Jon Gruden

Baker Mayfield would be the NFL MVP if the season ended today

We were on that Fox show and they asked me who I thought the MVP would be and I said, if we did it today, it'd be Baker. And I just compare him to Brett Favre when we were in Green Bay. He brought life to the huddle.

Ty Simpson could win the Heisman Trophy this year

Ty Simpson could win the Heisman Trophy this year. He's not making everyday throws now. He's pushing it down the field. He's getting outta trouble. He's got a soul about it, man.

The Steelers have arguably the best fourth-quarter pass rush in the NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers are another team that I'm really excited about. I think they have arguably the best fourth quarter pass rush. They got three ends that can kick your ass.

Joe Burrow will win the NFL MVP this season

NFL MVP this year... I just love Joe Burrow... This guy's close to winning a Triple Crown man past completion, percentage yards, touchdowns. And he gets outta trouble. He is tough as hell and he's such a cool guy, man. If they get a good defense, I'm not saying great if they get a good defense and get off to a good start... look out for Burrow into Bengals.

The Carolina Panthers are a team on the rise in 2025

A team on the rise I think is Carolina... I we're pounding the drum beat Bryce Young... And I did not know I liked him as much as I did. And when you look at his last three or four games, five games, it was impressive. Yeah. I love the additions they've made to their team on defense.

The Rams are not a good team without Matthew Stafford

I saw the Rams without Stafford a couple years ago. They're last in the league on third down. They can't make a yard. Yeah. The Rams are not very good at all without Stafford. I mean, let's just face it, that guy's a hell of a talent throwing the ball... there's a step down, big step down if he's not there.

Caleb Williams must speed up his processing to succeed in the NFL

Caleb Williams... His deep ball accuracy, his overall accuracy was not good. Yeah. His accuracy was not good. Hi. The clock in his head has to speed up man. He held the ball too long at Oklahoma. He held it too long at Southern County. He's holding it too long now. How do you coach that hard? You know?

The Buccaneers will win the NFC South and reach the NFC Championship Game

I like the bucks to easily win the south. And I think they're going to the NFC championship game. Don't for, don't forget they kicked Philadelphia's ass last year... This is a good team. Four straight division titles they've won and I think they're gonna be better this year.

The Green Bay Packers will win the NFC this year

I love the Green Bay Packers man. I think they have a lot of depth... Aaron Rogers was 27 when he won his Super Bowl. Favre was 27 when he won his Super Bowl. Jordan loves 32. And my guy Jordan loves gonna be 27 in a couple weeks. I think they have the defense... I like the Packers man.

Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart are two really good picks that change the Giants' dynamic

I love what the Giants did. I love what they did. They need a quarterback... The Giants got Abdul Carter who I think's a really good player. Now you got Brian Burns, you got Thibodeaux, you got Dexter Lawrence... And then they have the guts... they move up and they take Jaxson Dart. I think those are two really good picks for the Giants. And if they come through that, that changes their dynamic of their team.

Travis Hunter will be a receiver in the NFL, not a two-way player

I just don't know what they're gonna do with [Travis Hunter]. I really think he's a receiver. I think he can impact the game and help their quarterback at receiver. I think you're whistling Zippity do do out your butt if you think he's gonna play both ways in the NFL... We really have to be crazy to think a rookie's gonna come in here and do that right away.

Malaki Starks is a clutch, game-changing player and a big pickup for the Ravens

Selfishly, I love what the Ravens did, man. I love Malaki Starks... He has this presence about him. He's a great communicator. He's big, strong, experienced. He's just a clutch game changing player. And for the Ravens to get him and pair him with Kyle Hamilton... I'm telling you, that was a big pickup for Baltimore tonight.

James Pearce Jr. was a major disappointment this year for Tennessee

I want to love [James] Pearce. I don't see Pearce as a run defender yet... I thought he was a major disappointment this year for Tennessee personally.

Hunter Renfrow will be back on an NFL roster this week

Hunter Renfrow was a favorite draft pick of mine. He's gonna be back. He watch this week. You're gonna see a transaction. I love it. He'll be back in football. He belongs in the league.

