraction of that still great to see him back on the field?

For the first time in the Patrick Mahomes error,

the Chiefs did not win the division last year,

but everybody in some way in that division still chasing Kansas City.

That includes the Raiders, whose presumptive number one overall pick,

Fernando Mendoza is set to visit the team in a couple of weeks,

feels like a formality.

Every expectation, it will be Mendoza at number one,

as the Raiders begin their rebuild with Clint Kubiak at the helm.

Take a look at Bucky Brook's new mock draft 3.0.

He's got, you guessed it, Fernando Mendoza in the number one spot.

We got some other interesting stuff happening in this mock.

For more on that, here's Bucky with our buddy's answer line, yes?

Yeah, you know, every morning I wake up and I go do my job

and sports radio, I sit in a chair and I do interviews.

And so I'm going to sit in this chair and I'm going to interview my man,

Bucky Brook's going to look at his first round of Bucky.

I think the draft really starts at four and five.

I think the titan's in the Giants.

To me, this is where it gets interesting because both teams can go in a number of directions.

Tell me, take me through what your thought process was for number four and number five for you.

So the Tennessee Titans, if you go back and look at the history of the franchise,

whenever they've been dominant is because they have a blue chip running back.

And so when I think about their heyday with Eddie George,

and then I think about with Chris Johnson,

even to the point Derek Henry, they've always had an A plus running back

to really steady the franchise.

And as they're trying to get Kim Warren up and going,

I think about Brian Davall and what he did with Sequoan Barkley

to elevate Daniel Jones his first year with the New York Giants.

When you have an opportunity to get a special running back and put them in place,

it helps everybody on that offense, particularly on quarterback.

Then with the Giants, the G-Men have been called the G-Men,

because they are dominant on defense when they're bigger, faster, and stronger than everybody.

And you have this dominant front line where you have Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns.

You have K-Mont Timberlow and Abdu Carter.

But behind them, we're talking about putting sunny styles,

a next level playmaker alongside Traymond Evans.

You think about that front seven and what defense-accordinated Danard Wilson can do with those guys.

It sets the table for everything else.

And while people are screaming for Jackson Dart to get another weapon,

the Giants win when their defense is top-notch.

To me, putting sunny styles on their defense allows this defense to go to another level.

And that brings them one step closer to being able to gain ground on the division rivals.

I want to take you to number eight, the New Orleans Saints.

You've got them taking Jordan Tyson.

I want you to put your scouting cap on, Mal.

And I want you to tell me, if you're working with the team,

why are you not concerned that he's had these hamstring injuries?

That it's been nagging during the process.

He's not going to run a 40 during this process at all.

How much does that concern you that you don't get a 40-time one?

Well, look, Man, this is very concerning, given his history.

He has a long list of injuries.

But when you look at the pure talent, he reminds me of the guy that is now the highest-favorite

in the league that's Jason Smith and Jigba.

And even going back to JSN, remember, JSN has some injury history

that made people pause and wonder, should they take him early in the first round?

He is only blossom and become one of the best receiver,

if not the best receiver in football.

And Jordan Tyson, I see someone with similar skills.

I see someone that can play outside or inside,

outstanding rower runner, terrific hands, dominant ball skills.

To me, he's a number one receiver all day.

Every day, it's a matter of making sure the medical people clear

because if he's clear and ready to go, to me, he's the top 10 pick.

All right, let's talk about somebody who's not in your draft.

I've got a lot of talk on my timeline about Tyson Simpson lately, a lot of it.

And he's not in your mock draft.

Did you consider putting him in there?

Did you think about having someone trade in

to get that fifth-year option on the guy who is clearly the number two quarterback in this draft?

Yeah, so there are a couple teams that are considered being perfect for Tyson Simpson,

maybe in the first round.

One is the team, the Pittsburgh still is at 21.

If they like him, I can see Mike McCarthy doing the air and Rodgers thing go all over again.

If air Rodgers resign, you get Tyson Simpson, you let him sit, you let him cook a while,

and then eventually he becomes a starting quarterback.

That's not in play because I think Pittsburgh got burned by that approach,

but can he pick it?

So now we talk about another team that can bounce in there.

There would be the airs on the corner.

