Humans are humans. Getting complimented getting roses feels nice, no matter how many roses you have it's still nice. It really does it's really just nice yeah, the garyvee audio experience vaynernation. What is good super excited about this episode? Very uh family episode, vaynersports talk.

I have three phenomenal young men with me: we're going to chop up about a lot of things, we're going to talk a lot of sports, we'll probably talk a little bit nfts uh, we'll we'll talk about debating, i mean when brandon parker and i are together we're Going to argue about something, that's just it's in the aj shaking his head in the background like that's just a guarantee, probably you know, but we're still gon na have to probably play one-on-one and film it. I actually believed, through your conviction, after debating with you in alabama a couple weeks ago, that you would probably win, but i i have a deep feeling that i could still pull out an upset uh and so we'll talk about that. We'll talk about this upcoming draft. I don't want aj to get mad at me, but there's a young man sitting here that if the jets leadership is listening to i'm desperate for them to draft them, i'm not sure if that's legal or not illegal or what i'm doing here but like and alan Super excited for you, so why don't you guys introduce yourself we'll go around the circle? Brandon? Why don't you say hello, real, quick, yo yup! My name is brandon parker, i'm the ceo of vayner football and just here happy to be here with both a rob you and dbell looking forward to chopping it up.

D-Bell uh. What's up, my name is david bell, i'm currently in the process to get drafted at end of this month and just really excited to see where i end up at love. It allen yo, what's good is allen. Robinson went to penn state drafted by jacksonville they've been in chicago and now with the rams.

You know which i'm super excited about, love it. So a lot to talk about uh brandon. Obviously you rep these two young men. Let's so we'll start with you at the top of the triangle, um, what's on your mind, what are you excited about? Both of these guys are going through major major, exciting transitions.

Yeah david, you know starting his journey having a crazy year at purdue, which i'm sure made you happy um and now going into league and now and alan going to the super bowl champs like a formidable super team, like that's a big thing. So when you're on the other side, repping individuals in different parts of their career, what's a consistent, what's uh, what's the thing you focus on, how do you? How do you help there's a lot of people who are listening right now, all of which probably spam aj? 24 7.. Nobody gets hit up more than aj from uh, because so many people want to be sports agents, and so i see i get hit up a ton of like hey, i hit up aj. Can i work at vaynersports like it's such a thing that so many of the listeners want to do in their life, because a lot of us grow up wanting to play like these two and somewhere along the way we realize we can't and so for a lot Of us, it's like wait a minute.

I want to rep them what you know you've been in the i mean you grew up in this business, your dad's, a legend. You grew up in it. I've got the privilege of working with you a little bit further deeper into sports representation life. How do you think about giving advice? Helping alan just went through a big free agency contract? You know david's going to go to that part of, like you know, even from a business standpoint, knowing how many people that are listening.

You know people think like you're, going to be an nfl player and then you start looking at taxes and expenses and i'm sure david's, probably already even gone through crossing some of these teas and eyes in his mind, it's it's, not your trillionaire and your rookie contract. What are you, what are you telling these young men? Well, i think uh. First and foremost, you know it's different strokes for different folks to be honest, um these two guys have a lot of similar traits to one another, which is obviously what attracted us to david, because we were able to see kind of a rob's progression being in the League for eight years, um, even similar to how we for actually when it came to david, you were the first person to actually tell me about. It say that a little bit louder for all the people in the back g was the first person to put me on d, bail, um and then, when i cut d, bell's tape on which was his freshman and sophomore year right away.

I actually had a very similar feeling is the first time i saw alan play um talk about that real, quick, because we've got a little time here in the podcast. I want to get people under the hood when you say the tape like tell everybody the work that goes into it like how many minutes hours. How do you get to the tape like? How do you i hit you up like hey, there's this purdue receiver? I think has really got it. How do you go about actually doing the homework? What are you looking for? What were you talking about? What do you do? Well, i mean i'm not a scout so typic.

