The Insiders Podcast: Will Anderson's Huge Pay Day, Brissett Not Attending Workouts, & Rising Draft Prospects

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Peter is on Will Anderson Jr. tonight.

Not sure what he's eating,

but he's been gobbling up quarterbacks

for the last couple of years.

And now he's been rewarded.

We'll break down his record setting contract

in just a few moments.

We'd like to have an answer from Aaron Rodgers

in a few moments.

In fact, Art Rooney said,

he expected it by the draft.

The draft, which is in Pittsburgh,

just a couple of days away now.

Aaron, yes, we are still waiting.

And with the draft coming up inside of a week,

teams are doing their work

on their prospects as the last minute.

So are we.

Caleb Black, Indiana running back.

Baron Morton, Texas Tech Quarterback joining

the show tonight.

You're not going to want to miss that.

Welcome inside with the insiders.

Ian Rappaport, Judy Patista in their blues.

Your boy in white with a pattern here.

Mike Garafolo, we've got a lot of news

as we get ready for that draft,

but it was the draft a couple of years ago

when the Texans maneuvered and took Will Anderson Jr. High.

I mean, the Texans have been active up top of the draft.

And yeah, it paid off.

And now it's time to pay the man.

Three years, $150 million extension.

Ian, I remember when the top of the past rusher market

was at $30 million.

Just felt like just the other day.

Now we're at $50.

Will Anderson Jr. God paid and set a new top mic

to the past rusher market.

This is a historic deal for Will Anderson Jr.

and for the Houston Texans.

You mentioned they swung that big trade three years.

And one week ago to come all the way up,

Trevor the Arizona cartels and get the top past rusher

in the draft after choosing CJ Stroud

and man has that trade hit.

Today Will Anderson cash in gets a three year,

$150 million deal.

Highest paid, non-quarterback in NFL,

history, $134 million guaranteed,

$100 million fully guaranteed.

Most of these blockbuster deals are four year extensions.

This is a three year extension done

by Agent Cole Linn of Clutch Sports.

But also by the way, he said record setting deals

for Jalen Hertz from Miles Garrett.

And by the way, Garrett also has a no trade cause

as does Will Anderson Jr.

He is not going anywhere.

If you are wondering Judy,

why the Texans have been really good

made the playoffs the last three years.

This and his role on the defense

is a huge reason why Will Anderson

with an unbelievable day today.

He is worth every penny, not just because of what he does

for the defense, but because of what he is off the field.

He is the perfect face of a franchise kind of guy.

And by the way, he'll only be 25

when the season kicks off in the fall.

So he will certainly get another bite

at the big contract Apple while he's still in his prime years.

Now we will turn our attention to CJ Stroud,

the player who was chosen in the draft just before Will Anderson,

Jr. His situation is a little bit more complicated.

Obviously they were drafted at the same time.

So he is eligible for an extension too.

That does not appear to be forthcoming.

They picked up his fifth year option,

which essentially gives the team another year

to evaluate him while he is relatively inexpensive,

relative to the rest of the quarterback market.

It has been an uneven start to this career.

Of course, he was electrifying as a rookie

and he just hasn't been able to get back to that level.

There have been injuries.

The offensive line has certainly been an issue last year,

was particularly up and down.

Of course, ended on a very bad note with a playoffs.

This is going to be the next interesting situation

to watch for the Houston Texans.

Can CJ Stroud get back to that level

of his rookie season and what did they eventually do

with his contract?

Patients on both sides of that one, CJ Stroud,

saying, well, if I can play better this year,

I'll get a much bigger bite, Judy.

Talk about the bite of the F.

I'll get a much bigger bite

than I would right now believes in himself

sort of betting on himself, I guess,

by not pressing the issue.

So we'll see where that one goes.

We'll also see what happens with Jacobi Bressett,

whom right now we expect to be the starter.

I mean, there still could be some quarterback maneuvering,

but there's really nobody in the draft

that the cartels are going to take

and it's going to be the starter day one.

So Jacobi Bressett, he instead looking like it's going to be me,

better pay me like it.

Jacobi Bressett said to make about $5 million

of base salary this year,

not like $9 million, which I tweeted,

but I digress after last year making about nine.

He had a really good contract last year

for basically a bridge starter.

Well, this year he is the starter

and we'll see what kind of season the Arizona Cardinals have.

But it's possible he goes through it

and what is a sort of a transition year

while they still deal with the fallout

from Cali Murray's contract

and changing coaching staffs and all of that.

He now wants to be paid like the starter that he is

and I'm not saying he's going to come in and demand

like early San Bernard on money or something,

but he wants more.

He wants more and he wants some security.

Now are the Cardinals going to pay him?

We'll see if they end up paying what he wants.

My understanding is they are willing to adjust the contract

until and unless that happens,

he now is expected to stay away.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals have three.

They also have 34.