If they got a little nervous,

that he was going to fall out of the first round,

maybe they hop in there because they still don't have their quarterback of the future.

But with Tyson Simpson,

it's about the limited experience and the durability concerns in terms of the size.

You just wonder, can this version of Brock Purdy be successful?

It's such a little small resume.

I just wanted to, that's why I can't put him as a first round pick right now.

Lucky, thanks for cooking yourself.

I'll send it over to Chef Tom now, Chef Tom can do the cooking.

I'll be back in a minute.

Bucky Brooks, releasing his new and updated top five QB prospects,

2.0 biggest mover on this list.

LSU's Garrett Nussmeyer moving up from number four to number three now,

with just a little over four weeks left until the 2026 NFL draft.

What do you know?

Number three himself, Garrett Nussmeyer with us right now here on the insiders

with me, Tom Pelvisero, as well as Ian Rappeport.

Garrett, last time I saw you, I was handing you the MVP trophy at the senior ball.

You've had a lot going on in the last two months.

Bring us up the speed, where you've been, what you've been going on.

Yeah, first off, I appreciate you guys for having me.

It's been fun, it's definitely a grind, but it's a dream come true

for all of us going through this process.

Just super excited for the remaining month,

and obviously a little nerve racking, but definitely looking forward to draft it.

You're a intriguing prospect, which there's obviously some good and some bad

with the way your season went this past year.

People didn't even know how injured you were, whether you were injured,

I think a lot of us are sort of learning on the fly here.

The one thing I wanted to ask you about, so after your pro day,

some of the text from General Managers and Evaluators that I talked to,

were like this, the ball's jumping off his hand, and he looks like 2024.

What do you think when you hear that?

Yeah, I mean, it's definitely, it's been a long road to try and get back to being healthy,

you know? It's been tough.

It was definitely a challenging year, and I'm a big believer in my faith,

and so I'm very thankful to have gone through it as crazy as that sounds.

You know, I feel like because I went through what I went through this year,

I don't know if there's anything that's going to be able to face me going into this next level.

And so I'm excited for any opportunity that I get from a franchise.

I was grateful that I was able to go out there yesterday and just show that I'm back

a little bit, that I can make any throw out there and do it at a high level.

And so just grateful for the opportunity, and you know, those guys also, you know,

they made some great plays for me out there and made me look better than I was, I guess.

So it was called an abdominal injury at the time, which those of us who are not doctors,

but cover these injuries a lot in football.

No, that can mean a bunch of different things.

Can you just tell us, is that what you were dealing with and how it affected your last season?

Yeah, so, you know, the injury occurred a day to a fall camp last season.

And so really any time I went to throw the football, it was a stabbing pain in my ab,

and so we actually didn't know what it was either throughout the entire year.

You know, and it's not the trainer's fault, not the doctor's fault here.

It was just kind of a rare deal.

And, you know, I have discussed with the teams, you know, what the actual injury was.

And now that we have the real diagnosis and, you know, all the teams have that information,

you know, I won't release that publicly.

But, you know, it was a rare deal.

You know, it was a frustrating deal, something that, you know, as I said before,

a big believer in my faith and it could have only happened if it was God's plan.

And so just thankful that I'm able to get back to being me, you know,

now that I'm healthy and excited for whatever's next.

Did you have to like relearn how to throw?

Because I imagine when you have an injury that directly affects the main thing that you do on

the field, you probably alter some things.

Like, was there a process like that?

Is you actually now finally feel healthy?

Yeah, it's been tough.

I mean, I've been out in California with 3DQB, really just retraining everything from the ground up.

You know, I had created so many bad habits of trying to throw the football.

Just to get it out of my hand.

And so it was tough.

I mean, to be blank, I really couldn't throw the ball this year.

And so having to relearn how to do that.

You know, I had about, you know, I think it was nine or eight days to prepare for the Senior Bowl.

When I was actually able to throw the ball.

And so trying to do that really fast and get back to being me, it's been a grind.

But it's also been a good thing for me as well, you know,

polishing up my mechanics and preparing me for this next level.

One thing that we talked about at the Senior Bowl,

and that I noticed on the sideline was even after you were out of the game,

you were one of those guys just kind of like, all right,

joking around in the band.

