Mock Draft 2.0: Mendoza Trade Offers, Reese’s NFL Comp, and More Round 1 Takeaways

the super bowl is in the books that means it's officially officially nfl draft season how are we going to celebrate mock 2.0 might also have some mentions and just 73 days until the nfl draft mensch you good i'm great man all that beat tuck I'm going to start it out by saying congratulations to the Seahawks, right? John Schneider, the rebuild. Mike McDonald, head coach. Sam Darnold. We'll get into all of that in another show, but not today. Today's about Mach 2.0. Man, we're excited about this new partnership. This episode is presented by Scout Motors. Every new year, we do a lot of forward thinking and planning for what's to come. Just like the all-new Scout Terra and Scout Traveler, they're being revamped for what comes next. Taking that classic 70s design and improving it with modern engineering, including plans for advanced four-wheel drive. So look ahead. Join the wait list at ScoutMotors.com, just like I just did. Concept vehicles not available for sale. Features and performance specifications are preliminary and subject to change. Joining the wait list does not guarantee purchase. Visit scoutmotors.com for details. And I just want to let everyone know, the McShay Report has got all 32 first-round picks. If you're not subscribed right now, you've got to be subscribed. It's draft season. Google it, the McShay Report. It's the quickest way to get to it. Throw in your email, subscribe. You want to get involved. The next few months is going to be wild. It always is this time of year. It's our favorite time of year, Mitch. But let's not waste any time, right? Mach 2.0 is out. This is an interesting one. Remember, Mach 1.0 with Dante Moore, the quarterback. He's since returned to Oregon. Mach 1.0, we didn't have the senior bowl behind us. Mach 1.0, we're still kind of feeling out the class. I'm not saying we've gotten to everyone's tape in full. I'm not saying that this is the final draft board or there's so much more intel to come. But I do feel like there's a massive change between Mach 1.0 and Mach 2.0. And let's just get it started. We're going to go through the first half of the first of the first round today. And if you want to read all 32 picks and if you want to read all the explanations and kind of the other. I went through with all these teams and tried to give some other team needs and potentially like other avenues they could go. A lot of this now is about situations and what's available, right? But I've thrown in some other names in with all these teams. You're going to want to check it out on the McShay Report. That newsletter comes to you right in your inbox. First pick, Las Vegas Raiders. I think it comes as no surprise. I don't think there's going to be a mock draft out there that doesn't have Fernando Mendoza going number one. I talked about in the report, right? He's not as physically gifted, Mendoza, as maybe just the last couple drafts, okay? he's not as physically gifted i don't think is caleb williams jaden daniels drake may or even last year maybe cam war but what separates him from a lot of others and i'm not saying it separates him from those guys i just mentioned but what makes him special is first of all don't forget while we're saying he's not as physically gifted as those guys still six five 220 pounds he's got mobility he's a lot of energy on the football right but i think it's up here man i look at most of the great not all the great but most of the great quarterbacks in the league's history they're they're obsessive right there's like an ocd about them in terms of the preparation and and sponging information each week the game plan changing what and he has that and i think he tapped into it for the first like real time this past year when when he was with kurt signetti and that offensive staff and and kind of he made a huge leap in terms of maturity and cutting down on the turnover worthy plays and all those things and i think with tom brady you talk about obsessive like football all-encompassing nerd right those are things that are relatable to tom And those are things that I think will be very attractive to Tom Brady as he's a part of the decision-making process for the Raiders. So I don't think it's a question if they stay at number one, will they take him? My question is, is there a haul out there? The Jets got a lot to offer in a haul. This is what I want to know. The Rams have a decent amount. You know what I mean? Is there something that could – and here's my opinion. You take it wherever you want. It would have to be twofold. Tom would have to put his quote unquote hands on Fernando and the people making those decisions, including John Spitek, including especially John Spitek, the general manager, would have to have some trepidation about Fernando. Is it really worth it? To offset the scare, while next year's class is potentially historic, we've talked about Arch Manning and Dante Moore coming back and Lenora Sellers and Brandon Sorsby and all those guys, CJ Carr. It would have to offset the concern of where will we be picking next year because we don't plan to be picking number one overall. so it would have to be okay we know we're not going to be picking that high next year so we better get we better get a good haul a great haul and combined with we're just not certain he's our guy for the next decade yeah i mean you have to get i think you have to get the kind of haul this would make sense to me you'd have to get the kind of haul that you could move up and get one of these you know we're expecting a great class and 27 of quarterbacks so i think the Hall would have to put you in a position, even if you were picking 15, 22, whatever it is, to make a move to go up and get your quarterback of the future. Because if you don't take Mendoza here and find someone that we're not necessarily seeing as a franchise quarterback later on in this draft, then you're still going to have to fill that need, right? I know this isn't going to happen, but these are the kind of things that I like to think about and would make me so excited. Let me paint a picture here where the Raiders, they trade out of this spot. Everyone goes crazy. Can't believe they don't get Mendoza. And then somehow, and I know it's not going to happen, McShay, I get it. Somehow the Raiders in 27 draft Arch Manning out of Texas. Tom Brady is now the mentor for the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning. You're a sicko. Nothing would be better. Nothing would be better. But seriously, I think the Hall would have to put them in a position to trade up. and it would also have to put them in a position where they can they can use other picks to to um to to add picks to help build the rest of their roster out so we're talking at least what two first plus is what we're looking at and then that might even just be to go back one spot with the jets and so right if you're talking about like six six and 24 is what cleveland has right the rams have 13 i can't imagine 13 and 29 and it would have to be next year's first and like an additional set yeah it would have to be the browns get that 24 pick out of here get that 24 pick out of here i want the six and i want next year's first because historically i'm betting on the browns with the new head coach all the like that like i'm thinking that that the 20 uh 27 pick is going to be more valuable than 24 so you're looking at getting six next year's first and then i think additional