There is the Thai Simpson conversation, Judy

and obviously even without this news,

this was going to be a huge conversation

heading into Thursday's draft.

Well, it's noteworthy that their pre-draft press conference.

Nobody with the Arizona Cardinals

would name a starting quarterback

and they wouldn't even say who the front runner was, right?

They said, well, we're just putting the offense together

for the guys who were here and we'll see how this plays out.

Thai Simpson, you brought it up.

They had him in the other day on the last day

that they could have visits.

They could do what we saw the Giants do exactly a year ago

and that would be go back into the bottom of the first round

to get a quarterback.

You would get the fifth year option there.

Doesn't mean they have to start him right away

unless they think he is ready to go right out of the gate,

but it would give them a developmental guy

while you have Jacobi Berset as the bridge quarterback.

Maybe they give him a bump on the contract,

but he is clearly not their idea of a long-term answer

and don't forget, next off season we have a draft

which is expected to be deep with quarterbacks.

So all the teams that are in need of quarterbacks

are going to be lining up for that draft too.

Put your money where your mouth is, Jeremiah.

Put them in your mock draft if it's that inevitable

and you feel so confident in it.

Let's see, although if your mock draft is only around one,

they don't think he goes in the round one and it's round two

then it wouldn't be in your mock draft.

Yeah, well, Judy, if they had said that Jacobi Berset

was the starter by the way, he'd say,

see, there it is, he said it.

I'm going to the negotiating table right here.

Say it's right here.

Aaron Rodgers still waiting on that.

Yes, Aaron, the Steelers, I should say,

awaiting that decision which Art Rooney

expected to have by the draft.

The draft now six days away.

Aaron Rodgers, did he indicate at one point

that it would probably be a little bit faster?

I mean, technically right now it is faster

because we had to wait till what, June last year.

Judy, your thoughts on, I don't know,

when we're getting an answer?

I mean, please, please, please, please do it soon.

I'm actually, we're going to be talking to Cam Hayward

on the show on Wednesday, I believe.

So could we maybe do it before Wednesday?

That would give us an extra topic to talk to Cam about.

Yes, Art Rooney said they hoped to have an answer

in time for the draft.

At the same time, he said that he said Mike McCarthy

was in regular communication with him.

All along, the Steelers have felt pretty good

about this situation.

And that, you don't even need them to tell you that.

It's reflected in their lack of activity

in the quarterback market in the off season.

I mean, they've just done nothing basically

around the quarterback situation.

So they clearly still are pretty comfortable,

but certainly they want an answer.

No, we are not waiting as long as we had to wait last year

for an answer that was deep into the summer.

Certainly you would expect there'll be an answer before that.

But yeah, we are one week away from the draft being in Pittsburgh.

And they have lots of decisions to make.

Certainly the draft gives them an opportunity

to put pieces that they really need

around Aaron Rodgers, another wide receiver,

an offensive lineman, a tackle they need one pathway.

So there are pieces available in the draft

who would support Aaron Rodgers.

They did a lot of work in free agency

to support Aaron Rodgers.

What we need is Aaron Rodgers.

I don't know if we're gonna get an answer before the draft.

We may not, honestly, we may not.

And I know the Steelers have hoped that.

They also hope to be one at early Marchable for agency.

They hope to be one around the time of for agency.

They hope to be one around the draft.

And I know it's like, well, can't they just say like,

we need an answer?

You could, you definitely could.

But then you might not like the answer.

Aaron Rodgers is a different dude.

You knew that.

He is gonna go into a system that he's obviously very familiar with.

So there's no real urgency for him.

And if he's not ready to commit,

they should definitely not commit

because the only thing worse than committing early

is committing early and then going back the other way

and saying, you know what, I don't want to play.

Rodgers is on his own timetable.

I don't know that it's really gonna change

what the Steelers do anyway.

They do have other quarterbacks.

Well, how would we want Mace Rudolph to be another?

They can slot in there.

If they need to, obviously they would like Aaron Rodgers,

but there is nothing right now to let anyone say they know

for sure for sure that Aaron Rodgers is gonna play

for the Steelers.

But they don't know Mike.

The question posed in good morning, football this morning

was what's your dream draft scenario?

They expected me to say something about what team could take

what player.

I said, it's not even any of the selections.

My dream scenario is Aaron Rodgers on the stage

to open the show, drives in in the same Chevy Malibu

that he drove last year on his visit to the facility

because he figured, no, he's gonna realize Aaron Rodgers

is driving in a Chevy Malibu to announce that he's coming back

so we can all know and move on from that.

Jordan Tyson worked out for teams.

We're gonna get to that in a second.

There's a promo first.

The NFL Draft.

Next Thursday, 8 p.m. Eastern right here on NFL Network.

That guy on the left's gonna come off the board quickly.

That guy next to him pretty soon thereafter.

And those guys as well, these are some of your top picks

in the NFL Draft.

I mentioned Jordan Tyson.

