00:00Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk joining us on the Western Hotline.
00:03Mike, throw us a quick take on that, the college football playoff.
00:07It just came to us in a moment.
00:08So you're here.
00:09You got good takes.
00:10What do you got?
00:12Well, all I know is based upon the first two years of the current system with,
00:18what is it, 12 teams, eight teams, I can't even keep track anymore,
00:22a lot of blowouts.
00:24Imagine what the game between number one and the winner of, what will it be?
00:32Whatever that last game on the bracket is, 16 versus 17, if that's how they do it,
00:40if eight teams get a bye and 16 teams play an opening round,
00:45which I think that's what they'll do, it's going to be one versus 16, 17.
00:50What's the line on that one going to be?
00:52Minus 30.5?
00:54So there's going to be a lot of ugly football.
00:56It's going to be meaningful.
00:57And what it does, and this is the thing I don't like,
01:00it's going to put pressure on a lot of players who otherwise would make the business decision
01:04to skip a bowl game, to keep playing after the haze in the barn on their draft prospects,
01:10keep playing because you're in theory pursuing a championship even if your team has no chance.
01:14You go out there and play and you risk a Jalen Smith-style injury.
01:18Remember, he was the linebacker at Notre Dame, tore his ACL in a bowl game that wasn't for a championship.
01:23And it impacted his career permanently.
01:28Yeah.
01:28While we're kind of adjacent to college football here, Mike, I wonder if you had any conversations
01:33with people recently about what's happening with the 27 QB class.
01:37Like, I remember going into the year, the hype was through the roof.
01:41There were so many guys.
01:42Arch Manning probably was the top of the list just because of the name especially.
01:45And I don't know, has it totally gone the other way to if you're a team at the bottom
01:50like Miami or, you know, Tennessee, the Jets have a bunch of first-round picks early,
01:55then maybe you're starting to not be that excited about what's coming your way?
01:59Well, yeah.
02:00And the thing we have to remember now that the new rule goes into effect next year, five
02:04years of eligibility, you've got plenty of guys who can choose to go back again.
02:10I'd be surprised if Arch Manning comes out, whether he plays for Texas or someone else next
02:15year.
02:16Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State receiver, has been the top pick, at least as far as the betting
02:22markets are concerned.
02:23And who knows what that really means?
02:24But it just shows the perception that it's not going to be a quarterback.
02:29The Oklahoma State quarterback, there was an item on ESPN's website over the weekend.
02:32The Oklahoma State quarterback is now regarded as the top prospect at the position.
02:36It's a big swing to take, but everybody wants a Josh Allen.
02:41And there were multiple teams that had a chance at Josh Allen.
02:44We talked about that on PFT Live within the past few weeks.
02:48All the teams that could have had Josh Allen and didn't take Josh Allen.
02:52There weren't many, but there are enough that it's glaring, and every team wants that.
02:56And I think they're willing to roll the dice on that lottery ticket because if you get Josh
03:01Allen, if you get Patrick Mahomes, if you get Caleb Williams, if you get Joe Burrow, you've
03:07got the most important position on the field covered for the next 15 years.
03:11One alternate scenario in this draft idea with teams with the first-round picks, could we
03:16see trades for star quarterbacks?
03:18I mean, Lamar's speculation is underway now, right, because of his injury.
03:22Joe Burrow, I feel like it's always they're asking him if he would stick around.
03:27Herbert, there's some.
03:28Herbert, okay.
03:29Like, throw as many names as you want here that if the Jets don't like a class, they could
03:33decide, let's go get somebody and spend two to three first-round picks on a guy that
03:36already plays.
03:38I think that's very realistic.
03:39There was a shift about six years ago.
03:41There didn't used to be much of a quarterback component to the annual free agent frenzy because
03:49if you had a guy who was good enough, you were afraid to let him go.
03:53Now we see teams that are willing to cut the cord on a guy they have and go fishing for
03:59someone better.
04:00Whether it's in free agency, whether it's through a trade, whether it's through the
04:04draft or wherever, they're not content to just say, we have a guy who checks the box
04:08with pencil instead of permanent marker.
04:12We're fine.
04:12We don't want to risk dipping at the position.
04:15Now we see teams that are willing to take that risk because we see a lot of guys moving
04:18around and that becomes a way to get that position addressed.
