Merril Hoge On Why Caleb Williams IS NOT Special and Drake Maye is NOT a 1st Rounder l THE HERD

THE HERD – Colin Cowherd welcomes Merril Hoge on the show to talk about his controversial take on Caleb Williams. Before that Merril talks about Drake Maye and why he does not see him as a first-rounder. Hoge also touches on JJ McCarthy and Russell Wilson.

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Well Merill Hodge uh quite a career as an analyst and now an author he’s got a book find a way three words that change my life he played in the NFL for 10 years we used to be teammates at ESPN um Merill always had the ability to

Cut through and you were willing to be uh criticized up to the draft and I always love that about you and you and I agreed on a lot I think TBO Manzel there was a lot we disagree on Caleb Williams but I’m going to get to him in a second

So first of all thanks for coming on the show Merl it’s great to see you again and uh I follow your career and you’re wonderful so let’s start with some a player that we both like and we’ll work our way up so I saw bonick twice I think he’s really undervalued

Everybody loves JJ McCarthy and Caleb and I just look at Denver he reminds me of Drew Brees with a little Mobility you’ve looked at bonick am I overvalued in him what do you see that you like and concerns you well we’re going to talk about this because there’s two things as I evaluate

Quarterbacks that are going from college to the National Football League and these two things have to work in unison accuracy and processing or decision making like they have to be as one you can’t have one without the other if you don’t have one one of those two will run

You out of the league yeah so you at least have to have this you got to have evidence of that and he does do that he processes well um he throws the ball well um is there any true special unique quality in those two areas um no but

They’re Rock Solid you know and you can tell that he functions you know under the system he’s in and that’s another thing that you got to look at you know he plays in a really heavy college system yeah um you know now you’re going to NFL and that that’s where that’s

Where what I try to do I don’t look at where a guy’s playing I look at where they’re gonna play yeah you know the field is going to change the pocket is going to change and how do they function in that so when I take him and I look at

How does he function in a pocket that’s going to be like the NFL now listen there’s not a lot of evidence that but I have a machine I can I can take I can create all those different scenarios so an NFL pocket about 70% of it is dirty

Clouded and that’s about 70% of the time and how can you function under that and can you process things and be accurate with that concept and he’s he’s okay he’s not really Elite in that category um so and that’s a big hurdle and that’s something that’s the abir that he’s

Going to play and so if you see the struggles in college you can’t say they’re going to go away you have to acknowledge those and then realize okay how we going to play out of that how is that g to work over time will he get better yes and then height does become

An advant advantage or disadvantage yeah you know 61 is about the B you mean that’s about the Tipping Point you know you love guy around 63 they have less issues once you get below that it becomes becomes a real a real issue you know um you know you know last year um

Uh pick gosh Bryce young young I mean that that that 59 and how he played from the pocket is g to be always a problem you’re never going to work your way out of that they will always have limitations with him I don’t care how hard he works I don’t care how great

They coach those are going to be limitations how they how CJ stra didn’t go one overall is still the most mind blog thing that I have seen when you had those two options because the evidence was there CJ stad was the only first rounder that was qualified to be a first

Rounder that you would given a first round I gave a first round grade to that would transition to the National Football League and he had all of that evidence yeah he he showed that in college if you studied him right you knew that he wasn’t gonna have a problem

You knew that you’re gonna have a problem with Bryce young he gonna be it’ll always be a problem and I know he’s a great kid but that’s a bonus that is not a skill set and he’s gonna always be 5’9 doesn’t matter how hard he works doesn’t how matter what he does he’s

Always going to be 59 and it’s going to create limitations game plan okay so let’s talk about the two top on the board let’s go Drake May we’ll work our way up to Caleb and spend more time Drake May the knock on him I saw him

Play two or three times I got different versions of him he was erratic he moves pretty well um arm strength is whatever what do you make a drake May you’re not a huge fan why no I because two things you just mentioned there of his his processing

Now I watch him function under pressures I I don’t think I’ve yet to see him execute a pressure correctly identify it often times he misses it um sometimes when you see his head in that position then he doesn’t acknowledge it and make the throw like those are concerning so

When I talk about processing there’s not a lot of things that I’m like really confident about that he processes things well especially pressures um he is completely erratic when it comes throwing the football I mean it’s a big concern I mean can you button those things up can you get a little better

Here’s what my ultimate belief is from playing in this league coaching um studying this league for nearly 40 years you just don’t correct that it actually is magnified when you get to the National Football League that is when become more erratic and it’s on all throws it’s short intermediate long now

He’ll do enough to Dazzle you and here’s where I always felt the problem is is that you say I’m gonna fix that I’mma make him I’ll make him smarter I’ll make him more accurate and that’s where people get fired when you do that and I just there there’s just too much there

That would um I wouldn’t give him a first round grade I wouldn’t take him in the first round and if I did then I would be very concerned of you know how long I’m gonna be around as a coach or a GM okay so the player we disagree with

And one of the things I stated earlier is that we think of USC as this great brand Texas USC Georgia they have had in the two years he led the nation in offense one Elite player on the entire offense Jordan Addison a small receiver who’s pretty darn good tight ends

Suboptimal running backs o line really average now Lincoln Riley’s obvious a good play caller and designer but he basically scored about 40 a weekend in The Best Pack 12 I’ve seen in 20 years with one really Elite NFL player so that’s my takeaway is he did more lifting Than People subscribed to but