Joe Shane, the Giant General Manager,

flew to Arizona to see Tyson work out one of 20 teams

in attendance.

We're also told Ian and I that Shane and Tyson

had dinner together the night before.

Now five is a little rich for a lot of people's blood

for Tyson, the wide receiver.

So perhaps maybe sliding back.

Giant's one of the teams exploring the possibility

of sliding back.

Judy, Jordan Tyson, some folks comparing his skill set

and the top end of his skill set

to what Odell Beckham used to do.

I mean, that's a rich comparison by some folks.

But the skill set certainly is there.

The Giants have a need at the position.

They do have a need at the position.

They need to pair somebody with Malik neighbors

who is actually coming off an injury.

So they really do need someone.

Tyson is exactly what they need, right?

He has explosive potential.

He can catch the ball.

He can play any of the wide receiver positions.

Of course, then you're saying, well,

why is he not going to be the top wide receiver

off the board?

Well, because he has an extensive injury history,

big time injuries, knee injuries, collarbone,

hamstring, he's missed a lot of time.

And so what you saw on the field, especially

at the end of the 2024 season,

the last six games of the 2024 season,

you'd be like, wow, he should absolutely

be the first wide receiver off the board.

When you see him on the field, he's super impressive

and you can see why he is tantalizing for NFL teams.

The problem is, can he stay on the field?

If he couldn't stay on the field in college,

you really have to wonder will he be able to hold up

at the NFL level, but certainly a general manager

flying across the country the week before the draft

to watch somebody work out in person suggests

that there might be some interest there.

I would agree, five feels a little bit rich,

but if the giants are looking to maybe move back a few spots,

pick up some more draft capital, maybe in that spot.

Josha wasn't just going for the weather.

He had just been in Arizona number one and number two.

It's been very nice here in Jersey this week.

So you didn't have to go there to get that warmth.

Francis Mauanoa, the Miami offensive tackle,

this is one of the guys that we've been talking about

extensively from a medical perspective.

There's questions about his back that have been talked about

and mentioned from my understanding,

and I mentioned this previously,

sources tell me that he has focused his visits with teams

and his meetings on the top tier of the draft.

That he's confident that the medical was going to check out

and so all these teams that were coming in the back

into the first round.

I'm not going to be around for you.

I'm not even going to waste my time in that regard.

Also for my understanding in the past two weeks,

multiple top teams or top 10 teams had their own physicians

examine him and confirm that right now he has no symptoms.

So Ian, the thought of, is he going to have back issues

is more hypothetical and projecting right now

all the medical concerns seen to have been answered

about myanoa.

I've talked to a lot of teams of Adam,

especially teams in the top 10.

I would be surprised as of right now

if he was not one of the top tackles taken.

He may be the top tackle taken.

We'll see some teams have a different flavor,

but he is certainly in that mix,

certainly in the mix to be a top 10 player.

Could end up being a top six player,

obviously the Cleveland Browns.

Have the number six pick.

A lot of people wonder whether they will take a tackle.

Certainly have a need there.

But as far as the back goes, again,

I've talked to plenty of teams about this.

From a medical standpoint, does not seem like they have an issue,

does not seem like surgery is imminent.

And if in the event that at some point he does need surgery,

they do not think it'll be something

that will affect him long-term.

Yes, it is something to discuss.

This is what medicals are.

This is what happens before the NFL draft,

but it seems like Francis Maui-Noah

is going to be probably where he should be,

which is taken very early.

Yep, one of the big guys that we're going to expect

to be taking early in the draft,

we've got some offensive linemen

that we're going to go in the top 15.

We're expecting Maui-Noah, perhaps even in the front half

of that top 15, we'll keep an eye on him for you.

Does your Indiana NFL draft prospect have facial hair?

Does he have pulled back hair?

Is he a running back?

Is he a quarterback?

They're all the Indiana prospects

that they're waiting to hear their names called,

coming up here in the draft.

Next week, you know what?

Why don't we spend a couple minutes with one of them?

Indiana running back, Kalon, Black.

Joining the insiders now with Juni Batista

and me, Mike Garofalo, Kalon, so glad to have you.

We had a lot of Indiana guys leading up to this draft

and why not?

We're talking about the national champions.

We're talking about guys with a lot of talent.

You a six year, six years in college.

I mean, this is the NIO where all we understand

how it goes from JMU to Indiana.

You enter the NFL, the experience has to be on your side, right?

Yes, sir.

I feel like it has been, man.

And honestly, I feel like it's a great for me,

just for our NFL team as well,

just being able to play right away,

familiar with a lot of systems and you pass protection,

running the ball.

So they're going to be a good transition.

We're going to get to more football.

But first, I want to take you through what you've just gone

through the last few weeks, all of the visits,

all the conversations with teams.

Most recently, one of them started with a sleepover

in our hair airport and then like a five hour Uber ride

to Cincinnati.

Can you take us through that whole cycle?

