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00:00Welcome to our number two live right here on this Tuesday morning on the early line on SportsGrid.
00:06He is Donnie Wright's side. I am Ben Stevens. Plenty to get to here in this second hour.
00:11We'll continue our WNBA draft reactions with senior writer for Winsider, that being Miles Ehrlich.
00:18He'll give us his thoughts on the 2025 draft class.
00:22What are the expectations for Paige Beckers now in the W?
00:26A lot to preview around the association. NBA postseason action begins tonight.
00:32Play-in tournament games are seven, eight matchups both out in the Eastern and Western Conference.
00:38In Orlando, it's the Magic and the Hawks. In San Francisco, it's the Warriors and the Grizzlies.
00:45We'll also take an early look at our opening round playoff matchups around the association that we do have set in DRS.
00:52Just nine days away from the 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
00:59Some final moves made by teams around the National Football League and the 17th prospects that will officially be outside of Lambeau in attendance for the 2025 NFL draft in the opening round and maybe more starting next Thursday.
01:14Yeah, we got a red hot topic to talk about in just a few moments here, but it is nice here to get our number two started with so many good topics that certainly are on deck.
01:22Major League Baseball, the WNBA draft.
01:24And the thing I'm most excited about, Ben, is we no longer have to look at the NBA games tonight, Ben, and explain this to the people.
01:31Estimated starting lineup tonight because we have no idea who's going to play.
01:35I love the fact we have an idea who every single person is going to play tonight and play hard and play major minutes and get ready to go.
01:43The meaningful NBA finally starts tonight, and that's a good thing.
01:48Donnie, right side has been waiting for this moment for a while.
01:51The regular season now in the books and the association.
01:55It is postseason hoops from here on out.
01:59Soon to be the official playoffs starting on Saturday.
02:02All right, DRS, just over a week away from the 2025 NFL draft.
02:07Those last-minute preparations in a lengthy draft cycle around the NFL.
02:12And some big news last night from ESPN's Adam Schefter.
02:16Colorado quarterback Shador Sanders will hold one last private workout on Thursday,
02:23one week out from the draft in Boulder for a contingent of officials from the New York Giants.
02:29Some final intrigue leading into next Thursday's NFL draft in Green Bay.
02:35What do you make of it, DRS, in a season defined by its smoke screens and its speculation?
02:42I promise you, New York Giants fans, I come at this with love from an NFC East foe in the Philadelphia Eagles.
02:50Life is much better when the New York Giants are better and the Eagles can play them and we can endure Sunday afternoons.
02:55So if you would make me somehow the owner of the New York Giants, I promise you today I will fire every single person in that building
03:04that's making decisions from what we're about to look at with that tweet here.
03:08Understand this.
03:09Shador Sanders is not a player that's like, hey, man, we didn't get enough tape on that guy.
03:14Haven't seen him play in any big games.
03:16Boy, does he play Division I, II, or III football?
03:18We don't know.
03:19He said, well, Donnie, why would you be talking about this?
03:21Understand this.
03:22If you do not have your mind made up on Shador Sanders, whether he can be a franchise quarterback or not at this point,
03:29and it takes you again to ask for a private workout where he's going to be in shorts and a T-shirt
03:35throwing five-yard out routes and seven-yard slam passes where my organization is going to make the determination
03:41that he is going to be our starting quarterback, fire everybody in that building.
03:49Please.
03:49I can't take it anymore.
03:51The Giants are so inept, it makes my head hurt.
03:54You're actually going to bring your entire organization to a private workout to decide if you want to draft a guy.
03:59Make it make sense, Ben.
04:00It makes no sense.
04:01How can an organization run this way?
04:04Oh, yeah, it's the NFL, and no matter what you do, you make money.
04:07Sorry.
04:09The IRS, I'm not sure I can make it make sense, and I think what you are expressing there is the truest word of every word,
04:16and that comes from the approach of a divisional foe.