So typically, i don't watch a whole lot of tape unless either someone tells me about a player or if i just so happen, to see a player that i like then i'll dive deeper meaning on a saturday you're walking by the tv watch. Five minutes you're, like who's this d, tackle exactly you make a mental note and then that following week, that's what happened with him. It's actually literally walking through my kitchen three weekends in a row, and i was just watching like some highlights, and i saw number eight three times in a row i'm patting three weeks ago - we're just going crazy and so and very good-looking, but um it just. You know, obviously we have contacts throughout the league that can get us the tape of course, um, and then you know when you've seen it because, like you said before, i was fortunate enough to grow up in the world where i got to see a lot of Great players - yes, and they have similar traits right - um great players just have similar traits across the board, not just on in football, but just as human beings and you kind of get to know some of these guys.

Um allen is a great example, and so is d bell very uh personable relaxed comfortable in their own skin kind of guys, and then once you kind of see it on the field, um i've just learned over over the years to just don't over complicate it right. You see a guy, that's because your dad eugene is truly truly one of the greatest icons of the profession. You feel like there's almost like a sixth sense yeah, like a mix between intuition and a little bit of math. I really do yeah.

I really do yeah um and the traits just like i said they they're on the field and they're off the field traits, but especially when it comes to receivers. At this point, you can just kind of tell um the guys that have just a real high athletic intelligence. What i call it like being able to just time when the ball, when to go up and pluck the ball out the air um, knowing what to do after the catch right, you don't have to be necessarily the fastest or most explosive guy. But if mentally, you can be two or three steps ahead of the other guys, it gives you a chance to really separate yourself as a player, which i think david does really well, but um.

It's just funny that all the things that were similar about these two guys and um they've they've since built a really good relationship as well um. You know d bill. We both went to purdue, so we got a little a little bit of a rivalry with a rob when it comes to that. But a rob's shaking his head doesn't feel like there's really that much of a rivalry well he'll get his chain.

He'll get his chance to speak on that. But to answer your original question, when it comes to advice, you know you as an agent you learn to. If it ain't broke, don't break it kind of thing um, so i keep it pretty simple with these guys, because they're they're, both far and above, are far away uh from their peers, as it comes to understanding and maturity right like neither one of these guys are The kind of guys that just want to be caught up and told how good they are, no, no, not at all, not emotionally to what you were saying and definitely not like keep them out of trouble right, and so that allows you do you think it's a Big mistake that agents make um yeah, but i don't know i like, i think you have, i think, you're yeah, of course they're they're in the business. They don't understand, they just don't understand most of them, but i think i think, you're very thoughtful about this.

Like i even and i'm really thoughtful about it and i think you're even like i'm really scared, because i don't want to rep someone that's going to drag my reputation down, but i i mean you are very thoughtful when i, when we talk about a lot of Stuff you like you're, i would say cautious, like i feel like you're really like. Am i going to be about this k? It's almost like you're, pretty binary. Am i going to be about this kid and, if i'm not and if it doesn't fit into this feeling, i have i'm just not interested even if they're gon na be the number one pick in the draft. I think is that true yeah, and why do you think that is, i think, i've just seen a lot.

I've seen so many great play players like end up being headaches for agents yeah and end up. It's just not working that, and i know myself so because i know who i am and like how i work and when i meet someone it's just like meeting somebody you're gon na know whether or not you're gon na get along with them. Well, um! That's self-awareness of yourself knowing that you're not going to be about that anyway, so it's not going to work anyway, so you're going to lose them anyway. That's exactly right! That's right! Exactly right! Dave! Let's talk about self-awareness for a minute, like you know, you're! In a re you know you're now, as somebody who's really going to get drafted in the nfl, like obviously at purdue.

That's a real program. You've been reading things about yourself on the internet, you're a human being. You know right like, but this is probably the most stuff you've read about yourself right. Everyone's got an opinion.

