New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Seattle talkies chimed in on the draft; How were their takes?

New York

Michael Kay: ESPN 98.7 (weekdays 3-7pm)

• On Friday after the first round, Michael Kay and Don La Greca discussed both New York teams’ first round draft picks. (Jets: Mekhi Becton, Louisville) (Giants: Andrew Thomas, Georgia)

• Kay: Nobody knows now which of the two  offensive lineman is better. It looks like both teams got exactly what they wanted. Both teams have to protect their young quarterbacks, and these picks helped accomplish that objective. Of the two, the Giants pick, Andrew Thomas, looks to be the most pro ready.

• La Greca: Offensive linemen are judged by how the offense produces as a whole, making evaluating college offensive linemen extremely difficult. La Greca continues by saying that he would have preferred the Giants pick linebacker Isiah Simmons (Clemson), and that the team’s fans have grown not to trust GM David Gettleman.

• Joined by contributor Peter Rosenberg to talk about the Packers taking quarterback Jordan Love (Utah State), Rosenberg said that the Packers could have drafted a weapon to help out QB Rodgers and they did not, something they have never done during his time there, so Rodgers has every right to be upset. As it turned out, Green Bay did not draft a WR.

• Kay: Aaron Rodgers is going through exactly what Favre went through when he was drafted. The Packers need to start looking at the future due to Rodgers age, 36.

Boomer & Gio: WFAN 66AM (6-10am)

• Boomer Esiason: The Giants essentially got a number one overall pick because Andrew Thomas was who they were going to draft no matter what. Boomer says the whole draft is a crapshoot, and it will all depend on the draftees’ work ethic.

• Gio: The Giants may have been able to trade back and acquire more draft capital and still be able to draft Thomas. That being said however they could not risk having him picked by another team, so drafting him at four overall was ultimately the right move. Becton on the other hand was a perfect pick for the Jets and their GM, Joe Douglas. He loves big offensive lineman and Mekhi Becton is as big as they get.

• Boomer: The Packers trading up to draft Jordan Love sends a message to Rodgers that he needs to be at all team meetings and OTAs (Organized Team Activities). “You better get your ass here and be a leader.” Boomer continues to say that Rodgers will likely claim that mentoring Love is not his job. His job is to lead the team and win football games.

• Gio: Love is an extremely raw prospect and is going to need time to develop. The question is how will Rodgers handle it? Will he learn from the way Favre treated him and be helpful to Love or is he going to be just like Favre and refuse to help because that is where he is at in his career. Gio tends to think that Rodgers will be more like Favre and be “prickly” towards Love.

Los Angeles

Petros and Money: AM 570 (weekdays 3-7pm)

• USC Quarterback JT Daniels enters the transfer portal. Petros says that  Daniels never wanted to compete for the starting quarterback position, he wanted it to be guaranteed and handed to him, and it has been that way since his recruitment in high school. Daniels is not a physically impressive athlete and does not make great decisions when he has been on the field. Daniels’ USC career will be highlighted by a mediocre freshman season and one or two series the following year against Fresno State. Entering the transfer portal will be an eye-opening experience for Daniels who was a former 5-star recruit, as there is too much tape on him now, and big programs are not going to come after him. He is going to be looking at smaller schools such as Liberty.

• Money: Disagrees with Petros regarding the interest in JT Daniels’ services. Money thinks that schools that recruited him during his high school days will come back and try to get him to transfer. Schools such as LSU, Michigan, and Alabama.

• Petros & Money are joined by NFL draft prospect and former UCLA running back Jonathan Kelly to talk about draft preparation. Petros starts the conversation by asking Kelly how COVID-19 canceling Pro Days (a college showcase for scouts) has affected his opportunities. Kelly responds by stating that he had opportunities to show his skills at both the combine and the Senior Bowl, where he believes he has improved his draft stock. Kelly continued by talking about how many prospects rely on Pro Days as their sole opportunity to show NFL scouts their skills, and Kelly is grateful he had those other events.

• Petros, Money, & Kelly continued the conversation by talking about what NFL teams have been ‘grilling’ him on. Kelly said that teams have constantly asked him about pass protection and that this is an area that he is going to need to improve upon at the next level. (Kelly wound up picked by the Chargers in the 4th round.)

• The interview concluded with Petros and Money asking Kelly about the future of UCLA football. Kelly responded optimistic, saying that the program is going to surprise some people and that they are poised to ‘take off’.

Mornings with Keyshawn, LZ & Travis: ESPN 710 (weekdays 6-10am)

• Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the team to beat? Keyshawn says that they are not but the moves they have made have put them in a better position than they were in last year. Tom Brady replacing Jameis Winston who threw 30 interceptions last year should put the Bucs in a playoff position.