picks and are you going to give that up for a guy that we all like and i agree with your your analysis on him i like fernando mendoza i'm not sure he's that guy i'm not sure and i don't even think it's about trepidation for spite Todd i think it is you have to you can like him i think you actually have to 100 believe with full conviction that this is your guy that i like him better than anyone in this class and i like him better than the guys i might get next year i think that's what you have to believe in your heart to take him first overall and ignore what i think teams are going to throw at them i think that teams are desperate enough a quarterback and there'll be enough people that love fernando mendoza which is which is fair that you they You have to think long and hard about getting out of that pick. And Raiders fans probably hate hearing it. I think it's going to be a theme throughout the draft. I think there will be a lot of teams trying to move back in this draft. This draft is actually better than people want to give it credit for because the only thing people can focus on is the quarterbacks aren't great and the top ten picks are not, A, not at positions of traditional value, and B, not necessarily at the level of player that you'd like to see in the top 10. So I think there will be a lot of teams that want to trade back. I don't know how many teams will want to trade up unless it's kind of a minimal move to go. Maybe an offensive tackle is there. Maybe an edge rusher is there. Maybe there's – I don't know that it will be wide receiver because I think there's enough of them. And you'll see that throughout this mock draft. I think you should be put in a loony bin. Here we go. A loony bin. Like straight to the psych ward. If you're willing to give up 2027 compensation for 2026, I think it will be the all-time fellow. Including Mendoza. Because that's what I agree with you across the board. I think and I agree actually I agree with you I wouldn't do it for Mendoza either but I do wonder if teams will see him a little bit differently I think you're right I think you're right don't do it don't don't just don't do it I will lose my mind we'll be sitting in the other it sounds like beautiful studios in LA the ringer and Spotify will be I will you will see me walk out of there pounding the table talk Tucker yelling at me because I'm ruining his audio again like it will be a i promise you and i hope i don't i hope i don't ruin a relationship because i the thought of giving up next year's compensation it's not just the quarterbacks next year it's a wide receiver starting with jeremiah smith it's the edge rushers colin simmons and the gang like it's yes next year's class has a chance to be like go down historically as one of if not the greatest classes of talent in the NFL draft has ever seen. So it would be so short-sighted to make that move. Listen, I feel like your guy Mel Kuyper has made statements in the past that he wrote checks that he couldn't cash. Yeah, like I'm retiring if Klaassen is a star. I didn't want to go there. I wanted to be specific about it. Yeah, but so far, I just want to be clear. I have a list here. If Ty Simpson gets drafted second, you walk out. that one shouldn't happen I think you're safe there but if a team trades 27 draft capital a first round pick in that class next year for anything in this class I will go on I will walk out and then I'll compose myself I'll come back in I'll still torch the village I promise that should be great TV while you're out let's look at the next two picks I don't think it's a surprise I have Arvel Reese going to the Jets. And honestly, the more people I talk to in the league, I'm not saying that this is a lock that he's going to go there. I think the arc for Arvel Reese is going to be similar to that of Micah Parsons. I feel like people forget when Micah Parsons came in the league coming out of Penn State. Yes. And when he went with the Cowboys, he was drafted as an off-the-ball linebacker who could do some rush, could add some edge rush value. But he was primarily an off-the-ball linebacker until some injuries occurred that first year. And he was kind of doing a moonlighting hybrid role and did it so well that I think it was year two that we saw almost exclusively. And then from that point on, Micah Parsons was an edge. Yeah. I could see something similar like that for Arvel Reese. And then at number three, and to me for the jet, go ahead. You're just going to blow by the fact that I've said that, that I called him an edge and you were like, he's not an edge, he's not the ball linebacker. I was doing it more because we were looking at, we were building teams and you were trying to utilize him as an edge when we agreed to utilize him as an off-ball linebacker. And maybe he is an off-ball linebacker who rushes five, seven times a game. I don't know. I'm just saying, I think you justify the number two overall pick on a linebacker by believing, not talking yourself in, but believing this guy is both, if not, going to be a real dominant edge at some point. More importantly, is he a top two player on your board? Top three? Top three, absolutely. Okay. Yes. The value is there. I think it's Mendoza, Reese, and Jeremiah Lover will be the highest three graded players when this is all said and done. That's what makes sense to me about it. They just need to get the best players that they can get. Just get the best players. And I wrote that. And Reese is one of those guys. Yeah. Yeah, especially on the defensive side. But honestly, just take the best player. That should be the theme. That's why this pick makes sense more than us. For the next two years, just bring in good football players and sort it out after. You know? And then at three, this is where it gets interesting. And I know you'll disagree with the player. The premise is what I'm a little bit more interested in, but take it wherever you want. Arizona ahead taking Francis Maui Noah. Arizona's biggest question mark as is the case with the Jets and maybe one or two other teams is a quarterback but there's no fixing it as far as I'm concerned unless you're going to quote-unquote reach for Ty Simpson and we'll see how that all shakes out as we get closer to the draft they've got to figure out what what they're going to do with Kyler Murray right but regardless if you're not drafted quarterback here, I look at offensive tackle and Kelvin Beachum, Jonas Williams, both set to hit free agency in March. Okay. I love Jeremiah Love here. But is it an Ashton Jinty to the Raiders if your offensive line is – you know what I mean? I agree. It's 100% that. So let's – we're picking this high. Let's take and maybe it's Spencer Fano, right from Utah. And I'd be fine with that, too. I did look at this. I mean, Arizona had 53 sacks. They allowed to read loud Yeah OK And that I think sixth most in the NFL LeFleur comes in from a Rams organization I'm not saying that they felt like they had the best fit there. But if you look at their offensive tackles, they've had historically big guys. Yeah. They want to run. I don't think people realize how much the Rams run. Yes, Alaric Jackson, Rob Havenstein. They're both like 6'6", 320, 330. You know what I mean? So Maui Noah kind of fit that bill a little bit more than Fano for me. But I do think that offensive line is a probability for Arizona at three. I love it. I mean, I think you're inside my brain on this one. You've pretty much stated this is what Mench is going to