Got you in different mocks things of that nature. How much do you think, knowing yourself is a factor like do you? Do you allow yourself to get caught up like when people are saying good things or negative things? Does you know you're a human being you're a young kid like? Is that hard? Is that easy, like when p uh, let's go into like real details, there's in every publication mock drafts, there's receivers that people think are gon na get taken before you? Do you get competitive about that? How much does self-awareness or just knowing yourself factor into these? This is one of the biggest life moments that a professional athlete will have, which is the scrutiny of them going into a draft. How do you think about that? I mean, i definitely you know, like you said, read it a lot and i really don't take too much into consideration, because a lot of those guys have never played the game they're just watching it and just kind of basing off what other people say. But i know my abilities - and i know what i can do so when i read stuff that you know that doesn't add up to my place that i'm like well he's wrong.

So he's definitely not credible. He really doesn't know what he's talking about, but so that's why i just you know say to myself and if i have questions you know, i ask my peers or like alan or brandon and stuff like that, but, like i said i know, i'm very comfortable with What i did on the field - and i know what i can do in the nfl at the next level interesting, do you feel like? Are you a player that feeds off the crowd in any shape or form, or is it just all quiet, cheering and booing? It's all the same: it's not really affecting you one way or the other yeah. It doesn't really affect me uh one way or another. You know that's kind of how i grew up.

Well, i was always taught to just you know: block out the noise, whether it's the praise or the uh, the booze and stuff like that. So that's just how i live my life. You know i take it one day at a time and just try to stay even killed. How about for you like? Do you do, does cheering or booing motivate you in either direction, or you also kind of like you can't hear it honestly.

I actually kind of enjoy the booze. You know, that's always like a fun thing. You know even from college like when you first you like being on the road yeah when you first come out the tunnel. You know when you're here yeah, because it's one of those things where it's like to me.

It's like have you ever been in the stadium, and you hear like an incompletion at home on third down versus on the road. You know on the road. You know it's a little bit different. You know i feel like even everybody's aura.

It shakes back a little quicker because again it's like you know, like i mean, if you like again, have it through and out the away team is, is cheering if you away yeah, you know at home it's kind of like a oh, it's like you know, i'm Saying the errors being taken out of the stadium, but on the road you don't get that you know on the road. It's a little bit different. You know meaning disappointment from the home. Crowd is more of a negative kind of energy than than the cheering, because that's expected right.

Of course, the opposing fans are pumped you're three and out, but at home it's like a woe. Is me energy, yeah, yeah, us jet bands have that big, yeah yeah right now seriously like this. We go three and out our stadium. We've got nothing, we're so pissed and so on tilt for the last 40 years and then at home.

Sometimes, should you go a couple three and a half now you're getting booed? Oh especially, if the media hyped you the week before, like a big game, or this is gon na be up or this and that first drive and that's the thing you can ask, i don't know how many players ask somebody how many times they've been booed away. You know you know if you're getting booed away, you're, either scoring touchdowns or coming out the tunnel one or two yeah right, one or two who was who was the toughest crowd you played in in college like the loudest craziest? You remember anything yeah, i hate to say it, but it was definitely penn state. It was uh my freshman year. It was a homecoming and i was right, you're a kid out of high school fifth game.

Fourth game in college, right, like fourth game of the season. I just came off of being freshman uh freshman of the week, so i had high expectations going into that game and it didn't end. I wanted it uh that defense it had like five or six nfl players that michael parson on there. So you know he was in the backfield wreaking havoc and every time they get a sack.

You hear like a roar like real life, yeah real loud like on the uh on a sound system. So, like i'm in the middle running my route - and you just hear that roar like you, can't even get the full depth you're out so and then the fans are crazy. So i definitely have to say that was the most loudest. They did a whiteout or a blackout that they had there.

They just don't think it was all right yeah it was white. Should i do like a blue out or something i'll do something else? Oh we do the stripe every every blue moon. I mean you guys. Just always, do you guys do a lot of color coordinating, i just white, sometimes stripe! Oh, do you do multiple white outs per year, pretty simple, i think, sometimes depending on the game yeah, if it's, if it's like game day or if it's like a rival game, we'll do we'll do a couple white houses aj.

That is one thing i miss about. Rex ryan, he brought a little bit of the college atmosphere to us. He was like it's a white out. He would make videos remember that phone call that was sent to all jet fans.