You do point out a couple of things with him that two weeks ago I went on the air and said okay yeah that’s a good point Merl’s pretty good at this that he doesn’t take the easy stuff enough which momes first year too similarly leaned into great now he’s gotten rid of that

Now Mahomes is he’ll give you everything so let’s go into Caleb what was one of the first things you saw and you went pump the brakes okay well you the word special is different different for everybody okay so the reason I say he’s not special he’s he’s not special in where you must

Be special if you have to show evidence you got a chance to transition to the National Football League so I’ll give you that there’s two guys in the last five to six years that have had that Joe burrow and CJ Stout they just demonstrated that in college and what

And what am I talking about how they played from the pocket their processing their accuracy their anticipation and I go back to the processing you just mentioned it whether it’s a clouded pocket rather it’s a clean pocket he does a lot of that you know the Slants there he doesn’t throw

The slant um because he’s done the one thing that has made him exciting and I think people lean to saying he’s special he’s extremely Elusive and let me point out one thing that he does have out of all these other quarterbacks that I do love and it is rare his accuracy is

Elite and I’m GNA tell you this that is that right there puts him above everybody else and gives him the edge now let’s go go to the the hurdle why the special thing he doesn’t function from the pocket like he’s going to have to in the National Football League now

He’s a guy who is 61 when you look at a dirty pocket you look at a clean pocket and you look at the different plays that he gives up where he should give be throwing the football but he goes and makes a play by running around okay

That’s just not gonna you’re not going to survive in the National Football League doing that that is his biggest hurdle okay being able to manage a gift that he has was he is extremely elusive I’m not gonna deny that and I think that’s a value

But it could be the thing that holds him back from being able to be successful in the National Football League because he lead plays on the field that shouldn’t be left there yeah and he’s gonna have to learn to manage that now people comparing to Patrick Mahomes the two

Things that we you didn’t mention Patrick Mahomes had a year some of the best coaching in the hist the National Football League right and in that year of growth you’re exactly right how and then how he has developed over the years this is what makes Tom Brady people always

What makes Tom Brady the greatest in history of the game one reason he executes the play if you give if you tell him he’s got to give you six check Downs he give you six check check Downs in a row and guess what the second that

You make a mistake on then he’s goingon to go over the top he’s not going to hold the ball and sit there and go I’m going to try to throw the goats really not there but I want that now we’re second and 10 he’s always moving the

Change and that’s what you have to do in the National Football League and so from a pocket presence perspective he is not special now is accuracy against Elite he’s his a was Barry Sanders in some scenarios more than Patrick Mahomes that doesn’t make him better than Patrick

Mahomes yeah that’s also a gift but that might be the thing that hinders him more than anything is him learning to manage that and only go to it later now I don’t expect him to do this right off the bat that’s going to be a development thing

And I listen you those things I think you can coach I don’t think there’s any doubt you can coach those develop those but then that relies on good coaching and the kid the kid has to be in that and then the mental toughness that he’s going to have to have in this scenario

Because what are the Bears if the Bears get him which I expect them to do what is everybody going to say we made up for our mistake we got our Patrick Mahomes you’re not a playoff team he’s gonna start right away and that right there those scenarios are completely different

Than what Patrick Mahomes experience and those are ouru hurdles to overcome yeah by the way one more thing you played Steelers bears talk Pittsburgh for a second I think Russell Wilson actually works in Pittsburgh because in Seattle and Pittsburgh he’s not the center of the culture both defensive coaches

Create the culture I thought when he went to Denver because of what they paid him in the draft picks they wanted him to be front and center and you know he’s kind of and I and I say this to somebody that likes Russell he can be almost overly optimistic you know there’s like

Zero cynicism and you know the NFL is guys like you be authentic and real and sometimes Russ to some people comes off as a little bit you know a little cringey and but I like Pittsburgh because Tomlin sets the culture Russell is mature and committed and a lot of

Those Steeler offensive players are young and sometimes a bit juvenile I think he’s the adult in the room in Pittsburgh and I honestly think of every team in the league it maybe the best fit for him what say you well I actually think that there is

Still a strong belief in Kenny picket I I will tell you this in all fairness um and having been around that organization and close to it there is his skill said is good enough to help you win a championship was it a rooing towards before he got hurt yes I mean he was

Playing fast he wasn’t letting things develop I he was completely out of character how he came out of college and how he started to play which actually happens to a lot of players this thing I believe ruins more players especially quarterbacks than anything you get ruined mentally way be before you get

Ruined physically best thing that probably happened to him is that he got hurt they got to pull him out of that blender and he got to got he got to sit there and watch Mason Rudolph actually function how you have to function in this league to play and how he played

From the pocket so I just don’t think he he’ll end up there I just think there’s still a belief in Kenny picki and I think with the changes they’ve made offensively the youth that you just described that they have he has a great rapport with that he has a Charisma

About him and a leadership too that um he’s probably not talked about you know outside of the Arena of Pittsburgh that people recognize and acknowledge that he has with players you know and the team itself self and you know I think this training camp will be pivotal for him

But um I don’t see I don’t see him turning their back on him and I think if you go get Russell Wilson um it would create more issues than it would solve good stuff his book is find way three words that changed my life you see the

Hat Merill it’s always great to see I may see on a ski slope in Utah in the near future and it’s a it’s a pleasure to have you on that’s a must thanks Colin I always appreciate it pal