04:19Boy, you should want the New York Giants to be this stupid and this bad in their decision-making process because it will keep them awful and at the cellar of the NFC East for a very long time.
04:30Now, we say all of that, right?
04:33Final preparation, due diligence, maybe a small, and I mean very small, benefit of the doubt to Joe Shane, Brian Dayball, and those power brokers in that Giants organization.
04:46Because, Donnie, they are not afforded the opportunity to have a disastrous season, as the oddsmakers expect.
04:53Worst win total in the NFL entering 2025, the New York Giants at five and a half, the most juice on the under of any of those 32 NFL teams,
05:02and the four that have a win total of five and a hook.
05:05So just making sure that all your T's are crossed and your I's are dotted.
05:09I do not believe this ends up with the New York Giants at third overall, drafting Shador Sanders.
05:16So we'll just say that.
05:18Abdul Carter, still the hefty odds on favorite.
05:20The edge rusher, the game wrecker out of Penn State at minus 220.
05:24Donnie, a report of this magnitude from Adam Schefter for something like this,
05:30a private one final workout a week from the NFL draft,
05:33as it pertains to a very hot-button quarterback that can move the needle one way or the other,
05:39that would drastically shift draft odds.
05:42It really didn't.
05:43Shador's price to go third overall a little bit shorter.
05:46But it's not like Abdul Carter is even money or back into plus money.
05:50He is still greater than a $2 favorite.
05:52So while you are correct, and everybody in the Giants front office and ownership group should have their head examined,
05:59I do not ultimately believe it results in the Giants selecting Shador Sanders' third overall a week from Thursday night in Green Bay,
06:07especially not after we already learned the offseason plan for the Giants in that quarterback room
06:13and the big acquisitions of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.
06:17Like, think about this, too.
06:19Like, Shador Sanders, you show up with the contingent, like, oh, we might want to draft him.
06:22Like, if he throws a 15-yard out and it's incomplete, do they leave the building?
06:26Like, yep, told you he couldn't make that throw.
06:28Or if he makes that throw, it's like, yep, that's sealed the deal.
06:30Like, you see how, like, Ben's laughing and so am I.
06:32Like, it doesn't make sense what you're doing.
06:34And it'd be like, you know what?
06:36Abdul Carter, we're going to not put an offensive line in front of you.
06:40Let me just see you rush the quarterback.
06:41Oof, man.
06:42Did you see him just rush the quarterback on air and nobody blocked him?
06:45How fantastic.
06:46Travis Hunter, I'm going to line you up at the goal line.
06:49You run to the 40.
06:50And if you run a good 40, we're going to draft you.
06:52Instead of popping on the tape and see how electric his football speed is with full pads on against competition,
06:57that's the ineptness of the organization.
06:59Having said that, though, the Giants ruined their season.
07:01They shouldn't have beat the Indianapolis Colts.
07:03But the way this draft is breaking out, if, let's just say, they don't move off of three and don't take Shador Sanders,
07:08there's a really good football player waiting right for them if they want to take him.
07:12That's Abdul Carter and or Travis Hunter.
07:14But when I just see how they've operated as a team for, like, you know, the past five years,
07:19you trust them to make the wrong decision as opposed to make the right decision.
07:23And everything we read and get these tweets and emails, like, they say, like, you know what?
07:27Look at this.
07:28They're going back to see Shador.
07:30And it just makes my head hurt.
07:31Like, you know they're going to make the wrong decision at three when it should be one of the easiest decisions
07:36where you take the best player on the board available and you move forward.
07:40Which I think, Donnie, is the cause of this hesitation or trepidation, perhaps,
07:45if you believe in the New York Giants or have a lack of belief in the G-Men, perhaps.
07:50Because it did seem rather crystal clear at the end of the college football and NFL season
07:56that in a quarterback draft class that probably had two first-rounders,
08:00at least two top five, top ten potential quarterbacks,
08:04that for the two quarterback desperate teams, the Titans and the Browns,
08:07drafting one and two, it would be QB, QB, Cam or Shador Sanders in some form or fashion,
08:14which the Giants kind of squander that opportunity, beating the Colts week number 17.