say, different preference on the player. That's true. Maui Noah is awesome, though, and I think he's a good fit for them. He's a top-eight player on my board right now. um came going at three i don't think he's out of the question at all uh i think he's a tackle you know i'm just gonna say that i think people you know we get into this exercise and i understand it and if you have to move him inside you do i'm not convinced you can't play right tackle in the nfl so let's let's look at him as a right tackle that's what i would do so i don't hate i love this i mean paris johnson's awesome at left tackle now you get you bring in your right tackle and when you do get your quarterback you're in a better position i just i think it's a home run here and as much as i love jeremy i love and if you're just trusting your board you're taking the best player available and i get that tough this is this is what we talk about all the time man tough to take a running back over a starting tackle yeah i i tip i tend to agree and i i think this year's class pull it up last year while i'm doing the pull up last year's first round while i'm making the statement i think when you have a draft that's not as loaded at the top with like premier players you know edge rushers and quarterbacks and which we've seen in a lot of years just go back to 2024 right with six quarterbacks in the top 12 when you're dealing with a class that's not totally dissimilar from last year and everyone's like well this isn't a great class we don't have this and we don't have that but i want you to look at this year in the nfl how many rookies made massive impacts and that's what's going to happen and and especially offensive linemen count for me mench how many offensive linemen whether it's the top 20 or the first round wound up coming off the board and i'm talking guards i'm talking guys that we weren't completely sold on coming off of maybe subpar years last year's class was littered with let's just let's let's hit a double let's not swing for the fences like there there's not a lot of swing for the fence guys in this draft let's bring in really good players that can come in or in the trenches that are tough guys there were a lot of defensive linemen including interior guys and there were a lot of offensive linemen and i think this year's class could have a lot of similarities to last year and that teams are hey we we're not going to get a superstar skill player maybe so let's just get a player that we're certain even if in most years we'd like to take him at 10 we're going to take him at three here we'd like to take him at 15 we're going to take him an eight or nine here let's just get a player that we believe in that's going to come in right away and impact upgrade us especially along the lines six tackles two guards i mean that's 25 percent of the first round we're offensive linemen last year and i think just looking at the names i would have to dig in more i think all of them or at least the the vast majority of them hit i mean they when they were on the field they were good man so i mean you're not wrong you're not wrong I want to adjust on the fly, Tucker. I'm going to put some heat on you here. Instead of doing the rest of the top 16, let's throw up a graphic that completes the top 10. And for those of you listening on Apple and everywhere else you listen to podcasts, we appreciate you doing so. For those of you watching on Netflix. So first, hey. Let's go. What's up, Netflix? This is your first mock draft from the McShay Show. I love it. And those watching, got a lot of, like, people are loving the Netflix thing, man. Yeah, nice headphones. Oh, yeah, yeah, by the way. Yeah, how about that? We've been to a company for 20 years. How about the nice black wrapping and the Netflix ribbon? It was so cool. So thank you, Netflix. Netflix sent Sonos headphones. I've been complaining about my headphones forever. Throw these clunky things with cords everywhere out. So thank you for the headsets. Thank you very much. But I'm going to read through the rest of the top ten here, for those of you who are listening and just follow along if you're watching on Netflix or on Spotify. So number four, David Bailey. I think a little bit off, we can get into it, but I don't think it's the position that a lot of people had, but certainly the right player, and I do think they need an edge. Tennessee Titans, that is a four. The Giants at five, I'm starting to zag while most are zigging, if you will. I went Caleb Downs at that spot. We can discuss. Then another offensive tackle. Spencer Fano from Utah going six to Cleveland. At seven, Reuben Bain, edge rusher from Miami, goes to Washington. At eight, the Saints. I kind of wanted to give him to the Chiefs, but I got to be true to the board as I go through this thing. Jeremiah Love running back out of Notre Dame. Pair him up with Tyler Shuck. nine i went this is honestly of the top 16 picks maybe in the entire first round one of if not the toughest ones because i wanted to give him jeremiah love i wanted to give him honestly reuben bain i think that they're gonna it won't shock me if they go trenches here on either side of the ball but they're just like with the two offensive tackles off the board with bain off the board and with jeremiah love off the board i went with kind of the chalk of what's good a wide receiver and i did it with carnell tate because i think mahomes more than anything especially coming off the injury is going to need reliable consistent you know he's not carnell tate another oatmeal guy he's more oatmeal than xavier worthy and and he's yeah yeah he's more Yeah, right. Yeah. OK. And then number 10, Mansoor Delane, cornerback out of LSU, going to the Cincinnati Bengals. Take it where you want. Lots to chew on here. Well, I'll just I'll jump around a little bit. OK. Did you consider Kenyon Sadiq for the Chiefs? I did. I did. Tight end. I actually that's an interesting one to me. So but it's the same thought process, right? They need pass catchers and playmakers. So that's I think that's what they're going to target there, too. if Jeremiah Love's not available, which let's jump into that pick a little bit because we had Mickey Loomis who's nice enough to spend some time with us in Mobile. Nice enough to spend some time with us in Mobile. Great interview. Honestly, surprisingly good and open and detailed, and you can love his process. You can debate his process. I love how convicted he is. He told stories about how he grew up in this business and the attachment to offensive line play. Check it out on Netflix later this week. Yeah, so there's my two questions. Yeah, there's my two-parter. I think we both walked out of the interview and saying to ourselves he's taking an offensive lineman. No question. But I think it's probably going to be an interior guy because I think he likes his guys on the outside. I looked at that too. So there's no value. Not that there's no value, but the value is not necessarily there that early for a guard. I mean, I don't think you're going to take Vega Ione out of Penn State that early as much as people like him. So there's looking at that now. What's interesting about Loomis, too, is his running back history, right? One of the first years that he's at New Orleans, he's not the GM at that point, but he's on the staff. New Orleans drafted Deuce McAllister in the first round. And then you look at they took Reggie Bush in the with the second overall pick, I believe, in 2006. Drafted