• LZ: The Bucs are facing an incredibly difficult schedule this coming season, facing teams such as the Vikings, Chiefs, and an improved division. That being said however, LZ still sees a two-win improvement for Tampa from their 7-9 finish last year.

• Travis: The Bucs have set themselves up for a very risky future due to the ages of Brady and Gronkowski. Brady specifically is at a point (42 years old) where no other player has had success. These factors have put Tampa in a situation where they must win this upcoming season not two or three years down the road.

• Keyshawn: Cam Newton is still a starting caliber quarterback in the NFL, and because of his skills, teams cannot bring him in to be a backup, which leaves the Chargers as the only possible destination for Newton. The Chargers know this and that is why they are in no rush to sign him. The Chargers will go through the draft process, see what they have, then go after Newton. The plan being to draft a young QB to sit behind Newton for a year and develop. The team did pick Justin Herbert (Oregon) as the young quarterback of the future. So that Keyshawn might be onto something.

• LZ & Travis: Both men are surprised by the lack of interest surrounding Newton. He is a name that teams without front runner quarterbacks should be fighting over and that has not been the case.

Houston

Payne & Pendergast: 610 am (weekdays 6 – 10am)

• Payne: Although the Texans did not have a first round pick, the first round went well for the Texans because Bill O’Brien was so aggressive filling positions of need prior to the draft. The positions that haven’t been filled, have fallen right to them beginning in the second round.

• Pendergast: There are two safeties on the board in Grant Delpit (LSU) and Xavier McKinney (Alabama) that would fill a position of need that has been identified by Bill O’Brien. Neither of the two were taken by Houston.

• Joined by Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic to discuss the debated Deandre Hopkins – David Johnson trade. Pendergast said he cannot wrap his head around the absurdity of the trade from the Texans standpoint. Houston loves Hopkins, he is one of the most beloved Texans players of all time.

• Payne: Johnson has looked washed up the last few seasons, and that due to the nature of the trade that Johnson will catch vitriol from Texans’ fans through no fault of his own. McManaman said that Arizona fans are thrilled with the trade.

Seattle

Danny & Gallant: ESPN 710 (weekdays 7-10am)

• Joined by ESPN’s Dianna Russini about Seahawks’ free agent DE Jadeveon Clowney. Russini says that Clowney has recently lowered his asking price from $20 million per year to $17-18 million per year due to a lack of interest. Even with this reduction in asking price he remains unsigned. The Seahawks have made it clear to Clowney that they are not going to overpay for his services. Besides the Hawks, only the Titans have shown interest in Clowney. Both teams will wait until after the draft before making an offer.

• The duo is joined by former Seahawks wide receiver Michael Bumpus to talk draft and specifically the wide receiver position. He says that the Seahawks will not be specifically looking at any wide receivers in the draft, due to the fact that they already have a solid receiving core. However, if any of the many very talented receivers fall into the later rounds, don’t be surprised if they pick one up.

• Danny: Agrees with Bumpus that taking a wide receiver in the later rounds would be the only time to do so for the Seahawks. For the earlier rounds Danny believes the Seahawks should focus on both the offensive and defensive line. Russel Wilson has been sacked too many times in the past few years making the offensive line of the utmost importance for the team.

• The Seahawks did exactly what Danny predicted, drafting both an offensive and defensive lineman in the second and third rounds.

Mahler & Fain: 950 KJR (3-6:30pm)

• On Friday, the duo was joined by Hugh Millen to talk about the Seahawks first round draft pick (27^th overall), Texas Tech linebacker Jordyn Brooks. Millen is a former University of Washington and NFL quarterback, who now works Seattle sports radio (KJR) and television (KCPQ).

• Millen: Brooks is physically comparable to current Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner, and was drafted due to Wagner’s drop in performance last season. Brooks is at his best when defending against the run, and will start in the Seahawks base-defense right away.

• Fain: Wanted the team to draft Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor to replace current aging running back Chris Carson. Instead the Seahawks did the same thing for linebacker Bobby Wagner.

• Mahler: The Seahawks play a base-defense that features three linebackers. Brooks will step in as the third linebacker right away. The hope is that Brooks will eventually develop into Wagner’s replacement as the number one linebacker .

• What is going to happen to University of Washington quarterback Jacob Eason in the NFL draft? Mahler says that Eason must go within the first ten picks of the second round to justify leaving school early. The new offensive coordinator at Washington is going to run a pro style of offensive that would have been complementary to his skill set and the ability to improve his draft stock.

• Millen: Eason was ready to move on and accept a new challenge outside of college football. He would have been entering his 5^th college season, he was ready to leave. In addition, learning a new offensive system, with two new tackles on the offensive line could have been disastrous for Eason.

• Fain: If Eason ends up being a third-round draft pick, the decision to leave school early will have been a bad one. He could have been an early round pick with another season at UW. Eason was eventually drafted in the fourth round by the Colts.