College atmosphere is absolutely crazy. All right alan talk to us you're a ram. Now i'm excited very, very excited you've. You've i mean, let's just call it what it is.

I don't want bear fans or jag fans to get upset with me, but, like you've had most of your career on teams that weren't coming into the season predicted to go to the super bowl. Is that, like a new feeling altogether uh a little bit um? I would say for me: i try to you know i try to keep that kind of a little bit not out of sight, because it's it's there and it's inevitable and i'm actually happy to be a part of that. You know you're excited about having expectations. Yeah yeah - and i tell everybody you know if, if you don't want expectations that mean you're not doing something right yeah, you know, like i mean having expectation comes with good teams comes with good players comes with people, doing good things.

It's it's inevitable. You know if, if you're as a person trying to duck expectation, then you're in the wrong you're in the wrong business of of uh, whatever you're doing, because it's going to be there. So having that you know to me, just you know, just it just makes you lock in a little bit different. You know each and every day you know you, you know what you're there for you know.

You know what time it is and just again being able to join that atmosphere and that team. You know it's it's exciting. You know it's a it's. I look at teams and and players as like a as like a partnership and that's kind of how you feel with good teams.

You know it's like you know, we're we're in this together. You know it's not you know about this, not about that. You know you're. In this together and you win this to achieve one ultimate goal, i have a fun idea.

I wan na i've been thinking about this a lot i'm gon na test it here right now. I wan na give out some roses. I'm gon na ask you guys some questions. I think that we as a society have gotten really good at like like tearing people down societally like we're just on it.

You know everyone's just trying to cancel and destroy everyone. So i'm like right. So i'm, like i'm gon na start, trying to do more like giving out roses while people are alive and all this stuff. So let's go through.

I got a series of questions. I got a couple already popping in mind for all three of you. Let's start with you brandon okay, roses which player you thought was gon na. Be fine, not bad.

Fine solid could be decent, but you know growing up in this business. If i asked you which two or three players, one player, not that you were wrong about it, but you're like that's gon na be a solid player but is like on the way to being a hall of famer or as a beast like. Let's give some roses out in the last five to seven to eight years, you're in the game, you're analyzing before they get into league. Who are you like? Oh that's, gon na be a good ball player.

Who right now is putting in work uh miles. Garrett is the first one all right. Let's talk that's good. Let's talk about that because that's a that was, he was gon na, be the number one pick people were super gassed on him to your point.

I'm now going in my brain. I'm he's been better than i thought too, even though i thought he was like because he's so good yeah yeah he's like for he's a freak. I just didn't think he was worthy of a number one overall pick yeah and usually i'm not. I don't get into the geek, like teams do about why like little things as to why a player isn't good but sometimes yeah, and if i'm not repping the guy, you know what i mean it makes it a lot easier to kind of do it.

So i got i was getting into some debates with my brothers and we're talking and i'm focused on how weird he runs and stuff and uh. Does that matter just right away? He came into the league, i know it was a beast and i'm like okay. I was wrong. I was wrong, yeah yeah, right away.

I did that with patrick mahomes. I was like i don't know about that like like about for his second game like yeah. Let me get off this train right now. I was super wrong.

I don't want to talk about that anymore. He does everything, though, he's like he, even though he does kind of get him like he should i mean he should get more. He should be up there in the discussions with aaron donald, in my opinion, as far as a game record, you know he's that he's so crazy, but like i'm with you, yeah yeah yeah and he's a complete player, he is everything. Um he's a good ball player.

Let me think other guys that just deserve some give another thought. I'm gon na bounce around yeah yeah yeah. What coach do you think you want to give roses to? That? Has the biggest impact for you to be in this position right now as a player that is going into the league? If i asked you that question yeah, so it had to be my little league coach, uh carl pernell carpool carl pernell yeah brunel yeah. So he he's kind of stepping to that father figure.

For me you know my grandfather was there uh first grade so probably six yeah, so i used to spend a night over his his house on friday, night uh and he'll. Take me to the games in the morning, or i stay home, but just being around him to see how you know he took care of his son, i'm like okay. This is how you know. I know i had my grandfather too, but seeing somebody else outside the family do that and seeing how he took care of his family.