Mark Ingram in the first late first round in 2011. So he hasn't done it in 15 years, but this guy hasn't been afraid to take running backs early. And when you look at what Alvin Kamara, who has obviously fallen off a little bit recently and has problems like injuries, I think, understands the value of a dynamic running back and what that can do for your offense and what it can do for a young quarterback. I'm fascinated by Jeremiah Love possibly going to the Saints. I think it's a very interesting pick, and it wouldn't surprise me if it happened. i'm glad you got monsoor delane in the top 10 too by the way okay we when we watched his tape i know i'm going off now we watched the tape they need to get better on defense there's no question they got a bit better on pass defense and monster delay may not be the most physically gifted um corner in this class he's one of the smartest corners i've ever watched i mean he is just he's brilliant he you when you watch tape and you can see a guy has an understanding of the game that's on another level, it really jumps out, and that's who he is. So you might look at him and be like, oh, I wish he was a little faster, bigger, whatever. Stop it. He's just a really damn good football player. Man, zone, eyes, instincts. It doesn't matter. Reading routes, reading quarterbacks. He just gets it, man. He gets it. And Jermon McCoy, more physically gifted. Man-to-man, cover. Let's see how he works out at the combine. mind i think everyone's kind of waiting on that what are the medical reports what how does he work out didn't play last year obviously coming off the injury everyone wants to see that i think i think most people in the league would agree he's the most physically gifted man-to-man cover corner in this class i would think that yeah didn't play ball in a year and and there's some there's more questions than answers at this moment let's see how that plays out um yeah that's interesting i I don't want to get into this too much, but why in the era of people coming back from ACLs quicker than ever before, did he not get back on the field? Was it just that Tennessee kind of fell off at the end of the year and they wanted to protect him? That's something I want to dig into and find out exactly what's going on there. Yeah, I mean, there were reports, remember, in September that he was working out and we thought he was going to be on the field. And then we thought it was going to be at the Senior Bowl, maybe. Like there was just all these things like, yeah. So just, just questions doesn't mean it's, it's, it's a negative yet, but there are questions that have to be answered. And that's part of the process. Correct. What'd you think of David Bailey going forward to Tennessee? Cause I, I think there's a, I do think, sorry, there's a, I do think there's a sense. And I, and I was, I was torn. Cause I think Spencer Fano from Utah would be an offensive tackle. I think protecting cam ward. I do look historically, right? I mean, how many studies did we do last year? Whether it was Green Bay, Buffalo after Josh Allen, after Mahomes in Kansas City, after Hertz or the other quarterbacks that Howie got in Philadelphia. Like, you get your quarterback, and it's like the great organizations. Right away, it's like next year we're going. I think after Mahomes, I think it was six straight defensive players in the draft following. So with the premise of we've got a guy who's going to make up for a lot of other sins on the offensive side, let's make sure the defense is there to match it and can close out games and all of that. So following that train of thought, I think, and don't forget Robert Sala. Yeah, that's my point. Yep. Who did you just hire to be your head coach? So is it let's get the guys for that side of the ball, or is it we just hire two pretty close to brilliant defensive coaches? They'll figure it out with the personnel. I don't know. That's going to be a fascinating one for me. That's a great conversation, and I do wonder where you feel on that. That's something that could take a while to pick through. If you hire an offensive coach, are you expecting him to hide your weaknesses on offense, or are you going to supercharge, right? Do you supercharge or do you let him try to cook and do and like kind of piece things together and go on the opposite side of the ball? I tend to believe and ask me again tomorrow because I think it's a great debate. I tend to believe you give the guy what he's best at and like let that Tennessee defense be great. And if you want to build up that Tennessee defense, I think this pick makes a ton of sense. The player is interesting because he was 247 pounds in the preseason. We know that. So is he going to be now he's six foot three and a half. So he's got a frame. We know that he can get moved around the run game. I don't think he's a liability in the run game, but like, like a lot of other guys, if he's not techniques, not there, he can get moved around a little bit. What's he going to weigh? And that keeps popping into my mind. And then I'm like, stop being an old, stubborn, like old thinking about this. We just talked about this the other day with our Mason Thomas and Nick Benito, 247 pounds is fine. if you're gonna you're gonna get some guys like oh i wish he was 255 260 i get it i understand that you you know i wish everyone was miles garrett too that frame's fine he's fine so every time i look at him i'm like oh he's a little light it's okay look at the tape he this kid knows how to get to the quarterback and he's got some explosive power he might not be the most stoutest wall type player but i'd rather a guy who has explosive power power than that to be honest so i i love that pick it give Sal a playmaker you give him a guy who's a good fit for his scheme and you're getting a guy I would think the best pass rusher in this class I mean he's he I don't even think it's close right I mean I love Bain and Mesidor but I think Bailey's on a different level in terms of his ability to get to the quarterback in different ways yeah I completely agree um Caleb Downs with the Giants a lot of people giving wide receiver there I did in mock 1.0 I think you hear this this mock is is way more interesting than the other Mocs. No knock on the other ones, but this is another one. Top five safety. I love Caleb Downs. Top five safety when the Giants need a wide receiver, and we love this receiver class. I don't... Man. You were yelling at me on knock 20.0 that I have the receivers too high. I honestly think if there was an interior defense... Do you know how bad... That's what they want. They gave up like 5.7 yards rushing per game last year. They've got to get a guy. This run defense has been borderline putrid for three years. They've got their edge, guys. But there's no interior defensive lineman at five. The Giants are going to be a team. I mean, I love Lee Hunter. They'd love to trade back if a team was trying to move up. If all of a sudden Ty Simpson is a hot name and the Rams wanted to get up ahead of Cleveland, you know what I mean? But I don't foresee them being able to move back. and get good news for Giants fans is i think this day two there is going to be a lot of good value at defensive tackle so don't if you're hearing this and you're like yeah mcshay i want to fix my run defense who i who can we take there to do it don't panic it could be caden mcdonald from ohio state in round two i i get that too but if they go safety here if they go safety here and