04:22And if you have quarterbacks on current teams and it's just not working for whatever reason,
04:27I don't think Burrow's going to want out of Cincinnati and he's already spoken to that
04:30effect.
04:31But with the Chargers and Herbert, it feels like it's not sustainable.
04:38So yeah, I think that would be a way to do it.
04:40And from the perspective of the team that gives up the veteran player and the big contract
04:44that goes with it, you replenish with young, cheap talent.
04:51The best thing to come out of the 2011 CBA for the NFL was the rookie wage scale because
04:56those draft picks now, they are cheap and they are productive and you get them for four
05:01or five years.
05:02First rounders, you get them at least five years and you always have the franchise tag in
05:05your back pocket, throw Dak Prescott in there too.
05:08I'm not reporting anything.
05:10I'm just saying, hey, you got to wonder what's going to change in Dallas after this year.
05:14When you have all that money invested in Dak Prescott in your passing game and all of a
05:18sudden you're a run first team, it tells me behind the scenes there's something going
05:21on.
05:22And the changes that happen in Dallas could potentially make him available too.
05:26Do you feel like that's more thinking about it from Dallas's end or from Prescott's
05:30end?
05:33Probably Dallas's end as long as Prescott gets what he's owed under his contract.
05:38And look, he's got great contracts, mainly because the Cowboys dragged their feet for
05:43far too long to get him properly paid after they realized they got very lucky.
05:48The year that they desperately wanted Paxton Lynch, they settled in round four for Dak Prescott
05:53and they found a long-term answer.
05:54They waited too long to pay him.
05:56They put themselves into a corner once with his first contract, they put themselves into
06:01an even worse corner the second time around, and he's got that $60 million a year.
06:05And all due respect, he's in the top half of quarterbacks and maybe even the top 10, but
06:11he's getting paid like the second highest paid player in all of football, and I don't
06:16think the performance has been there.
06:17So I think it's more Cowboys than Prescott, but he could be at the point where he's not going
06:22to wear it on his sleeve, but he could see how dysfunctional things are there, starting
06:26with ownership.
06:27And maybe he'd like an opportunity to go somewhere where there's a better infrastructure in place
06:33to be successful and get to where he hasn't been.
06:35He's never been to the NFC Championship game either, because the Cowboys haven't been there
06:39in 31 years and counting.
06:41Mike Florio with us on the Western Hotline, NFL Insider, Chief Editor and Founder of Pro Football
06:46Talk.
06:47Mike, one week until the trade deadline, what do you think of for the Bills for the deadline?
06:51Their defense has been struggling a lot.
06:54Last week, they did great.
06:56They played a third-string quarterback for a lot of it.
06:58Do you feel like it's easy to just fix the defense, or we've been talking a lot about
07:02maybe the defense is too far gone to solve.
07:06You just go all gas, no brakes, and try to outscore everybody.
07:09Well, I mean, this is the time of year.
07:11We learned this last week.
07:12We should have already known, but I think it's now crystal clear.
07:15These teams are calling each other constantly.
07:18The teams that are in position to try to add veteran help to go all in, they're going to
07:22be making the calls to see what's out there and what it would take, and the teams that
07:25are viewed as not contenders are going to be getting the calls.
07:29Now, will they answer?
07:31Will they not?
07:32Will they refuse to talk about trading a guy until all of a sudden they trade Jeffrey Simmons
07:36to the Bears?
07:37I don't know, but I think the Bills should be looking at all opportunities at any position
07:41where they think they can upgrade if they're willing, and in the past we've seen resistance
07:46to do this, resistance to go all in during the season.
07:50I remember in 2021 when Vaughn Miller was available, when Odo Beckham Jr. was available, the Rams went
07:56out and got them both, and you could argue that the presence of both of those guys was integral
08:02to the Rams winning the Super Bowl that year, and the Bills didn't pursue either of them.
08:06The Bills signed Vaughn Miller after the season.
08:09If they'd have made the move for him during the season, who knows what it might have brought
08:12about.
08:13So it's about being strategic, it's about being aggressive, it's about not being satisfied.
08:20But you don't want to mortgage your future and wreck your program by giving up a lot to
08:27get a guy, and the Bears are going to be a great litmus test for that.
08:29Look at what Jeffrey Simmons did for them last night.
08:31Great, but man, you give up two first-round draft picks to get him?
08:35Guys who become the lifeblood of your future?
08:37How much longer is Simmons going to be there?