Where just sleep?

How did you get to being an Uber for five hours to Cincinnati?

What was that whole visit like?

Yeah, so basically, I was just coming from Vegas

and the layover was in Chicago.

And as soon as we landed in Chicago, pretty much,

we got a notification saying, oh, your flight got pushed back.

And we're like, oh, man, here we go.

And then it started raining heavy.

So then again, we got pushed back again.

And after another hour, I got pushed back again.

So I'm like, man, like, what are we supposed to do?

I mean, the next flight wouldn't be able to make it

to Cincinnati until 1 p.m. the next day.

So pretty much, we got in contact with the team

that I was visiting and next thing you know,

they're sending out an Uber for us

and we just send an Uber for five hours,

trying to sleep as best as we could

but we ended up making it and it was a great visit.

Listen, man, this is the pre-draft process for you.

It's going to be stuff that's unscripted.

I've heard about the combine.

Sometimes guys are running and they haven't eaten

and they're getting their medicals for hours.

Is it a battle of resilience for you?

Because I know it probably feels like it's been an eternity

even though you have had the shortest off season

of any of the college guys.

Yeah, man, it has felt long, man,

but it's definitely a true testament

to being resilient, you know,

just being focused through the whole process.

And also, we can't complain.

Like this is something that we've been wanting

for the longest time.

We're just blessed to be able to play football

and play at the highest level.

And like I said, we just can't complain about it.

You were in the senior bowl.

You did not go to the combine.

What have you wanted teams to learn about you

during this pre-draft process?

Yes, so I just wanted teams to know,

like I'm a quiet and humble person,

but I'm just out there willing to do anything,

anything to help my team win.

And I just feel like throughout this whole process,

I've just been gaining a lot of knowledge on

how to become a better player.

And, you know, just, you know,

showcasing and receiving the ability

and just one that I'm complete packaged.

Give me a breakdown of Fernando Mendoza's.

He heads to the NFL.

We've certainly talked a lot about him.

We've talked to a lot of people about him.

Give us your best read on what kind of quarterback

the Raiders are getting, what the NFL is getting.

Man, well, the Raiders are getting, you know,

the most talented quarterback that's out there.

Fernando is very detailed.

One of my favorite teammates that I've ever been around.

He's just so humble and just so hungry

that always wants better.

And like you can ask anyone on our team,

there's no one more detailed than him.

And I feel like he was one of the main reasons

why we were able to take that next stage over.

And I feel like, you know,

being on the team with Fernando was just a blessing.

What did you get out of being on that team,

again, out of six years in college?

But what'd you get out of being

on a national championship team?

Man, it honestly taught me a lot about being resilient

and just never taking things for granted.

Through all the things that the guys on the team

have been through, as Pat, you know,

Pat Couganosh, you know what I said earlier

in the season, we're a bunch of misfits

that Joe will together.

And I just feel like that's a true story.

And I just feel like all of us together

just working hard, just working for the same common goal.

And at week by week, we just feel ourselves

get better and better.

And that was our main thing.

You know, I'm seeing these games here.

You come from JMU, you follow Kurt Signetti to Indiana.

Quite the character of that guy.

I heard some great stories about him.

But you're playing on some of these big stages

as you get through the playoff.

That's got to help you having that experience

in your back pocket as you're going to be playing

in some huge stadiums and some huge games,

some prime time NFL games moving forward, right?

Yes, sir, definitely.

And I just feel like it definitely helped

in, you know, the experience factor

and then also just being in those large crowds.

But when you're playing football,

you really don't really don't hear it.

It's just one of those things where as soon as the play goes on,

you zone in on what you have to do.

And you know, just being in Indiana,

being able to experience these things

as it's been a blessing.

And I just thank God for even being in this position.

And I honestly thank Coach Sieg for allowing me

to take part in, you know, his success at Indiana.

What kind of feedback have you gotten

when you've talked to teams about your experience,

your age, the whole thing?

Well, honestly, I haven't heard much about my age.

I know I'm 24, but my first two years of college

I've really played.

So I don't really like to count those.

I like to focus on my last four.

And honestly, the teams have been telling me

a lot of great things that they respect my game.

They love the way I run with aggressiveness

and, you know, being strong and physical.

And also just a lot of team things as well.

Like they always say that, you know, as a team,

we played so well together and it was all efficient.

And that was like the main things that I was hearing.

Okay, my last one for you.

What's happened over your right shoulder there?

Who's on the walls at you?

You get your own fat head?

Yeah.

So yeah, it's from my senior year in high school.

We had our senior night and they ended up giving us these.

And it's just sitting there on my wall.

I haven't been home in months.

So I want to do seeing that just reminds me

of where I come from and, you know,

growing up in Virginia Beach.

That is fantastic.

Well, congratulations on that.

Congratulations where you're coming from.

Congratulations on where you're going.

We appreciate you joining the Insiders.