Signed some autographs.

Like, you literally were listening in to the play calls.

I think it was Scott Tulsey was the coordinator.

You were listening on a helmet.

You were communicating with guys talking about substitutions.

Just take me through because I don't think that that was for show.

I didn't think, I don't think you even knew that I was watching that.

But just tell me about how you try to soak up all those different aspects of the game.

Is the son of a coach to kind of build what you are as a person in a quarterback?

Yeah, well, you know, I give credit to my dad, but also to my mom.

We were raised faith, family, and football.

And so it was faith, it was family.

And then it was football.

Football's all I know.

And so anytime I'm around the game, I'm always just trying to soak up whatever I can.

And so we also had some great quarterbacks out there on our team,

Taylor and Greene and Luke Altmeier.

So getting to hear the play call,

seeing those guys operate was fun too.

I had a great time with Coach Tulsey and learning the playbook and that type of thing.

And so, yeah, I mean, football's what I love to do.

You know, when I'm done playing, hopefully in 20 years,

you know, I want to be a coach after that.

And so it's, it's just who I am.

It's all I know and it's what I love to do.

And I'm just grateful that I have this opportunity.

So you may eventually be coach Nussmeyer,

but there is already a coach Nussmeyer.

You mentioned in your dad, Doug, New Orleans Saints,

offensive guru and quarterback guru.

I imagine that he was a constant force in your life since growing up.

What's the number one thing that your dad has taught you?

Either on the field or just kind of as you go through all this?

Yeah, I don't know if I can put one thing on it.

You know, my dad has been such a huge influence for me.

He's helped me so much.

And I'm so grateful to have him as my father.

And so, you know, I think going back to high school,

you know, I always tell the story.

You know, my mom comes on the field after the game.

Gives me a hug. Great job.

My dad comes up.

First thing he says, what the heck were you doing on third down

in the red zone down there?

Son is like, you can't take a sack there.

What are you doing?

And he's like, but great job.

You know, I love you. I'm proud of you.

And so, you know, he's definitely been tough on me

when it comes to the game of football,

but he's also a father first.

And he does a great job of that.

So, very, very grateful for our relationship.

And you got a little brother too,

Colton, who I bumped into at a high school quarterback camp,

who can also rip it pretty good,

might be on this show in several years after his call.

Yeah.

Correa, let me ask you about what your,

your LSU teammates, Monsour DeLane,

who I think a lot of people knew, obviously,

through the process.

But at Pro Day, the way that he tested,

the way that he ran, like, you're on that guy every day.

What kind of physical freak is that, dude?

I mean, that guy's an unbelievable football player.

You know, regardless of what he would have ran out there and ran.

You know, he put on the tape.

That guy is a lockdown corner.

He's the best corner in this draft.

He's one of the best corners I've ever seen.

You know, I could think back to my freshman year,

practicing against Derek Stingley.

And it was very similar.

You know, Monsour's an unbelievable player.

I'm very happy for him.

Glad the process has gone well for him.

Obviously, you know, he's able to kind of showcase his wheels

the other day.

And so, very, very happy for him.

And excited to see where he goes.

There's obviously a lot of stresses.

You go through the process about a month to go.

There's going to be meetings.

There's going to be workouts.

Tell us what you are going to be going through the next month or so.

Who you mean with?

What teams you're talking to?

Kind of give us the rundown a little bit before we get chat here.

Yeah, I got a lot of stuff coming up.

You know, I got the jets coming the next couple of days here.

You know, I got the Rams coming into town.

I'm headed out to Indianapolis.

I'm headed to Groot in this weekend,

which I'm excited for.

That's going to be a lot of fun.

So excited to get to cut it up with him a little bit.

And I got a lot of other stuff going on.

I got zooms every day and things like that.

And I'm sure there'll be a couple more visits in there.

So I'm just grateful, you know,

to any organization that's going to give me a chance.

You know, I just want the opportunity to prove

that I belong in this league.

And I just want to be able to prove that,

you know, the Garrett Nussmart that everyone saw in 2024

is still Garrett Nussmart.

You know, I'm still that player.

Just because an injury stopped me from showing that this year.

It doesn't mean that I'm not going to get back to being me.

I just want an opportunity to be able to show that.