get a caden mcdonald which would be a home run in round two now we're in the round three before we're getting a weapon to go to pair up with uh malik neighbors for jackson dart in that offense it's got a lot of promise but but coming off of injuries and kind of not a great end of the season i i sneaky like it okay i can sneaky like downs at five because he such a good player and they need the leadership and i and they can get the defensive tackle in the second round I kind of like it And there depth in the receiver class so you can find another guy there I don know you anymore You loved Kyle Hamilton You loved Kyle Hamilton. Would you have considered taking him in the top five picks of a draft? Yes. I'm not going to go. Yes. Really? You would have. I don't even know you. I think it was two that year. Did you really? I forget that. I get it. It's too high. Where do I have? Yeah, I have downs at five or six on my board currently. As he should be. I think there are certain organizations, quite frankly, that need bar setters. I think there's a lack of accountability in certain organizations. I think certain organizations have some stars. I think Abdul Carter is a star. I think Brian Burns has shown to be a star at times. I think Kayvon Thibodeau is loaded with talent. Not a star, but loaded with talent. Where's the sheriff in town? It's true. You need guys like that. Caleb Downs is a sheriff. Bars set higher. Standard is different. accountability. I don't know. I'm not saying it's going to be the pick. I'm not saying I'm in love with it. I was hesitating even to type it in. But without a defensive tackle there, with the wide receiver depth in this class, maybe you just, maybe you find someone who's going to be that leader and like the accountability guy and a difference maker and will help versus the run, will help as a play. I don't know. I'm not convinced of it, but I kind of like it. I like it more than taking a receiver here. yeah i love these receivers i know i mean uh i like busting your balls as much as possible and that's the first thing when i get this stuff the first thing i'm like oh what can i get him on what can i get him on i just want to needle him on the show like like this is what it is not like not making stuff up i looked at that pick and i was like oh safety at five humming shang and then i started digging in i was like yeah kind of kind of like it i don't i donate it I'm not going to make something up. All right. Tucker, as you're scrambling back there, making the third graphic. Let's roll out the top 16. We're going to do the first half of the first round, and I want to get to some mentions. This is where we're going to have a discussion, I'm certain. Let's rip through it. At 11, the Miami Dolphins select Jermod McCoy, cornerback from Tennessee. We talked a little bit about him. At 12, Dallas, Akeem Mesidor, Miami. I'm interested to see if this is a little too high when it's all said and done, but these edge rushers typically start to fly off the board when one or two go. This is the one. L.A. Rams at 13, quarterback Ty Simpson, Alabama. My only phrase here is wait for it. 14 baltimore vega ioni ioni okay i've seen three different pronunciations i'm frustrated by these pronunciation guys hey dan find one for us please that we can sink our teeth into 15 tampa bay sunny styles my goodness people seem to be like top five top seven on sunny styles right now have you seen his basketball Have you seen his basketball highlights, by the way? Some kids I don't even understand. Can you imagine? This is not my thing. Someone came up with this on a social clip, and it was like, imagine you're in algebra, and then 45 minutes later, you're trying to guard this kid in a high school basketball game or whatever it is. And then you're still like Sonny Stiles coming down. I mean, it looks like he's Michael Jordan and everyone else there is in the rec league. And it's high school. yeah i'm like how is that that kid a high schooler it if you get a chance man look it up it is unreal sometimes i've got a couple kids the step kids who are in high school and play basketball and and so i i'm like i was up the gym last night watching me as an eighth grader playing on jv awesome athlete awesome amazing and then like playing like right ball in a point guard let's Let's go. But we're also in a coastal small town in Massachusetts. Right. And so every once in a while I kind of envision a Sonny Stiles rolling in the gym. Or like I think Russillo just revisited recently. Like we used to talk about this years ago when we first started scouting. Like Vince Wilfork at almost 300 pounds dunking and playing hoops. You know, like guys like that. Yeah. But Sonny Stiles is a phenomenal app. Sonny Stiles was your guy and then my guy, and then everyone was kind of cooling on him this year. And I was like, no, he's playing better just because Arvel Reese. His game is significantly better. His tackling is better. His instincts are better. I just don't know because he is a true off-ball linebacker. I don't know if I can get on board with top five yet. No. But I don't see that value there. 15 feels like a really good spot. I feel like you're getting a value pick there for a Tampa Bay defense that looked exhausted last year. Looked just old, tired, run down, kind of lost faith in what they were doing. And I think we've seen changes in that organization that indicate that they saw a lot of the same things. And then finally, 16, Makai Lemon. This is where I think that we're going to see one or two in the top 15 receivers go. And I think the other two or three will come off the board quickly in that like 16 to 20 range even teams that like maybe don't definitively need a wide receiver but could really add value like a carolina at another receiver but yeah um minnesota even though they have other needs like i could see a couple teams going straying away from need and looking at a denzel boston or a um or a mckay lemon if he's still available or a or a jordan tyson these guys may not go in the top 10 like like maybe originally thought or yeah but i think these wide receivers they're too good to get far out of the top 20 would be my point on all of it where do you want to take it match let me guess well boston i want to i want to talk about boston really quickly did you did you consider getting him in there i mean we talked about how yeah absolutely it was hard it was hard i'm saying above one of the other three that you do have in here. You think the lock is a first round, right? Absolute lock. I'm not, I'm not completely done with the wide receiver evaluation and wide receiver and corner or to the positions where I actually put a decent amount of value in the combine workouts and what are they physically, right? So until we wrap that up first week in March, I'll lock in where I am on these wide receivers. But as I mentioned in our last show last week, I don't think there's a big gap. In fact, why wouldn't Denzel Boston be the first receiver? Those are the questions I'm starting to ask. I like him that much. But this is a mock draft. These aren't my rankings. So I wanted to go true to kind of what I'm hearing. And the conversations you have typically start with any variation of the other three. And that's Makai Lemon from USC. It's it's Carnell Tate from Ohio State and it's Jordan Tyson from Arizona State. So until I start hearing something different when I'm having conversations with friends in the league, I'm going to mock it the right