08:19And yet the Browns are not drafting a quarterback by zero indication.
08:24Does it open up the door for the Giants?
08:26Oh, wait, they're not in love, at least early in the process, with Shador Sanders.
08:30So they signed Jameis and Russ for only maybe in the final week to go back to Shador.
08:36And this could be the thing that makes their final decision.
08:40That's why I think there is fear.
08:42I do not ultimately believe that will be the decision.
08:46More around the NFL next.
08:47Just over a week away from the 2025 NFL draft.
08:51In the early offseason programs for NFL clubs,
08:54if you have a first-year head coach in your organization, they have begun.
08:59Of course, DRS, always drama in Big D for the Dallas Cowboys when it comes to contract extensions
09:06and what Jerry Jones needs to spend in an offseason to make the Cowboys a true,
09:12if it's even possible, Super Bowl contender.
09:15The big one this year.
09:17Last offseason, it was Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
09:20Waited till the 11th hour and then some.
09:23This offseason, it is Micah Parsons.
09:26Per a source, this is Clarence Hill Jr., who has covered the Cowboys since the late 90s,
09:32Micah Parsons is at Cowboys Voluntary Workouts this week under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
09:40So perhaps the drama in Big D waits for at least a few more weeks,
09:45as Micah Parsons said that he would show up for voluntary workouts and is in fact there.
09:49Good. I like this. Now, understand this.
09:52Micah Parsons and Jerry Jones know he is going to get paid and get paid a lot of money before this season.
09:58And the things that I always point out is, like, you know sometimes, Ben, we have leverage or where you don't.
10:03Like, if Micah Parsons played for the Bengals, he'd probably never show up
10:05because they wouldn't even engage in conversation for a new contract at that point,
10:09based on what we're seeing for Trey Hendrickson.
10:11But he understands they're probably close.
10:13Get your workouts in.
10:14These guys love to be around their teammates and in the locker room and working out here.
10:17He doesn't want to be in Arizona or in Northern California training away from the team saying,
10:22I'll show the Dallas Cowboys what I'm actually worth by not showing up.
10:25So I like this because how many times do we see you're away from the team, you're a distraction,
10:29you come back to the team, you pull a hamstring injury because you're not doing your normal routine,
10:33which you do every single year.
10:35We understand what's at stake here.
10:36A lot of money.
10:38He will be paid a lot of money.
10:40I love the fact that he showed up in OTAs where he didn't have to show up there.
10:44He's like, you know what?
10:44I'm a team guy, Jerry.
10:45Let's close this deal sooner than later.
10:47Get me paid.
10:48Let's get on the field and try to win a playoff game here.
10:51So here's the thing, right, with Micah Parsons.
10:54And it's one of the reasons Donnie and I always bemoan when front offices are stupid
10:58and do not have the financial foresight.
11:01Micah is entering the final year of his rookie deal.
11:04He has completed four years of service in the National Football League.
11:07After your third year of service, you can start to engage in contract negotiations.
11:12In the last year, Jerry Jones has now seen, although I guess he doesn't really care about resetting
11:18the market, but Jerry Jones has now seen Max Crosby become the highest paid non-quarterback
11:24in the history of the NFL.
11:26Micah, not Michael, Miles Garrett become the highest paid non-quarterback in the history of
11:31the NFL at $40 million per year.
11:34If Jerry Jones would have had the financial foresight and decided to pay Micah Parsons
11:40last offseason, he probably could have made Micah Parsons the highest paid defensive player
11:46in the history of the National Football League, highest paid non-QB ever to the tune of about
11:51$34 or $35 million.
11:54If he is going to even match the Miles Garrett deal, that is $5 million per year more on average.
12:01Oh, the salary cap is up.
12:03Yes, but these are the things that harm your organization and you don't have a ton of money
12:08to spend elsewhere, like when you desperately need a running back to have any sort of offense.