He took care of his son like okay, that's something i want to be like when i get older. So i definitely that's. Definitely something i have to get the roses to. I love that allen.

Let's give roses in a way, that's a little bit harder to, but it will be fun. Who do you think? Because i think you're listen? This was long i'll, say it again long before we had the luxury of teaming up with brandon and repping you i've, just always like been a big fan of your game. I really i'm really genuinely curious about what your season's going to look like this year, given the circumstances, because i'm also a big stafford guy which giving roses which defender do you really think you've been in the league that you're like and he's a pain in the Ass, like he's really he's really a good ball player. Three three come to mind uh for me: uh, actually, four go ahead: jason verret uh is a dude playing against him.

Man was uh. We had some battles, we had some battles in jacksonville, yeah uh. Stefan gilmore he's a gilmore size man. He has.

He has everything he has the size. He has the strength, he has the speed he played. He plays very, very technical, like each and every snap he's gon na play his technique. Um jalen ramsey, you know, he's a person, who's super athletically gifted you know, and he kind of plays a little bit different in other corners, but he's kind of evolved and created his own kind of technique and which you know already from jacksonville when they drive.

No. We played we played uh two years ago: beautiful players, reunited yeah played two years together and then uh. The last was the person who i play against he's retired now, but it's uh revis yeah he's a dude who man he he matched me in 2015, every snap um. He gave me a different look each and every snap, and it was the first time in my career i actually felt like i was.

I was like confused yeah like like thinking at the line of scrimmage. You know i mean i still had a pretty good game, but it was uh. It was one of those times where i kind of after that game kind of readjusted my approach to like the line of scrimmage and and the pre-snap, and how i kind of wanted to go about my pre-snap playing, that's even kind of talking to him after the Game you know he he kind of just kind of you know gave me some tidbits as to how i should kind of approach the line of scrimmage yeah. So that's interesting, you know obviously he's one of the best players i got to watch every snap of.

I really think about him a lot because the nfl has gotten so much harder for the defender. I still don't think, there's been a corner since him and there was guys before him. But since him i don't think, there's been another darrell rivas in the league and jalen's amazing and there's been other guys, but like he was those two years. 2009 10 were so crazy, like so crazy people, aj.

That was a two-year span where, if somebody caught a pass, we were upset and surprised a pass, and i'm talking about the best receivers in the league would come to new york megatron and have two two and 17 one and nine. It was out of con ocho cinco in his prime, like back-to-back games like blank. You know, weirdness, it was super weird. He got we crazy.

I got my other one, mike evans, that's a great one. I i'm with you on that too. I agree with that too. I mean, i just think if you just hate texas, a that's what it m like yeah, that's what it seems like i didn't hate mike at all.

Coming i didn't hate either of these players yeah. I actually liked mike. I didn't think it was gon na be crazy. I mean you know mike evans never had a season and that he didn't catch for a thousand he's a beast.

You talk about flowers, it's just like man, it's hard to catch for a thousand yards in a league. I agree to do it every year in your career. That's that's uh and we don't even really talk about him amongst, like the greats. I agree.

I think he deserves his and then another guy who i did like too, but i think he should be talked about a lot more is aj green as well. I chose i took two receivers, but you know aj he's a guy who was it his first seven years in the league. He went to a officer. He was first ballot pro ball.

I agree. That's a great julio kind of outshined him a little bit for whatever reason: yeah i've always liked aj a little more. To be honest, you know it's really funny you bring that up. I think there's a lot of players through the years who are like sensational and just because of circumstances.

You know like listen. I think alan. To be honest, like i'm excited that he's on like this is like. Like alan, i think his career is going down the path of where i'm about to go, which is, there are players who are grossly all-time underrated because of pure circumstances.

No doubt and i think in a person like mike evans situation, i think that the football world and just in general people get super infatuated with like spikes and peaks. You know what i'm saying so mike kind of being consistent around 700. 1200. 1300.