08:39It's a calculated risk to try to go all in right now and try to grab the brass ring this
08:46year, and we'll see if the Bills are willing to make that move.
08:49Hey, there's some offensive weapons that may be available.
08:51You add another receiver to that mix who can get it done, if you can get him for a reasonable
08:55price and you can get him up to speed, that's going to help the Bills as well.
08:59So I'd probably bet against just based on Brandon Bean's history, but I think you at least have
09:04to be doing your homework to see what's out there.
09:06For receivers that are available, what names might you have at the top of your list?
09:10I mean, Brian Thomas Jr.'s name gets mentioned here and there.
09:14Josh Downs, of course, because the Colts are selling off parts.
09:17Have any other names that might intrigue a team or two out there?
09:21I'd call about George Pickens in Dallas.
09:23I'd make the phone call.
09:25We see the smoke.
09:26We see the frustration.
09:28If they're not going to tag him again next year and he's going to walk away as a free
09:32agent and then he'll provide them potentially with a solid compensatory draft pick in 2028,
09:39you can do a deal now and you can get something for him in 2027.
09:42But it just seems like, it seems like, and how Ryan Flannoy had a bigger day on Sunday in
09:48the loss to the Cardinals than Pickens did, it just seems like something's broken in that
09:52relationship and this could be an opportunity.
09:54If you could get a second round pick for him now, basically the Quentin Nelson deal, because
09:58that's what the Colts did last week.
09:59Instead of letting him leave as a free agent and getting a compensatory pick in 28, let's
10:03trade him now for a two.
10:05I think you put a two on the table, you could get George Pickens.
10:07The question is, do you want to put a two on the table for a guy who's only under contract
10:11through the end of this year and then you've got to play the franchise tag game again or
10:15sign him to a long-term contract?
10:17That's going to be the question for the team that acquires him, but I think he could be available
10:21if someone makes the phone call and is willing to make the move.
10:24All right.
10:24Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk, joining us on the Western Hotline.
10:27Mike, thanks.
10:28We'll chat next week.
10:29Thanks, guys.
10:30Mike Florio.
10:31George Pickens is an idea.
10:32Mike's appearance here on WGR.
10:37They definitely cannot fit George Pickens in contract-wise because he is on the franchise
10:43tag, which means his cap hit at the moment is $27 million.
10:47And I think they have ability to create space from four, but they cannot get to $27 million.
10:53My instant take on George Pickens is, you want a deep threat that would stretch the field
11:01and take attention?
11:02Yep.
11:03He would do that.
11:04You want Josh to get addicted to throwing the ball deep?
11:08I'm almost worried.
11:09Then you give him George Pickens.
11:11I'm almost worried what Josh would become if you gave him George Pickens.
11:14And then the third part is...
11:15It would just be every play.
11:16He would just be like, I've got that guy.
11:18Don't even call a play.
11:19Just give me 10 blockers and I'm going to stare at him and decide when to throw it.
11:24Yeah.
11:24There's a dream for me, by the way, that Josh gets a Matthew Golden-Christian Watson pairing
11:29out there.
11:30What does Jordan Love do?
11:31Rip it deep all game.
11:32Anyway, that might not be Josh's strength.
11:34The third thing I would say about Pickens is, he would be the next in line of the, this
11:39is a player that McDermott would never have in his locker room.
11:42And if Joe Brady is willing to do that, right?
11:46That's C.J.
11:46Gertner-Johnson.
11:47Sure.
11:47That's Pickens.
11:48Pickens would have been one of those, I wouldn't even think they would consider it.
11:52They got scared off by Diggs, who on the field was demanding, aggressive, in a good
11:59way.
12:00And...
12:00Pickens is a lot more erratic than Diggs was.
12:02Pickens is more erratic and he gives up.
12:05There's the diva who tries relentlessly and then there's the diva who mails it in.
12:11Right.
12:12And I think they're different.
12:14Yeah, definitely.
12:16803-0550.
12:17That's the phone number.
12:18Our thanks to Mike Florio.
12:19Back on the other side, it's trade deadline week because the deadline's coming up in about
12:23a week.
12:24Mike Florio says he would bet against Brandon Bean going in because that's the reputation
12:28that he kind of doesn't.
12:29We shall see.
12:30You've got a week to do it.
12:31Jeremy and Joe here on WGR.
12:34We'll see you next time.
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