The first of many visits we hope

over the course of your NFL career.

Good luck and join the draft process.

I appreciate you all for having me on.

God bless.

God bless you, K-Long Black.

Best of luck to you over the next week.

Best of luck to all the coaches and players in the AFC West

because that is one tough division.

Our resident tough guy, Jeffrey Tadea,

gonna be here after the break to break it down.

We're talking to AFC West next on the Insiders.

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I have a hunch, and it's just a small one,

that Fernando Mendoza's stay at the draft is gonna be quick.

Well, not gonna be at the draft,

gonna be a Miami, but his stay in the draft

is gonna be quick.

Because the writers are gonna take him.

At number one, we know that.

Anyway, listen to General Manager John Spitec talk all about it.

Well, a lot less energy spent on hypotheticals.

And we were just talking before we came down here.

There's only one team that can get the exact person

that they want.

And we have that option to us available this year

if we so choose.

Here's some video of the chiefs looking kind of sad.

You just don't see them looking dejected all that often.

But here we are.

They are picking in the top 10.

It's weird to even say that they have two first round picks.

Big opportunities for a free reset for the chiefs.

Here's General Manager Brett Vich on the draft.

It does open up that nine pick to go in any one direction.

And certainly we'll see how the first five or six picks go.

But I think whether it's the defensive backfield,

the offensive line, edge rusher, receiver, again,

we need help in all those areas.

So I do think that we'll be in a position there

to get one of those players and then

add throughout the course of the draft.

So I just think where we are with our roster,

you really can't eliminate any one need

because I think there are a lot of them.

The chargers had 32 different offensive line

combinations last year.

32.

That's one for each team in the NFL.

Joe Horatiz, the General Manager,

is charged with getting that number a lot closer

to one this upcoming season.

Yeah, the draft will be a part of that.

You'd love that 10 starters in that O'Linerum, right?

But I think continuity is important.

Chemistry is important when it comes the offensive line.

So that's why you get five guys and you put them out there.

Now, that doesn't say, hey, we're not

going to have a competition at X.

We're looking, we want to keep adding like Coach says,

competitors welcome.

We're not done on the offensive line.

I can promise that.

So it's exciting when a team trades a first round pick

for a superstar player, just like the Denver Broncos

did for Jalen Waddle right there.

Not as exciting when your pick comes up

and you get to make it.

Are the Denver Broncos going to trade back

into the first round and take another play make

or something else?

George Payton was asked is that his pre-draft press

comments, well, I didn't say no.

It was more sort of like, we'll see.

Never, never say, never, but it's unlikely.

It would cost quite a haul for us to get up there.

Most of our draft, we'd have to trade.

And then obviously something next year.

I would say it's unlikely, but we certainly

could move up in the second.

And we're really honed in, let's say, from 45 to 75.

And just really honed in in that group of players.

We've not that we haven't gone through the process

in the first round like we always do.

But now this just gives us time to really focus

on the players there and to go through every scenario

possible.

I want to stick right here in this division

as we bring in our good friend, Jeffrey Cheney,

with me in Rappaport and Judy Batista.

Jeff, I want to get a little breakdown from you.

Take me through the draft that is upcoming

for the Las Vegas Raiders and what we should expect

on the field that should come out of this for them.

Well, a lot of needs for the Raiders

and you saw John Spiteke talk about some of those things.

But to me, once we get past Fernando Mendoza,

they've got to find an interior defensive lineman

to help that that pass first, that front seven.

You got Mascros becoming back that traded,

not work out in Baltimore.

Made some good moves in the off season

as far as adding free agent linebackers like Quay Walker

and the Colby D, but Christian Wilkins

did not work out for them as a defensive tackle.

Adam Butler is 32 years old.

He's their best interior defensive lineman

and you're going to a three, four defense.

So you got to find somebody to help

that defensive line out and then go into the chiefs

picking nine and 29 and 41.

Again, as a russier to me makes a lot of sense

for this team going into defensive line

because George Carloftus is a good player,

not a great player.

Chris Jones is, what's a great player

coming in a good player now and not much else there

with this pass rush?

And we know Steve Spagnolo wants to get out

through the quarterback.

They have not been able to do that the last couple of seasons.

So going out and finding somebody at the edge

is to help them out.

Brett Beach talked about the death at defensive line

at edge russier and thinks he can find somebody in day two,

maybe late in the second round.

So don't be surprised that pick happens for them

at 41 or even 29.

We should spend some time talking about the teams

that actually made the playoffs out of this division.

Let's start with the chargers.

What position would provide the biggest immediate impact

for the chargers?

You have to go to the offensive line here

because they had so many a problem with Joe Alko

and Downer or Sean Slater.

And they lost three interior lineman starters

this past off season.

Now they've made some good moves there,

but I think guard, left guard is a big, big need

for this team because Zion Johnson, starter last year,

left in free agency.