12:15DRS, I don't know if I'm proud to admit this to you or anybody on national television or
12:20national radio.
12:22Sorry to see you go.
12:23My first win total bet for 2025 in the National Football League, the Dallas Cowboys over seven
12:30and a half.
12:31Okay.
12:31I have said this quite often.
12:33Yeah.
12:34I've said this quite often.
12:35I wouldn't spend Donnie's money.
12:37I wouldn't spend my worst enemy's money on that NFC title price for Dallas.
12:43Not this year, not last year, not the previous five years, not the next five years to come.
12:48I certainly would never even look at that Super Bowl number.
12:52And as much as we give Dallas incorrectly, so all of their, you know what, for their postseason
12:59failures, they have often been a regular season success.
13:04And when Dak Prescott is healthy, even if he's playing 12 or 13 games, you're telling me
13:11the Cowboys can't win eight.
13:12I did bet the Dallas Cowboys over seven and a half for a win total that is just so drastically
13:19different than we normally see on Dallas this time of the year.
13:24Yes.
13:24I love it.
13:25Like you have to understand this.
13:26There's money to be made and there's fandom to be made right at the same time.
13:30Like yesterday, my Philadelphia Phillies, I don't think they win that game, bet against
13:33them.
13:33Hey, look at that.
13:34Came away with a profit.
13:35Same thing.
13:35Like Donnie hates the New York Giants.
13:37No, I don't.
13:38I hate incompetence.
13:38Did you know your boy Donnie right side actually bet the Giants team total over when somebody
13:42across the street hung a terrible line on that?
13:45Yes, because we can make money.
13:46And I love it.
13:47The Dallas Cowboys, when Dak Prescott is healthy for the regular season, are a very competent
13:52football team specifically, excuse me, on offense.
13:55So I see the seven and a half.
13:56Now, granted, the NFC does, the NFC East, I should say, does have a very tough schedule
14:00on paper heading into next year.
14:02But 17 games and they need to win eight of those.
14:05And you can't say, you know, oh, well, Dak's going to get hurt and CeeDee Lamb's going to
14:09miss games and Micah Parsons won't be there by the time week 14 happens.
14:12Sure, you can do that.
14:13But if the Dallas Cowboys are healthy, they are winning eight football games or more next
14:17year.
14:17You can book that.
14:19Nine year NFL career now for Dak Prescott.
14:22Unlike last year and 2020 and a little bit of 2022, Prescott has played a full season in
14:29six of those nine.
14:31Even back in 2022's NFL campaign, DRS, when he missed a couple of games to start, the
14:36Cooper Rush extravaganza, he still came back to play 12.
14:40He won eight of those.
14:42Dallas won 12 that season.
14:44So basically, any time that Dak Prescott, seven of the nine years of his NFL career, has
14:49played double-digit games at least 12, Dallas has won at least eight games.
14:55That's all I'm hoping for this year.
14:57I don't even know if that means the Cowboys are a playoff team or can contend for a divisional
15:02price.
15:02And again, I wouldn't bet my worst enemy's money on any of those postseason numbers to
15:09contend for the NFC championship or, of course, to hoist a Lombardi trophy.
15:14But, Donnie, those numbers are so drastically different than we ever see on the Cowboys because
15:21they always have that Yankees tax that we talk about, the public love behind those expectations
15:27each and every offseason.
15:29This year doesn't look anything like the previous few seasons.
15:33No, it doesn't.
15:34And also, if Dak comes back and is healthy, that's the point.
15:37Like, Dak is, as much as you like to hate on him, maybe he can't win the big game.
15:41He's still a top-ten quarterback in the NFL.
15:43That's a bona fide fact.
15:44Look at the statistics here.
15:45Also understand this.
15:46We laughed at Dallas last year coming into the season without a running back.
15:50There's a lot of running back talent in this draft, including the top of the list there,
15:54the Nash and Jinty, which could make that team immediately better, particularly on offense.
15:58Dallas will win eight games or more.
16:00You can book that.
16:01Book it right now.