The NFL should adopt the college pass interference rule

I would make [pass interference] the college rule, honestly, because some of these, some of these past interference calls are impacting a game. Just one play there... I don't think there's a common thread in what is and what isn't past interference.

The 49ers would be making a mistake if they let Sam Darnold leave

You gotta be outta your mind to let Sam Darnold [leave], you're 12 and two man... That guy can run, run for First Downs. He's a horse. He's young. If you let Sam Darnold out of there, you're making a real mistake.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the favorites in the NFC

I think Philly's probably the favorite. Yeah. You gotta put Philly in there... Philadelphia Eagle defense man, Vic Fangio's got a couple rookies in the secondary... They're good man.

Bucky Irving is a combination of Warrick Dunn and Napoleon Kaufman

The emergence of this Bucky Irving... I mean he's a combination of Warrick Dunn, Napoleon Kaufman, Charlie Garner, he is a badass man. This guy's a hell of a back.

NFL teams change coaches too quickly, which stunts quarterback development

I do [think the NFL moves on from coaches too quickly]. Every team had a coach that was there for a period of years... and now they change coaches every year or two and they change offense and defensive coordinators like they change shirts. And I think that has a lot to do with the lack of quarterback consistency and development over time.

The Detroit Lions win because of their pre-snap recognition and execution

What I love about Detroit is they win in the pre-snap, meaning they'll change the tight end, they'll change the receiver, they'll motion two or three times before the ball is snapped and they'll let Jared Goff pick a play... I call it RCE. You recognize the defense and when you know what defense they're in, now you communicate a play to beat that defense.

A rookie quarterback shouldn't be blamed for sacks if they are holding the ball too long

There's too much of him. You know, there's 40 times he's carried the ball. There's 40 times he's been sacked... You can't blame the offensive line for all these sacks. I just encourage him, you know, to get rid of the ball. Sometimes the best play you can make is throwing the ball away because that's the only good play you could make.

Wide receiver bubble screens are a waste of time and personnel

When you throw a bubble screen or a quick screen, I mean, how how many times do you see Jerry Rice run a bubble screen right now? You never saw Willie Gault run a bubble screen. You got these three Corvettes [Keenan Allen, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze]... Now let him run some routes and tell the quarterback to throw him the ball or get rid of the ball, but quit taking sacks.

Brock Purdy is a much better quarterback in person than on television

I was at the Bucs-49ers game last week and with McCaffrey back and Jauan Jennings back... Purdy is a lot better quarterback when you see him live. This guy's strong. He's, he's loose. He's gutty, man. Gritty. Love him.

I hate the three-point shot in basketball

I do love basketball. I was Bobby Knight's ball boy. I just don't like the three-point shot. I think it's too much. It's way too much three points.

The modern RPO-heavy NFL is 'Friday night high school offense' that gets quarterbacks killed

I don't like passing plays with the offensive line run blocking. I don't like seeing quarterbacks getting their ass knocked off because of this ridiculous protection offense that I'm watching. That's what RPO stands for me... I don't wanna see Friday night offense in high school all day Saturday and then see it on Sunday. I wanna see these NFL quarterbacks drop back to pass, throw an array of routes with different route trees and audibles.

Jared Goff is playing like Joe Montana

I don't even think it's close. I did a thing with the Detroit Lions last week. I think Jared Goff is starting to look like Joe Montana to me. He plays with continuous movement. He completes almost every single pass. He's tough as hell. He has continuity in the same system... I got Goff way up there on my list.

Jerry Rice is the greatest player of all time because he never caught a bubble screen

Jerry Rice [is number one all time]. The thing that Jerry Rice... you hear about some of these receivers now, you know, their stats and all this. Jerry Rice never caught a bubble screen. I don't know if Jerry Rice caught three quick screens either. He didn't want those routes. He was running patterns, man. And the greatest thing about Jerry Rice is I really believe he loved the misery.