1200. He may not have ever had a 17 1800 yard season, but he's been so good and so consistent to, whereas like it gets overlooked, you know, because people kind of want that want that spike. You know of the i think of the 18 touchdowns or 1800 yards. You know what i'm saying exactly or 140 catches.

You know it's like. Let's talk about the draft a little bit so dbell's going through this big moment, we're only a couple weeks away alan. What about your experience? Let's get some fun stories that maybe people don't know. Yeah i actually i left my draft party uh for a little bit uh i was i was yeah.

I was frustrated. Oh you thought you were gon na go first round. I i didn't. I thought it was a chance.

I could go first round. I think i wasn't upset with that. I think it was uh for me it was upset uh. Once again i got down to the second round.

I think i ended up being an eleventh receiver, taking you know and seeing a lot of people come off the board. Uh in front of me, you know it was just frustrating that ninth and tenth guy pissed you off real talk before that. You know i mean, but you know it was wonderful matt at the fourth and fifth guy you were on tilt when you eat the knife. The tenth guy yeah for sure - and i mean that's the thing i i probably left my draft party around like pick 40 45., so i probably was like outside kicking it for, like 15, 16 picks.

You know just like chilling, and i remember my one of my high school coaches had texted me. Like you good, i'm out, i was straight i just i didn't want to. I was. I was frustrated at that point.

I didn't want to really you know be around anybody. So remind me what you know because again - and i love you david for saying i read it - i like like people like people, are humans. Remind me, because i don't remember, did people have you projected in the first round or you felt you were projected second round um i felt like. I was projected second, it's funny because, like you know how you get your draft, you can like submit these games in, like uh like a form or something and like the nfl kind of gets back to you, where you were projected to be drafted, and i did That but i didn't look at that until after the draft so interesting yeah so and they had me uh project that second round, but during that whole moment you talking about when he was at the draft.

I wasn't talking to him at all. At that time, um. We had a lot of players in that draft. We were just.

I was at home with my dad watching it um, which i have another story about the draft later, but it's funny because i remember his experience. I was without sean jeffrey for his draft experience. I was actually up close and personal with him very similar um, and i think he could be in store for something similar as well guys that they know i know, and anybody who really knows them knows that they're gon na you know pro bowl level kind of Players and it's just something about watching guys, get drafted by the way it's the weirdest position for me in the nfl currently yeah. I was yelling at my tv screen as a fan long before i knew as much as i know today, and i knew a lot because i watched so much, but now i'm at a different place because i'm under the hood yelling for the jets to take keenan Allen yelling in the first round, and i think he went third round and the and these guys all fit this.

I the receiver thing is weird: the league still yeah over values. In my opinion, i and i'm putting this on wax, because i want to be historically correct. I think the league slightly continues to over emphasize speed at the combine for receivers when the film is telling you a completely other story, and it just feels like there's an obnoxious amount of second and third round receivers who ball the out that have the same narrative. I'll tell you significantly not slightly it's significant, like that's the conversation that i've had most with teams over the last three months and i'm not trying to sell them, because i know you can't sell them anyway.

It's more so, like you said, have it on wax like when are y'all gon na wake up and just look just look at the top receivers in the game and go? Are those tracks, 40 speed kind of guys or those? You know guys that you just cut on the tape and they separate themselves. You know i made that mistake. Everybody continuously makes it, but one second, the one thing that is going to maybe change that i was talking to a former gm a couple weeks ago. Is the teams that are switching to gps instead of, and so they can actually see how fast the guys get up to in a game like cooper cup or him, for example, as opposed to looking at a track race and seeing how a guy runs in a 40., so i think, is starting to catch up.

Yes, like the next 15 years, we could see a change there. I think it's two things one. I think the over emphasis that well not the over, but the under uh emphasis is that when you take guys that are more skillful guys when you get in the league, especially at the receiver position, it comes to being able to adapt your game. The receiver position.

I think is very similar to kind of like a basketball player. It's like, if you have all these different things on your tool belt. As a player, you can continue to adapt your game over time. You're, not just a speed guy.