29 more days till the 2026 NFL draft.

And soon thereafter, Garrett Nussmart will find out

where he is going to.

Thanks a ton.

Great to see you again, man.

We'll cut you down the line.

Yeah, I appreciate you having me, God bless.

29 days.

That's right.

That's all we got until the NFL draft,

which means we are the thick of pro day season coming up after this.

We'll talk about what happened in Columbus,

some of the top prospects on the field at Ohio State,

Stacey Dale's, Bucky Brooks bringing it down on the insiders.

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Joe Flacco in the Bengals made it official today.

He is back in Cincinnati.

Happy to return on a one year deal.

Maybe not quite as happy to once again be a backup.

I feel like I have unfinished business as part of why I'm still

here and playing and doing all those things.

And and and not being one of those guys to go sign somewhere.

Yeah, it pisses me off a little bit,

but but at the same time like I'm I'm very happy to be here.

And that's and that's also why I don't see this as the end.

Like I that's just not how I'm viewing it in my mind.

Meanwhile Jackson Smith and Jayba also making it official

signing his monster contract extension four years

over 168 million dollars he spoke about.

What it's like to be the NFL's highest paid receiver.

For me, it's always more work to be done.

And there's always another level to reach.

And you know,

but it is a blessing.

You know, you know, this is a business.

And you know, I want to do good business.

And you know, that's what we're at right now.

So there's always another level to reach.

I'm a player of the year.

One is Super Bowl, highest paid receiver.

Yes, what what's next for you?

The only thing better than once we were boys too.

So, you know, just just working to to get there.

And you know, whatever my team needs for me, you know,

I make sure, you know, I get it done.

Meanwhile, it was a very busy day in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio state approved day.

Basically, everybody in the NFL was there because

Ohio state has a ton of elite talent coming out in the draft this year.

Let's bring in our elite talent,

Stacy Dales and Bucky Brooks to talk about Ohio state pro day.

Stacy, let's start with you.

Let's first hit on the guys you were on the field today for the pro day.

Yeah, this was one for the ages, right?

So much talent.

So many of these men are going to come into the NFL this year from the Ohio State

Buckais.

One of the players that we didn't see perform at the combine.

Of course, the safety Caleb Downes,

who did workout today doing drill work.

I was a little surprised that to my knowledge,

he did not do the testing.

However, he had a very efficient workout doing the drill work.

You see right here and he's kind of an interesting prospect.

When you think about the fact that he didn't work at the combine,

but you saw him here.

We know how talented he is and how smart he is.

He called the defense there for Matt Patricia.

The thing he told me about his play is the thing that separates him

at the safety position is his mind.

Incredibly smart player.

And that is what Matt Patricia also says.

Perhaps the smartest player in this group in terms of the draft class.

Our Val Reese also working out.

He stood out.

He and David Bailey at the combine.

Their speed and burst were elite.

That was evident.

But we obviously got to see him work here.

324 snaps.

Pro football focus coming off the edge this past season.

233 snaps as an off ball linebacker.

And 24 snaps out of the slot.

I say that because our Val told me 50-50 in terms of basically

coming off the edge or playing that off ball linebacker spot.

He said he loves playing both.

So that's going to be the interesting analysis on him.

And then I would just finish with Carnell Tate.

He is a smooth operator at the receiver position.

He's not concerned about the 40.

I think it was right around a 4-5-3 bucket.

He is a glider when it comes to catching the football.

And the staff that I loved led the nation with five receiving touchdowns

with a throw depth at 40 plus yards.

And he's a Lego builder.

A little side fun fact on him.

Builds all types of big things.

Oh, look, I like the Legos.

I mean, who doesn't like someone who loves to tap into their creativity?

Maybe that is why he's such an outstanding rock runner

in acrobatic pass catcher.

To me, the big thing with Carnell Tate is just deciding

does he have the ability to level up and be a number one receiver?

He played there at Ohio State with Jeremiah Smith.

And then it's about, hey, can he be the number one?

If he's not the number one, how can we slot a man as a big play specialist?

Regardless, he's a top 10 talent.

Let's go to Caleb Downs because Caleb Downs is one that we're waiting on.

Didn't do the testing numbers.