way, if you will. Yep, I get it. I love Mesidor at 12 to the Cowboys. I will keep saying this because I just I can't I just have not wrapped my brain around my mind around how people think that this kid might not be a first round pick which is some things that I see on the worldwide web every once in a while I just don't understand that I just don't understand it with the way he gets after the quarterback the violent hands and and I do say that I think he wins a lot against guards like they will kick him inside but like you need those guys you you value those guys. That's not a detriment to the player. What's the biggest Achilles heel for quarterbacks? It's interior pressure. You've got a guy that knows how to win with his hands on the inside and has an unstoppable motor. Yes, he's been banged up a little bit. Yes, he's a little older. I guess that's why he's not going to go earlier than that. But 12? I think that's a great landing spot for him. Ione, Vega Ione, the guard from Penn State, I am literally this afternoon or whenever we're done with this i'm going to start watching the guards because i remember liking him i haven't watched him a while i really like him this feels early to me but i also feel like i need to go back and look because there seems to be a lot of buzz about him and i do think he will be a solid rookie starter and i felt the same way about booker last year out of alabama that i liked him but i didn't know if i loved him and i probably should have been higher on him so that like lesson learned there yeah same I think I'm kind of overcorrecting. I think Baltimore is looking at, you know, with their center up for free agency, Linderbaum, and their guard play is just not very good. I could see wide receiver there. I think their defense needs a lot of attention, which is surprising because that has not been historically the thing. I think the trenches will be a focus early on for Eric DaCosta and the Ravens. It's interesting you bring up the trenches. I think I've read this list 20 times at this point. I just can't find Blake Miller from Clemson anywhere. Never said he was tough. First half of the first round. I said first round. Is he in this? Is he in the first round mock? I know you don't want to give too much away later on, but I'm just fascinated to see. I can't wait. I cannot wait to see where Blake Miller goes. Yeah. I think you know the answer to your question. If you are, you're not this guy. But if you were the ultimate troll, you know where you'd put him? New England. New England. Yeah, I would. I was going to say it's not too late, but it is too late. All right, you want to get to it, Ty Simpson? You know what? Yes, and I'm sorry. I need to do a better job as your partner here of understanding that this is going to be more of a talking point for people. I don't think it's that big of a talking point, to be honest with you. Quarterbacks are valued. I think he's the second best quarterback. I think Sean McVay could get the most out of him. He could sit for a year because you now have an MVP who I think, I mean, I'd be really surprised if Stafford doesn't come back. It wouldn't be shocking, but I'd be surprised if he doesn't come back. That pick makes a lot of sense to me, but there's going to be people who are looking at this and understandably so saying, oh, now Simpson's at 12. So go ahead. Or 11. Is 11 or 12? 13. 13. Sorry, 13. So go ahead. Sorry. No, there's no. But here's the transparency on the whole thing, okay? And Stafford did say he was coming back yesterday during his MVP. Oh, he did, okay. Yeah, he did, and I think we all kind of expected that, right? Whether it's one year or two years, I think we'll be dictated by how he feels next year, how he plays, and how the season ends for the Rams. So they purposely, they being obviously Les Snead, the general manager, and Sean McVay, the head coach, purposely traded last year to get in a position this year for a quarterback. This year was supposed to have Lenora Sellers and Fernando Mendoza and could possibly have Arch and and Nussmeyer and maybe Clubnick and like, you know, and Drew Aller. This was supposed to be a really good quarterback class. It no longer is. But then there were, you know, Dante Moore has amazing season. He goes back to school. So that's an additional guy for 2027. But Ty Simpson is the real surprise in college football for the first nine weeks. Best quarterback in the country. I think, and we've heard this before with McVay, right? When the Jared Goff trade for Matthew Stafford, he wants a partner at the quarterback position. Well, it's hard to find a Matthew Stafford and what you have to give up to go get that. And that was kind of a unicorn of a situation. I think bringing in a young quarterback and not having to start him right away gives you a full year to develop that partnership. And also for that young quarterback to watch Stafford and how he operates in that partnership with McVay. And as a son of a coach, even though the experience level is frightening, 15 starts. Everything in history tells us this doesn't end well for Ty Simpson. But maybe it ends well because he was at Alabama for four years, a program that does as good a job as any of developing players for the NFL and what that requires. Maybe it does work because he's got a father who's been a head coach and coached, I think, for 18 years at what, Middle Tennessee State? Is that right? Yes, that's correct. And has been a coach for basically his entire professional life. And so Ty has been around ball. And so that interaction with him is second nature, like having cereal in the morning, talking ball with dad. No, no, I'm just saying. It makes this maybe a little bit more appealing for McVay when looking for a partnership, knowing he's got a year, a Mahomes red shirt with a veteran quarterback kind of year, and there's not this rush to put him on the field. And we can develop this thing over 15 months, whatever it is, before we're actually, you know, gunned ahead, thrown it in the fire. As of today, I don't actually think this is the pick. Really? And the first words out of my mouth in the McShay report were, wait for it. and I say wait for it because experience tells me where Ty Simpson is now, unlike Shador Sanders, who went in the opposite direction, but that was a rarity. Experience tells me where Ty Simpson is now, knowing he's getting healthy, throws the ball better than people think, a little bit more mobile than people think. When he gets in that meeting room, in those meeting rooms with NFL teams, and the conversations, the high level that he can have as a rookie quarterback, I just, I can see a, yeah, Ty's late first, early second, this starts to happen. You know? Yeah. And so the Rams would love to get them at 29 if they actually like them when the process is over. But can they afford to wait? Because there are other teams sitting behind them, like the Jets at 16, Cleveland at 24, I think it is. there are plenty of other teams behind them and teams in the early second round that can move up ahead of them because they know they're sitting there, sitting duck at 29, just like the Giants moved up last year. So keep all those things in consideration. And I think as we get closer, there's a chance of this happening. I think you right I think it also interesting your feel for this after the experience you had And that you know we just talked about how you mock the receivers one way because you not ready to You having all these