You know you can do a little bit of everything you can continue to evolve. Your game change your game, maybe it's route running whatever it may be. You know you have all these skills to be able to win. Firstly, and secondly, i think the other thing - the speed factor - is a huge factor for guys who don't have that dude under center.

To me. In my opinion, if you go look at the players who play with uh, aaron, rodgers or uh, um, josh allen or any of the top quarterbacks in the league and the guys that they've had like even like you said, like keenan allen and philip rivers, you know What i'm saying, even with uh with justin herbert he's, had a ton of success but nobody's nobody's afraid to guy who had great circumstance. Imagine he announced here, phillip, rivers and and that's but again - and i think he's more so i think he's i don't think he's the beneficiary. I think the i don't want to say the quarterbacks are our beneficiary, it's the combo, but it's the it's the combo and when i say it's the combos like, if you have a guy like philip rivers, you know keenan allen, being keenan allen he's going to have Success, you know you don't have to worry about.

Can phillip rivers get king and alan the ball in these different spots? You know, as long as king is keenan he's going to kill. As long as devonta adams is devonte adams he's going to kill, we have the person that can get him the ball at any position on the field. The whole, like conversation of like run routes, really caught my attention like forget about all these drills on instagram. Like you, you big believer in that is that the real, obviously you got to have some drills and stuff to kind of like emphasize you know other physical traits as far as that you're training, but definitely the biggest thing is being able to run to be able To run a route like, if you're doing, uh stop routes at three yards and fight, everybody can stop at three to five yards of course.

But can you stop at 18? You know how? How fast can you get out of your speed cut at 20 yards on the 20 yard dagger? You know, but you got to be able to build that speed up for 20 and then cut. You can't just run five yards in this because everybody could do that. You know that means it's basketball, basketball. What you said there that's huge like you see guys that were like like david who he was a really good basketball player.

So was alan. Well, i don't think he could have been in the league. Allen really thinks he can that receiver position really. You know you're kind of to get open, you're doing the same thing, it's kind of like like james harden made.

He probably would have been a good wide receiver, but not the fastest, wide receiver but again um. Why don't you drop anything? I think uh seriously, my man catch everything for real and that's the number one job you know again. Uh is: did you get better at it like? How did you get better at it, like, obviously like people like some people, have good hand-eye coordination like even me and aj are good at catching, because we have good hand but like how do you get like from elite to super elite like when? I say that to you, i'm saying that as a compliment on purpose, like you really don't drop, i i've always been pretty good at catching the ball. That's fine! I just started playing receiver to my junior high school, so cause you were going to the nba.

Well, i was, i was smaller, so i was like 5 8. You know early on, so i played running back, but i just always kind of i guess naturally been able to catch the ball. I mean i work. I work at catching the ball too for sure, but i think my main focus is always you know when the ball is in the air is to catch it.

You know, i think i'm not really. Truly, you know now, i'm kind of you know again uh adapting you know to just be able to get catching on opportunity so being able to you know kind of put my body in the position to run. You know when i, when i, when i do catch it and in better positions you know, but when the ball is in the air, you know the the number one job is to catch it d bell: are you thinking about like you're in a funny spot? Now most people, when they get out of school, they're kind of in control, like dustin, decided he's willing to cut like they're willing to come to new york, like you, don't get to decide like you're about to live somewhere out of like a heartbeat you're gon na Get a phone call, you know five minutes later we're gon na get a phone call and be pumped for you and you might be thinking like man. I i'm about to live in this city like are you thinking about that? A lot or not really yeah? Most.

Definitely uh my whole life. I've been in indiana, uh, went to high school indianapolis and then purdue west lafayette's about an hour and 15 minutes away. So it's definitely going to be so. Are you praying that the colts take you, i'm praying just to get drafted yeah.

I don't believe you, i don't i'm not really crazy yeah for sure i was just talking to my mom about it. Maybe a few days ago like, but it's gon na be your first time if the coach don't draft it at you outside the city. So you know, hopefully i can build the same fan base that i built in indianapolis and indiana to wherever, wherever i go, alan, when you went back to roses, let's go into another place. What player when you entered the league, most big brothered, you that helped you! The most anybody stand out and maybe even if they didn't really put their arm around you and say, hey youngster, i'm going to be there for you.