To me, I think if you like football players,

he's the guy that you want.

High IQ did it in two pro style systems at Alabama and Ohio State respectively.

The fact that Matt Patricia puts so much on his plate,

he is going to be a coach's dream.

Don't worry about the athletic stuff.

Trust your eyes with the tape.

He's fantastic.

And then Arville Reese, you're chasing your unicorn.

You're trying to find someone who can give you that

Micah Parsons production.

Knees more time.

But man, he's a fantastic prospect.

Stase, one guy we did not see on the field with sunny styles.

Who could blame him?

He actually crushed it in Indianapolis at the scouting combined.

So of course, he was going to stand on that workout.

Certainly shouldn't bother him in the draft.

Absolutely not.

Crushed it is 100% correct pinpoint, Judy elite performance.

He at the combine with his 43 and a half vertical,

his 4, 4, 6, 40 and his 11 to broad jump cemented,

stamped his rise in this draft.

I mean, his stock conversations that I've had guys around the league,

just even at Notre Dame yesterday.

Everybody's still talking about that combine performance

because did he have to do all those things?

No, he could have done them today.

And I guarantee you, knowing sunny,

knowing how competitive he is,

he would have actually wanted to be out there

working with his teammates, his Ohio State teammates today.

But because of that performance and what we know of him,

listen, this was a former safety.

He told me when I spent time with him at the combine,

he was roughly 235 pounds in his sophomore campaign as a safety.

He knew he was going to become Bucky, a linebacker.

And obviously, 6, 5, 244, you think about Fred Warner.

He's not even that big, but Fred Warner type potential.

And Fred was a third-round draft pick obviously at a BYU Bucky.

This guy is an elite performer and he wants the challenges

and we saw them at the combine.

So he is one of these hybrid linebackers

that we talk about.

Imagine a world where we could mash up Fred Warner

and Kyle Hamilton.

That's what we're talking about when it comes to sunny styles.

Someone who is a uniquely gifted playmaker.

Defense coordinators are going to love being able to unlock his talents

to use him in a few different ways,

to find a way to impact the game.

You just think about all those experiences he had at Ohio State

and being able to be coached at Final Season

under Matt Patricia.

The future is bright for sunny styles.

There are a lot of defensive coordinators around the league

that are celebrating anxiously and waiting to opportunity

to get their hands on such a talented playmaker

on the second level.

Fred Warner and Kyle Hamilton,

who wouldn't be celebrating over the opportunity

to draft somebody like that Bucky.

Thank you very much.

Stacey, you'll be back talking about Alabama

per day in a few minutes Ian.

Great stuff guys.

Speaking of great stuff, you always look for new,

cool ways to evaluate and analyze the draft process.

Our good friend Lance Erlin has come up with one.

These are the position group rankings,

essentially ranking the depth by position

in this year's draft for your team.

Look at for an head druster.

Look at for a linebacker or the all important guard center.

This is the draft for you.

Our friend Lance is here breaking it down for us.

Lance, this is a really interesting and kind of cool way

to look at this draft and really give some perspective.

Can you explain to us like as first

how you came up with your rankings and then what you like?

Sure, I've been doing this.

I put numbers to it.

I've been writing this article for probably seven years now.

And I started putting numbers to it.

And I came up with a formula because

and I thought, okay, well, what do I look for

when I talk about when someone asked me

how deep is this quarterback class is running back class?

So I look for stars first.

I want guys who can have major all prototype

impact on a draft.

Then I look for starters.

I want to see players who have a chance to become starter.

So how deep is that, you know,

that list of starters at a particular position

relative to any other year, the expectations?

And then I look at depth because how do you fill out a roster?

You have to have quality depth.

So typically I don't look at back end of the roster.

I look at good backups to average backups

who have special team value.

So that's typically what I look for

when creating these these rankings.

So to create a number system for me

and it really is able to quantify once I do that.

I say, oh, you know what, my eyeball test, I thought this,

but when I really broke it down,

I was able to come to a different conclusion.

And so, you know, usually there's some low numbers.

I can tell you this, I mean, defensive ends,

the edge rushers, they were number one last year

and then number one this year again.

And you look at the list and actually have

more high ranking defensive ends in this year's class.