Joe Hortes talked about feeling good about the idea,

play a game with what he has there,

which is basically Trevor Penning, a converted tackle.

I think need to find somebody who's a younger player

can help them because depth is so critical.

You see the hits that Justin Herbert took this season,

they need to find a way to add depth and add more youth there.

And then going over to the Broncos,

I would expect them to think long and hard

about going with a tight end.

They don't have a pick until the second round here,

pick number 62.

But Evan Ingram was a guy they thought they could do

a lot with last off season.

He had one touchdown reception.

He averaged nine yards of catch.

He's turning 32 year olds, 33 years old in September.

And even though Sean Payton likes him,

has talked about feeling good about what he can still do

for his offense, adding another weapon to go along with

Jayden Waddle to get both nicks more options

in the passing game.

Makes a lot of sense here in the second round for this team.

Broncos actually just hosted Vanderbilt,

tight end, Eli Stowers would be an interesting pick there,

receiver slash tight end, kind of Sean Payton's type guy.

So I'm going to keep an eye on if he is going to be there

when they pick, we will see.

Jeffrey, great stuff.

Thank you as always, Judy, thanks,

but you're going to be back.

So it's like not that big of a deal.

We are now less than a week away from the 2026 NFL draft

presented by Bud Light.

You can catch all the drama starting Thursday, April 23rd.

And 8 p.m. Eastern, you can, right now, right this down.

Right here on NFL Networks,

you can just leave your TV or device on

for the next week.

ABC ESPN, ESPN Deportis,

O-N-F-L plus plenty of places for you

to find the NFL draft, 2026,

where this guy by here is name call.

Let's talk to a quarterback,

because we love talking quarterbacks

when it comes to the draft.

And we love talking to quarterbacks

when it comes to the draft.

Ian Rappaport and Mike Garrafolo now join here

on the Insiders by Texas Techs,

Baron Martin, Baron, appreciate you joining us.

Texas Tech Quarterback.

That's a good thing when it comes to the draft, no?

Yeah, no, thanks for having me on, guys.

It's gonna be awesome.

Yeah, so I would say I might kinda hint at it a little bit,

but there has been a little lineage of Texas Tech

quarterbacks in the NFL draft.

I would say this,

is there anyone you can think of

that you enjoyed watching a Texas Tech,

and is there any way that your game

may be models catching my homes?

Yeah, maybe a little bit.

I've been told once or twice.

I'm actually up here in Kansas City since January.

Training up here with Bobby Shrewd,

it's been awesome.

Working with Justin Hoover is my quarterback guy up here.

We've had about six NFL guys come back

and it's really cool to get to see the guys

that have been to the process this last year

and then they come back in the Aussies

and then it's like, man,

this is gonna be what I'm gonna be

in the position next year.

So get to the learn from those guys.

No, it's been awesome.

Let's get right into that because your agent is Chris Cabot,

the same agent as Patrick Mahomes.

Did Patrick facilitate that at all?

Has that opened the door for you to have a relationship with him?

I mean, how did that come about

and what's your relationship with Patrick?

Yeah, I mean, once NIL kind of took off

and it was time to get an agent in college football.

You know, I had a good guy reach out to me

and said he got a great rep

and then got in contact with Chris back in 2023.

So I've been with him for a couple of years now

and then we knew going into this process

once this kind of rolled around.

I'm going up to Kansas City.

He lives here too.

So it's very convenient to have a guy here

in the same place you're training.

So I've been taking really good care of

and you know, really enjoyed my time here in Kansas.

I have some football questions too,

but I mean, you played for five years in Texas.

You now spend a lot of time in Kansas City.

Are you a barbecue guy

and can you weigh in on the Texas first Kansas City barbecue?

I promise we'll get to football.

Yeah.

Yeah, I might get some heat for this,

but the KC barbecue appears legit.

It is really good.

This is the first time I've had Berk ins.

So I'm added to the lens of it.

Man, they're so good.

They're so good.

Yeah, but I hit up Joe's original

in the gas station that places.

Yes.

It's right on.

That's the best place.

I mean, the line is down the block.

Hopefully you got a way to cut that.

You may catch heat from it,

but anybody from Texas who's been to Kansas City

understands that they do it.

Well, they just do it differently.

It's fantastic.

You can't get bad barbecue in either places.

You talked about he's a Texas tech.

You're a Texas tech for five years.

You did not transfer.

Now, we're actually doing a feature

on NFL Network for the draft

about how the portal has changed things.

And it used to be the question was,

wait a second, why did this guy transfer?

Now the question is, wait a second,

why did this guy not transfer?

Did you have that question brought up at all?

Yeah, for sure.

My first two years I sat behind Tyler Schuck.

I learned a lot, you know,

coming from a small town, you know,

being the guy in East London, you know,

is great and then gets to college.

And then you sit behind a guy that is a veteran

that you can learn from.

And so those two years were really good for me growing wise,

but I got a taste of playing in those two years.