conversations and you seeing where they are Maybe you like a player more than maybe you like player a more than player B and all that. You're not willing to make that move. But you can do it with the quarterback because you just have a feel that this is how it's going to happen. It's interesting that you have a feel for it about how the chess pieces could move and when to make certain moves. I can't wait for mock. this next will be mock 3.0 and you know again the more puzzle pieces you have the more interesting it gets and the one thing you are you are really good at this and i can't stand it because i like to give you a hard time but like you are really good at putting all these pieces together i would hope so i don't do many other things well in life you know um but yeah i mean we've been working on this for two and a half decades so it's kind of what we do i will predict blake miller will not be in your last first round mock that's my prediction right now in my last first round mock yes yes that's fascinating tucker clip that clip that i just don't i don't think i think eventually you'll get to the point of like i he's a day two guy i think that's what you'll land on and that's fine it's not like you it's not like you're gonna have him fall off the edge of the the world or anything, I think you're going to realize that he's not a first one guy. You know what I love most about that? What's that? That I have found a way in early February to get under your skin enough that you're actually, while dropping off Stella at school or like making a sauce for dinner, you're actually thinking about how, like how this thing could end. That means I'm doing my job. It is the least surprising thing that that's happening. If you want the rest of the first round, because no one wants us to go through 32 picks. If you want the rest of the first round, subscribe to the McShay Report. Go to Google, type in the McShay Report. If you're not subscribed already, please do. You can read all of that there. You'll get all the mock drafts, the rankings. We haven't even told you because we're almost there with all the exciting stuff coming up over the next three months. So you're going to want to be a part of it, I think, if you have any love for what we're doing. And obviously, if you're watching, you probably have a decent amount of it. But I do want to get to this before we get out of here. Mentions. That's the new name. So I'm charging our audience who have been wonderful since the start of this thing, like 15 months ago. They've been wonderful with their responses. They care. They're involved. And we listen. And so I started the segment saying it's open for discussion. I called it Mentions Minutes, which I still don't hate. I've got to go back and look. Someone offered up, what about mentions kind of playing into today's day and age, social media, mentions, M-U-E-N-C-H-I-O-N-S, mentions. So that's what we're calling it now. If you've got a better idea, send it because we'll land on something really soon, and this is going to be consistent throughout our progress. I tried to print these out, but I couldn't get my printer to work, so now I'm going to read it off my phone. So if you're not familiar, whether it's Mench's minutes or mentions, this segment is about getting to know our great friend, lovable Steve Mench, but also mixing in some quick draft takes, too. So we've got three or four minutes on the clock. Let's knock it out. That's way too much time. Last time you won a good honorable mentions. That's for talking. Honorable mentions. That means we're conceding that Mench is honorable. I don't mind honorable mentions. Let's start with, so we rotate between questions about Steve and then get a quick draft take. I've got so many. So you worry about where Blake Miller's going to go, and that's how I get in your head. I sit around sometimes on the couch watching a show, sometimes taking a walk, and I'll pull up. I've got a notes page called mentions, and I'm just constantly writing in questions for you. So I'm trying to decide which one. Let's let people know you a little bit. I know you're a coffee drinker. You go into the coffee shop in the morning. Don't lie. Don't try to be a tough guy because you're 6'5 and a half, 200, svelte 250 or whatever you are these days, former offensive lineman. I drink black coffee. What is honest to God your order? uh we have a great coffee shop right on the corner called triple elm and they do all kinds of specials and right now i am on the french toast latte with almond milk it's oh i love it's great cinnamon it's like maple cinnamon i forget what the other thing is and their quality of coffee is better than most places around here so it's great side note we had like an incident this morning marissa and i go into our coffee shop seabird i was scrolling around looking for different stuff yesterday and this thing popped up about how oat milk now is like everything gets canceled right yes like every right whether like this workout regimen is is the is everything and now like your joints are going to fall off when you're your six seed oils and yeah the whole thing so now oat milk i get this i see on on social somewhere it's like this big thing that oat milk is is like worse than french fries it's worse than eating french fries and coke so i send it to marissa kind of i was like oat milk's been canceled and we usually get milk in our drink so she rolls in this morning and goes and orders for us and i hear her go uh yeah can we have that with almond milk and they know us they're right we're there every day and they're like what you know and i'm like oh no she's trying to take care of her guy i love that i was like hon we didn't we haven't researched this i don't know um all right i know i can always ask you this question like literally 365 days a year and you'll have an answer one player that you've watched recently on tape tell me one thing about him that was interesting i don't care if it's a guard a seventh rounder a first rounder anyone in the last week or so you've watched on tape or you're like huh i like that or whatever i like the guys we talked about three guys we talked about the other day but this is what happens when you're watching tape of certain players and i'll just i'll just say this i'm watching malachi lawrence from central florida and they play kansas state and i just seen the center sam heck down at the senior bowl and i was like man this guy's just so consistent and fundamentally sound and so i'm watching malachi lawrence and all of a sudden i see this center pull and lead around the corner and move in a way that you just don't see offensive lineman move climb square up get on a defensive back i think that at one point i didn't really love this center class but sam heck out of kansas state is a heck of a player that i think is gonna end up going on day two and turning into a starter very early in his career all right breakfast if i tell you we're we're going on to a board meeting for the mcshay productions we're traveling somewhere and we've got you you're sitting down at breakfast at a nice resort or something or anywhere and you get to choose one breakfast that you want and it can't be oatmeal because i think we're pounding that joke to death what's your favorite what's your favorite thing to eat for breakfast i'm a benny guy i love eggs benedict and if you're gonna do it right i think there's like a crab cake eggs benedict that's amazing but there's a place around here called