Not the same number of starters with that, you know,

with that value system.

But more stars.

Now, we know at Arville Reese, we know about David Bailey.

Let's talk about the Miami connection of Rubin Bain

and Akeem Mezzador.

There's a lot of conversation about these two guys.

And part of it is how dominant they are on the field.

And that's what it should be.

But the other conversation is about shorter arms for Rubin Bain.

He's a little shorter than you like on the edge.

But Akeem Mezzador is going to be a 25 year old rookie.

So it's balanced out between those two elements.

But when I look at both players, I'm grading the tape.

Bain is explosive and strength wins in the NFL.

When you look at Akeem Mezzador,

he's probably the most skilled rusher.

When you look at the entire bag of tricks that he has,

he's the most skilled of all the rusher's out there.

So I love those two guys in the first round.

What about the linebacker group in general,

off the ball linebackers or otherwise plenty of talent there?

You like them a lot.

Take me through this position group.

Yeah, you know, it's usually weak.

I mean, it's usually toward the bottom of the group.

You're in and you're out.

And man, this year it was like,

the more I started watching,

oh, this guy's pretty good.

This guy's good.

Wow, we've got a good draft.

And I've talked to a couple of general managers already

who unsolicited talked about what a good linebacker draft it is.

You know, we know about sunny styles.

Stacy talked about sunny styles earlier.

Let's talk about some other guys that you need to know.

Anthony Hill Jr. from University of Texas

can have an impact on all three downs.

Jake Gold, they played a lot of edge,

and Cincinnati, but is better in the NFL as an inside linebacker.

Jacob Rodriguez, the man with a mustache.

He's not just a gimmick.

He's a really good inside linebacker.

Reminds me of Carson, Sweden, great times.

And you've got a player like CJ Allen, great leader,

all kinds of intangibles.

I mean, these are a bunch of linebackers

that are going to go on the top 50 picks

that are going to be early starters in the NFL.

It's a great linebacker group issue.

What about running backs?

Because I think we know there's going to be a running back

who's going to be out and say,

at least in the top 10, maybe in the top five,

take me through that position group and who else you're into.

Well, I got done talking about the Miami combination

of Mezzanorn Bane, and you can't talk about that

without talking about love and price.

Jardarian price and Jeremiah love of Notre Dame.

I know Jeremiah love gets all the attention,

but for those of us who really bore down on the tape,

I mean, the guy who might be the most natural runner

of the group is Jardarian price.

He just doesn't have this same level of juice

that Jeremiah love has and that third down value.

But both of those guys are terrific.

Both have first round caliber talent.

And it's a light running back draft,

which may push up price into the first round.

After you get past that, it's Mike Washington,

who is big and can really, really run from Arkansas.

But he's more traits than consistent tape right now.

Reminds me of Chris Carson a little bit coming out.

But after Mike Washington, who I think will go late in a second,

maybe early third off a clip.

The running back group really dives off.

So that could really push up,

not just price into the first round,

but maybe even love earlier in the first,

as you just referenced, to pick number four, pick number five.

And explains why teams are still looking

and running back to Naji Harris visited.

See, Oksidae, good to visit the Raiders next.

Still trying to fill out that before the draft,

in case you don't get one.

Lance, great stuff, as always, NFL.com.

Slash Zirline for more expert analysis

from one of our favorite draft gurus.

The 2026 NFL draft just 29 short days away live,

round one, 8 PM Eastern time on Thursday, April 23rd,

from Pittsburgh on NFL Network, NFL Plus,

and across the ESPN spectrum.

Take a look at the top 10 in the NFL draft.

Of course, the Raiders sit up there at number one.

Presumption, that is Fernando Mendoza.

After that, pure chaos, potentially.

And you'll see it all unfold right here on NFL Network.

Welcome back to the Insiders, Tom Pillissero, Ian Rappenport.

And Judith Batista has got a story up right now

at NFL.com on teams, poised for a turnaround.

Let's start right there, Judy, in Las Vegas.

What do we anticipate from the latest iteration of the Raiders?

All right, let's be clear.

First of all, a turnaround does not necessarily

have to include a playoff appearance.

Obviously, there is a long way to go

for the Raiders to get back to the playoffs.

