00:00Joe, I want to go right into some recent news for you and I,
00:06which is Tyler Lindenbaum getting a three-year, $81 million deal
00:12to go from Baltimore to Vegas.
00:15I think you and I are going to spend quite a bit of time
00:17talking about the inverse where Max Crosby goes from Vegas to Baltimore.
00:22But this is a Raiders team.
00:23We know they have the first overall pick.
00:26They now have the 14th pick from that Crosby trade.
00:29And they pay well above the prior center rate to bring Lindenbaum to Vegas.
00:40What do you make of this outlook for not just, we assume, Mendoza at first overall,
00:45but last year's top six choice in Ashton Gentry?
00:48I think it's a great choice and a great signing, Kevin.
00:51I think when you look at building teams and we look at the success of certain teams,
00:56you can take a look at Chicago, the elevation and progression of Caleb Williams
01:01in year number two with Ben Johnson.
01:02They solidified the offensive line first.
01:05That opened up the rushing attack, and then they were able to open up the passing game.
01:10And when you have a young quarterback like Fernando Mendoza learning a new scheme,
01:14you solidify the center, you solidify the offensive line first, and build it out.
01:20And that's a great signing for them.
01:22We'll see if it can get Ashton Gentry going.
01:25But I love the signing overall in the free agent market.
01:28The Raiders are a team who has a lot to spend, but they are looking to spend it, I feel,
01:37Joe,
01:37to make sure that they have an appropriate infrastructure for their soon-to-be franchise quarterback.
01:43And Linderbaum goes a long way in doing something like that.
01:48I anticipate at 14th overall, we will see Las Vegas look to address offense again,
01:56whether that be one of these wide receivers, Makai Lemon, Carnell Tate.
02:00I know you're a big fan of Jordan Tyson out of Arizona State,
02:03whether that be Kenyon Sadiq, who had that incredible combine, of course, the tight end out of Oregon.
02:08Or if there's an offensive lineman on the board that they really like,
02:12I think that is where Las Vegas will go.
02:16It is tough to sit here in March and know, hey, is this a surprise team?
02:23We talk, hey, whoa, they made a wild card, right?
02:25Because the defense projects to be very bad.
02:28But, Joe, this offense should be miles better, adding in another year of development for Gentry
02:35and hopefully a healthy season for Brock Bowers.
02:38Yeah, as long as they're healthy, Kev, I think they can be competitive.
02:43With Kubiak at the helm, it comes down to, does Mendoza start from week number one
02:48if he is the number one overall selection?
02:51How quickly can they get him up to speed?
02:53Or do they wait to the middle part of the season and go with a backup quarterback
02:58and then put him in and implement that type of philosophy?
03:01We disagree on the quarterback development.
03:04I think you throw Mendoza in right from week number one, he gets that game experience,
03:10and then he's ready for year number two.
03:12But at the end of the day, it's going to come down to, can you protect him?
03:16Can you run the football effectively?
03:18And can they bolster up the defense in the draft?
03:21If they can do that, I don't think seven or eight wins are out of the realm of possibility.
03:27As long as Brock Bowers is in that lineup, he is one of the best tight ends in the NFL.
03:33And again, if they can add a complementary receiver like Jordan Tyson or a Tate in the draft,
03:39they have speed on the outside.
03:41With Kubiak's offensive scheme, they can have effectiveness right from the get-go in week number one.
03:49You and I do go back and forth on the notion of, you know, throw a guy into the fire
03:53or not.
03:54I anticipate Mendoza will be the week one starter, but you're right.
03:58Vegas has had some conversations about should we do that?
04:02That's a healthy organization, in my opinion, that they are not demanding he start week one.
04:09They're going to say, hey, let's see how we feel about this at the minimum, Joe,
04:13because, you know, you mentioned seven, eight wins.
04:17If that's what the ceiling of this team is, and that probably, I mean, Joe,
04:21we think about all win totals, you'd probably get a pretty good payday
04:23if you bet Las Vegas to win eight games right now.
04:26If they cost themselves a win or two, right, by giving Mendoza an extra four or five weeks
04:34at the beginning of the season, I don't think that's a bad thing, right?
04:38Just to make sure that they, if that's how they view the situation,
04:41if they want that ground floor set, I think there's a lot of interest there.
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