tucker's it's a it's a farm to table place and i go classic scrambled eggs sausage patties they do a great hash which is better breakfast potatoes are fine i want the shredded potatoes i think those are the best and then i get a grilled and i always say this wrong people make fun of me i pronounce it bagel and i know it's bagel i say bagel but i get a grilled bagel with it and i couldn't be happier no butter no nothing on the bagel just it's on the grill it gets crispy on the outside it's perfect i do top 100 boards better than anyone else in the world and i appreciate you complimenting me and putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I don't do a lot of other things well, as Marissa will attest to. And as you well know, I promise you, I make the best Bernays sauce, Hollandaise sauce, too. You are a Bernays guy. Yeah. And I got it from Wayne McShay and Deborah McShay. I'm going to have to make it for you one day. That's a weird concept of me making you breakfast one day. It's like a double boiler, right? I don't know, man. It seems like a lot. I won't share. I won't share. Well, that's for steak. That's the hollandaise sauce. No, bernet sauce is for the steak. Hollandaise is for the eggs. Hollandaise is good, but, yeah, that's double boiler. That's at night, and that's hard to do, but I feel good about that. The hollandaise sauce is what I, like, I'm literally, like, yeah. Like, I tell O'Neal all the time, like, you can't, you suck, and Matt O'Neal owns multiple restaurants and is, like, great chef. Yeah, his food's pretty damn good. Went to the culinary institute, the CIA Culinary Institute of America, but it's the only thing I'd do better than him. All right. Player that you're – Go ahead. I get more worried about these draft takes because I like to prep so much that you're killing me. Go ahead. But that's kind of why I like to do it. And this one I always hate when people ask me because I have a brain squeeze. So I'm going to say what it is, and then I'll give you a second to kind of think through it. Player you're most excited to see at the combine. Now, when I say that, it can be someone who's most, like it could be Arbel Reese because how is he going to work out? It could be a receiver. You want to see what the 40 is. It could be an offensive lineman because you think he's going to test better. It could be one of these edge rushers maybe with the arm length, whatever it is. If there's one player, and it doesn't keep it to one here, but obviously knowing that it could be 30 players that would get on your list, but one player that you're just kind of like i really want to see what happens here in indy next next week i'm gonna be like i know this is kind of chalk but i just want to see him put on an absolute show and see how high he can go and that's kenyan sadiq from oregon the tight end i think he is just watching his build like looking at his build on tape and i want to see it more of out of the pads and what he looks like in just regular clothes you know what i mean he's a his lower body is so thick that like you can get into weight some of it's about how guys are built his he's got i mean big calves i think he's a really good blocker for guys that that's that size because of how well built he is and then if he runs a ridiculous time and you see him go out there and i think the drops are a little overrated there are there he did drop some passes this year but i think he catches the ball well when you see him track the ball and catch the ball like the way i think he will in indie that's the guy i want to watch i love tight ends he's the best tight in this class and i think he could put on an absolute show what's your number one pet peeve i'll tell you mine so you can think about yours for a second i uh and i have a handful of them but what yep no i was gonna say it's you but go ahead my number one pet peeve is when someone bum rushes an elevator i think it's because i lived in in boston new york my entire adult life when i'm getting off an elevator and like yeah i like hold the door for women and elderly and children like oh but like if i'm getting off an elevator and someone's so self-absorbed and and like has no concept of there's other people that live on this planet besides you and they come bum rushing in the elevator and then have the gall to say oh sorry it's like if you're sorry then just don't do it take a step back it's not dissimilar from like the people who stand up close to where the the carousel is where you get luggage out like just like everyone take a minute and you know so what's yours sorry i'll say two things one to kind of build off your point i don't know if you remember this but one year we were at the combine with kevin whitell and you stopped short and i thought you were i was like looking at my phone i thought you were letting me on the elevator and i jumped in this elevator like whatever and look back to see you and kevin horrified as this maybe 70 year old woman stepped into the elevator right after me i was like oh my god it's so bad that being said i don't know if this is a pet peeve I won't say this is a pet peeve, but I've gotten better, and I'd like to think that I'm continuing to get better. I'm a road rage guy. And you've said to me before, dude, if you're not in any danger, I think you should just let it go. But literally, I'd like to think I'm a nice person, and then I get behind that wheel, and I will criticize everything that people do. And it's like our buddy Sam Kaufman from the University of Richmond used to say, anyone who drives faster than you is an asshole, and anyone who drives slower than you is a moron. That's the kind of driver I am. I have something to say about everyone on the road. Yeah, and I think it's dissimilar to most people when they have road rage. It's because someone's slowing them down or getting in their way. Yours is like you're not being safe. There was no turn signal. There was, yeah, you can't do it. We just live different lives. Hardest position to evaluate, and you can't say safety because I feel like everyone says that. Oh, yeah, but it is. You know what the other one is, though? And I think this is probably, and this might be a layup too, as quarterback. It is really difficult as quarterback. I'll give you another one that I think is sneaky because of the way colleges play versus offenses. I mean, colleges play versus pro teams, and that's corner. I mean, you just see so, I think you see so much cover three in college. And you see guys who are like facing the line of scrimmage. They don't have to do a lot. Now, different schemes, obviously, if you play for a different defense, you are going to have to do that. And that's helpful as an evaluator. But you're watching some of these corners and some of the schemes and what they're asked to do. It's like, well, I like you, and I see the ball production, all that. But how is it going to translate? I think corner is a tough one. It's my favorite segment. And judging by the responses after the first one, it is everyone else's favorite segment. I can't believe that that's popular, but okay. It is absolutely popular. Way more popular than Mach 2.0, I promise. speaking of which you can grab it on on the newsletter the McShay report google it subscribe I'm so sick of saying it you know how to get it um mention five stars let's get out of here before we ruin it all right must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY in New York. For Louisiana, call 1-877-770-7867.