And, you know, I had opportunities to lead,

but, you know, I really trusted in Coach McGuire.

You know, he's a Texas high school coach.

My dad was a Texas high school coach.

I want a similarities between those two,

but Coach McGuire is, you know,

a guy that I've really called my mentor.

You know, I can call him about anything

and he's always there for me.

And that's the reason I stayed.

Interesting, interesting.

Plus, you also, I mean, get that experience

that I know teams just,

I know everyone transfers around now,

but the quarterback who starts 36 or whatever it game,

whatever games it was,

certainly that has value considering it's in the same spot,

only helps more.

So you have been a busy man.

I know you visited the Packers.

I'm curious where else on top 30 visits.

And then you've also done a bunch of zooms.

Can you give us, well, first of all,

where else to do visit?

And then give us an idea for what some of those zooms

are actually like.

Yeah, no, they're intense for sure.

And up to 30s to the Packers, the Patriots,

and the Panthers.

Those 30 visits, you know,

can range from coaches getting to know you better,

but then some coaches want to install a lot.

And they want to see how much you can retain.

And basically those zooms,

I've had about 15 zooms and they've all been great.

Some of them are, you know,

want to watch my film, explain my off

and some of them are,

I'm going to teach you our offense.

You're going to recall it at the end of the meeting,

but it's been really good.

Being in the air rate system,

the Ferbage and the pro style offense,

a little bit different than what I'm used to,

but this is a great opportunity,

you know, getting to play in the East West Shrine Bowl,

getting the learner pro style offense,

doing that, you know,

really set me up for success through this process.

Baron, you got a lot of skills.

You got to, you know, the arm strength you need,

you got the footwork that you need,

you got the experience in a system

that will translate to the NFL.

You've also got toughness.

You played through a hairline fracture in your fibula,

last half of this past season,

how, and how painful was that?

Yeah, no, it was tough.

It was actually week one,

we were playing Arkansas Pine Bluff,

and it was the third quarter that happened.

Got hit in the lower leg,

fracture fibula,

but, you know, Monday through Friday,

wouldn't do much practice.

I would be in a boot,

take the boot off on Saturday,

go play Saturday,

get back in the boot on Monday,

not practice,

and I did that really for the whole year,

and it was tough.

I mean, not getting to see the reps,

you know, you got a new coordinator,

you want to get the reps through in the week,

and then, you know, get out there Saturday,

and, you know, the ball's going to get snapped,

and we got to go in a football game.

So, you know, it was a great season for sure.

You know, I wanted more for myself,

but, at the end of the day,

we won our first ever Big 12 championship

and did a lot of things tech hasn't done.

But so, because you played through the injury,

really the entire season,

do you feel like teams have seen what you can do?

Like, do you think there's, like,

does that tape represent you?

Or are you more excited, like,

are, well, they saw I can play through something real,

and there's that.

Like, you could sort of look at it both ways there.

Yeah, no, this, this, the majority of what I wanted

to come to Kansas City for is to get my body healthy,

and that was, that was the top of my list.

I need to get healthy.

And Bobby's trip has been phenomenal with me.

I'm really figured out a lot,

but then, you know, going through the combine,

going through the All Star game,

going to pro day,

and getting a showcase,

what you can really do when you're healthy.

And I think that was an eye opener for some of the teams

that just to say, like, hey, this kid's really athletic,

you know, just had a broken leg this year,

and, you know, kind of made what it's worth.

He's athletic, he can throw.

He's tough.

We just established that, and he's a winner.

And he's a guest on the insiders for the first of,

we hope many times.

Baron Morton, we appreciate you joining us.

Good luck, man.

I know it felt like a long process,

but I swear, we're almost there, dude.

Just, just, yeah.

Burn down, we're almost there.

For sure.

No, thanks for having me on, it's been great.

Pittsburgh bridges, there's three,

they're called the sister bridges,

and they span the Allegheny,

or is it the Monangahilo, or the Ohio Island?

I got a 33% chance.

Anyway, you're gonna see plenty of bridge shots next week

on the insiders and on NFL draft covers,

but yes, the insiders Monday to Wednesday live from Pittsburgh,

or at least some of us, right?

Some of the rest of us will be in Jersey and LA.

Don't worry about it.

Don't worry where we are.

We're all about us.

Normal time, Monday to Wednesday.

You'll be here.

Monday to Wednesday, that's the first part of the week.

We are now toward the back end of the week.

So it's time for the week ender, Adam Rank segment.

What are we ending week ending about today?

Thank you so much.

As you said, the NFL draft is about seven days away

from right now, and there's gonna be a lot of changes

in the league, and some of those changes will be

in the uniforms that some of the teams will be wearing

this year, and of course, the Washington commanders

understood the assignment.

The new look commanders are a throwback

to their glorious 1980s uniforms complete,

with some modern amenities.

They look great, they look sharp, really,

really fantastic looking uniforms.