But I do think this will be a significantly improved team.

Obviously, the Max Crosby deal went sideways.

But unless he comes back from the torn meniscus

as a significantly diminished player,

there's no way they are not better with him on the roster,

assuming he's not treated before the season starts.

At least in the short term,

they are a better team with Max Crosby on it.

They don't have those two first round draft picks

to accelerate a rebuild.

They had a lot of money to spend.

They spent a lot of money redoing most of their defense.

And of course, they gave the big contracts

to the center Tyler Lindemann,

which is all about supporting Fernando Mendoza.

This should just be a more competent,

less dysfunctional, more competitive unit.

And that is a good first step in a rebuild.

Yeah, I think it's fair to say, Judy,

this was one of the worst coach teams in the NFL

from the offensive line all around basically everything.

Basically everything.

So they have had a significant improvement in talent

for those free agents you mentioned,

certainly helped from Tyler Lindemann

all the way around several pieces of the defense.

I'm back a group, plus they add in Max Crosby

for the low price of two first round picks

that get returned to the Baltimore Ravens.

They should be better.

How much better is anyone's guess?

But I'd say inside the building,

the feeling is much, much better than it was.

Oh, I don't know, anytime last year.

All right.

Once you give us another team, the New York Giants,

where do you see their turnaround coming from?

Well, John Harbaugh has been clear since the day

he was higher than his expectation

is getting this team to the playoffs this season.

I don't think that's as crazy as it may sound.

Don't forget, they lost five games last year

in which they carried double digit leads into the fourth quarter.

So if they had won those five games,

the record looks a whole lot better.

If they'd won only three of those five games,

the record looks a whole lot better.

There's a lot of talent on there.

They also brought in Isaiah likely.

That should certainly help Jackson Dart.

They're going to get Malik neighbors

and Camsca to boot back from injury.

There is talent on the roster.

I think John Harbaugh may be one of the most consequential moves

of the entire offseason player or front office.

So I do expect a pretty rapid turnaround for the New York Giants

and perhaps contending for a playoff spot in the NFC.

His predecessor, Brian Dable, now on the coaching staff

in Tennessee is the offensive coordinator

under Robert Saul.

What do we expect from the Titans, dude?

Well, the Titans are following a blueprint

that probably looks pretty familiar to the people in New England.

That is bring in a coach that is viewed

as a good culture guide to change the culture,

spend a lot of money, spend aggressively in free agency,

and build around your young quarterback.

In this case, Cam Ward, Robert Salah

and his offensive coordinator, Brian Dable,

brought along a lot of familiar faces

that both of them had in their respective New York tenures.

Again, the hope is that Cam Ward continues to develop.

We saw a lot of good things from him last season,

even though the entire season didn't go so well.

But if he can develop, I'm not predicting a Super Bowl run

like the New England Patriots managed to do

in Mike Raples first year back there.

But the Titans have overhauled that roster.

That's a competitive division, the NFC South,

they could certainly make inroads in that division.

The event's going to be a lot better no doubt about it.

If not for any reason, just that Robert Salah is there,

but the Dable connection is interesting.

There were a lot of jobs he was up for.

Probably could have had many offensive coordinator jobs,

and it was also in the mix for some head coaching job.

This was the job he wanted because of Cam Ward,

because of the opportunity to work

with the former number one overall pick.

If he can get Cam Ward to be anything Tom,

like he was the last say four games of last season,

this is going to be a team on the rise,

and they got plenty of resources to keep getting better.

NFL.com slash Batista,

where you can go for more of Judy's expert analysis.

Alabama held its pro day today,

and the star of the show, quarterback Ty Simpson,

subject of much debate in recent days

for a variety of different reasons,

still slotted in as QB2,

but exactly when will QB2 come off the board?

For more on that, let's bring in our Stacey Dales,

as well as Lance Irline Stacey.

I'll start with you.

You saw Ty up close and personal at the combine.

You've spoken with people about him.

Just give me your analysis of exactly where he stands

in the big picture, 20 and days out from the draft.

Yeah, Tom and Lance, don't you love the draft hyperbole?

Doesn't it just enthrall you and pull you in deeper?