The only thing missing, not that, you're never getting that,

but the only thing missing is the Joe Thysman single bar face mask

to complete the look.

I don't know if you would want to do that.

It seems a little risky, but still,

the commanders, love what you're doing.

You did a great job.

L.A. Rams, I don't know, they revealed new uniforms

on Thursday, I'm sorry, am I getting pumped here?

Like, is Ashen cold-check gonna show up and say like,

hey, we actually changed the uniforms.

I mean, listen, we've been clear to use this meme before.

Don't make me break this meme out again.

Break out the meme, show me the meme.

There it is.

This is you Rams, what are you doing?

You did nothing, you changed nothing, but listen,

you understand like, the one thing

that's the most frustrating about the Rams,

is that they have some great uniforms in their history.

I'm talking about the Roman Gabriel, blue and whites.

It's like going over to your friends house

and finding out that they have a Scotty Cameron

collecting dust in the garage,

but you don't use that thing?

What are you doing, Rams?

You've done nothing.

And what about, oh, what the hell, look at those uniforms.

You don't want to use those?

Go on out in Ravens.

Ravens, don't give me started on you.

You didn't change it all either, exactly the same.

But I think I got it.

I feel like you agreed to change your uniforms,

and then at the last second pulled out of the deal.

Like, now we don't want to do that.

We're actually not going to change our uniforms,

and then you're trying to make us believe like,

no, we were going to use these uniforms all along.

No, you weren't.

That's not what you're all about.

We know your ammo now.

And speak of the Baltimore Ravens.

They're former offensive coordinator, Todd Monkin,

the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

This dude's been on a roll lately.

He was recently on a podcast with our colleague, Kevin Clark.

He was fantastic.

He was so good.

He comes out and he goes, you know what?

I despise.

I despise.

How do I put this?

I despise poopy football.

And I'm like, oh, dude, you're going to be bummed

to find out that your coach in the Cleveland Browns.

Because that's all you guys do is play poopy football.

That's the Browns identity.

That's what you guys do, but I'll be honest with you.

I'm warming up to Todd Monkin.

I like really like him now.

It's kind of like when Hot Tub Time Machine came out.

I didn't know if I was going to like it,

because the premise seemed kind of far fetched.

But when I went to go see it in the theater,

that's right, GZ.

I saw it in the theater.

I went to the theater.

I saw Hot Tub Time Machine.

I loved it.

I was in.

I was down with it.

And now similarly, I liked Todd Monkin.

Listen, last week I was making fun of his haircut.

I would like to apologize about that.

I was wrong.

It's almost got to the point where I'm thinking

of picking the Cleveland Browns to make the playoffs.

But I realize if I do that,

I'm going to be pumped, pumped,

because they do play some poopy football.

Mike, gee, take it away.

What are you doing?

How do you run that there?

See what's going on?

Hey, listen, that's the new,

as you see the red eyes on the Raven.

Oh, I'm sorry.

There's the eyes too.

I see it.

And they got rid of the drop shadow.

There's no drop shadow.

Oh, I'm sorry.

So I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Would have had a shadow in the previous.

And that's gone now, okay?

That's why.

You also got a little Raven.

Don't have anything happening here.

$300 for a new one, because there's no drop shadow.

They're very different, Frank.

Red eyes.

Red eyes.

Yeah, how about this?

They also signed this guy right here.

How about that?

Oh, look at this.

Well done.

All right.

We've gone too far.

But you don't go far.

There's one more segment of the insiders.

Before we see you again in Pittsburgh next week.

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Yes, we are six days away from the NFL draft.

We're gonna be counting it down tomorrow.

We're gonna be saying it's five days,

then four, then three day.

We're gonna get there, folks.

The Jeremiah Love is gonna get there

and all these prospects are gonna get there.

It's been a long process.

They're gonna hear their name call the NFL draft

or the NFL Lexus coming up in just six days.

NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN, the Ocho,

any network that does the old you can watch it on there.

Disney Plus too, probably, I don't know.

Navy running back, Eli Heidenreich.

Yeah, he was invited by the NFL

to attend day two and day three.

So that's his day one.

We've got guys coming for day two and day three.

The Pittsburgh local back to his home area

to attend the draft and speaking of running backs

and backs, Jameer Gibbs.

Yeah, it's back tattoo season.

Deandalkins did one.

We talked about it a couple of other guys.

Here's Jameer Gibbs.

And yes, that is Sonic on his neck insiders.

Do you have any thoughts, Ian?

I have a thought.

I'm glad he didn't do the Sonic on the front.

On the back is fun.

People are like, oh, when he's 60,

is he gonna have Sonic?

Yeah, but he's not gonna be able to see it, Judy.

So what's the difference, right?

I mean, how much does it hurt?

That's all I can think whenever I see these massive back tattoos.

How much does that hurt?

A lot.

They're unconscious.

They're not cold, but you can be for two days.

We're back Monday.

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