I mean, the conversation around Ty Simpson right now,

and our buddy over at ESPN,

I guess we're all with ESPN now, Field Yates,

called his workout today at Alabama,

Razor Sharp saying the accuracy and the tempo stood out,

and he had a good workout of the combine too.

And for a guy who went 11 and four last season,

first year as a starter, 15 starts.

That is the question.

It's all about the experience.

Those are the conversations that keep coming up

and kind of the way his season transpired, right Lance?

I mean, that last stretch of game, six games,

we saw a little bit more in terms of the interceptions,

the mechanics, and I asked Simpson himself,

how did you evaluate yourself last season?

I asked him at the combine.

And he said he had really good command of the offense,

could command at the line of scrimmage,

but specifically, maybe towards the end of the season,

maybe not let's think about the blitz so much,

the pressure so much, and a little bit more

of simply the pocket mechanics,

how comfortable he was back there.

In terms of his dropbacks, how grounded he stayed

with those dropbacks, and how he took hits in the pocket,

and certainly how long he stayed in the pocket, Lance.

So he did a lot of self-evaluation,

but we are all evaluating him.

You are evaluating him.

And some think his stock is shooting up.

Curious to know your thoughts.

I don't think it's shooting up.

I mean, it is whatever it is.

It's just he gets more conversation or less conversation.

Well, in this case, a lot more conversation.

I think when you look at him early on,

as you mentioned, Stacy, it was intoxicating

some of the things you saw and take.

Then it got very sobering very quickly

at the back half of the season.

Now, he also had some injuries that he was fighting through.

But I think what's unfortunate is there was a lot of good,

a little bit and not so good,

but it was only one year as a starter.

And in most cases, it's not a big deal.

We roll on to the next season,

but he's coming out in the draft,

so he gets the draft microscope.

And the draft microscope can be relentless.

And it leads to hyperbole one way or another.

And I think he is a good young prospect

with a lot of positive things to build on.

I think it's very important that he gets

to the right organization, Stacy.

It's very important that he gets to the right place

with a patient ownership, a good head coach,

and more importantly, a good play collar slash quarterback

coach in that building.

There's so much potential there.

You know, it's interesting to Lance,

his left tackle, Caden Proctor, enormous man,

athletic beyond measure at his size.

And we'll be anxious to see where Ty Simpson goes.

I'll be anxious to see where this guy's going.

One of my favorite players at the draft,

of course, Caden Proctor, almost 6'7, 352

and you're 82 inch wingspan and you watched him work

for the entirety of his career there at Alabama.

You see him highlighted here at left tackle.

He played through a torn lab room in 24.

That's how tough he is.

He missed the first two games as he's in, he comes back

and starts 11 games playing through that injury.

There was a point when he was young.

He was roughly 400 pounds when he got to Alabama.

They called him crispy, crispy cream.

Don't worry about it.

That's all in the past because he lost

and shredded his body.

He dropped all that weight.

The guy can jam a basketball in three steps.

Okay, he sent me that video at the combine.

I am going to be fascinated when I spoke to him.

He said, my athleticism, my strength and my power

are going to separate me and Lance

and he is going to be something else at the next level.

Listen, he's got some freaky attributes

and weight is the biggest thing, right?

Can he keep his weight off and Duke Manning weather

down in Dallas, the Frisco area,

one of the best with online masterminds.

It's getting guys down to where they need to be

and actually keeping them there in the off season as well.

If he has a disc point to keep his weight down,

he played too heavy this year.

That was most of his problems were due to his weight.

He can keep his weight down top.

He's got a real opportunity to be one of the most

impactful offensive linemen.

Maybe the most impactful offensive linemen

in this entire draft if he keeps that weight

where it needs to be.

29 days to go till the NFL draft kicks off in Pittsburgh

so much more to come.

Stacy and Lance, thank you both very much.

Working to find the insiders everywhere.

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These sea hawks will open up their Super Bowl title defense on Wednesday.

No, not tonight.

That would be highly unusual.

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That is the date of the kickoff game in Seattle.

Opponent to be determined.

So who potentially could it be?

Take a look at the sea hawks home opponents there.

One of the teams scheduled for nine home games in 2026.

You can survey this list, Judy Batista.

You already know that some teams like the Rams and 49ers going to be out.

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Who do you got?

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