Maybe somebody if you didn't have that circumstance, because something like that doesn't happen. Was there anybody on jacksonville that you? No different than what dd bell said about coach. Was there somebody in the locker room and you're like i like the way that guy moves, i'm going to be that kind of pro when i get older yeah so off the top of my head, a few guys. Um, actually we had a super young team.

When i got to jacksonville right so um it was me marquis lee allen, hearn storm johnson, brandon linder. We all came in on offense together. You know our first win that year we started eight rookies, you know, but we did have some vests like cecil shorts, uh, mercedes-lewis, um, uh, jack, mcclendon who's. Actually, the player engagement guy in los angeles right now as well.

That's cool. You know he's a dude who who for sure took me under his wing but as i kind of advanced a little bit, it was a lot of vets and retired guys. You know, like i'm, pretty cool with calvin johnson, steve smith, um uh, randy moss. You know i got, i got some of the legend yeah, so the guys you looked up to yeah for sure you know, did you seek them out? Did some of them seek you out? Was it serendipitous or were you at like a event, and you saw them and you're like? Let me start to build this relationship.

How did that go down a little bit of both actually um? I i forget how i actually end up uh getting super cool with uh with uh moss, but i ended up training in charlotte with him for uh four to six weeks that must have been cool. It was super dope you know being able to, and even now you know, guy who came into the league and did work eight seconds in everyone was like we up eight seconds. This is the crazy thing about it. He scored a touchdown in every single one of his college games.

You talking about moss, pennington was nice, but come on yeah yeah. He god that must have been really fun for you, yeah. Who was your favorite receiver as a kid moss, so that was it huh yeah yeah right? It was dope and again um who who's your favorite receiver, like in the last seven eight years like let's say because you transitioned to a big program like purdue. It kind of changed a little bit, but what about in high school? If i said to you in your four years of high school, who was your favorite nfl receiver? Did you have one yeah? I liked andre johnson um yeah.

He was a guy out like the light talk about flowers that dude deserves yeah. I like andre, yeah yeah. He was, he was super underrated. That's it that's another guy, that's another! That's another darrell rivas roses! Bro we other than the fact that stevie was on the other side, gave him a little bit of work, but interesting, moss.

Andre was a beast yeah. He was real nice. Let's talk about basketball, playoffs are about to come, you're, always talking basketball um. Now that i knew that you could be an nba player too yeah for sure brandon, you you, you sneakily, think you're phenomenal in basketball.

I knew i wasn't going to nba, though um. What do we think like? What's our hot take before we started this you're like i'm, not sure phoenix can do it. I don't think i was kind of saying i think maybe they're they're the fact that they got so far last year, like sometimes that second year, you know i'm also hot on the nets. You were talking about that off camera before we started.

If i said right now, nba finals champion, let's go around the uh, it's super hard, but it's fun i'll go! Let's play i'll, go last! Second, to last, all right i'll go first i'll go first! I actually am pretty locked into this and been locked and i do a show with draftkings called props and drops, and two months ago i locked this in so i'm gon na run it all the way through. I i just mentioned them. I think it's gon na be nets phoenix, i'm sticking with it. I've been on it for months, and i think it's gon na play out.

Um the nets are gon na, have a tougher road, i think than phoenix. I think phoenix is gon na get themselves back. There um and if i had to pick a winner, i think if the nets get there, then they'll win it. So i'm going to go with the nets dbell, i got to go, go to state coming out.

The west yep and the east east east is tough. It is tough, east is tough. You can really be okay with a lot of decisions. I personally say the celtics, i get it yeah i got and then us, and in that finals i got the celtics taking it.

You got the celtics getting out. You feel they're that hot right now yeah i got it, i get it. I get it. I didn't um.

Well my bias, can't i have to pick the warriors coming out the west. I can't not pick them why, just because i think step uh. I just really like the warriors um, i think stuff i got. I got to know what that joke is.

I just think. No, i just think steph's uh not only the most underrated player, but maybe a top three player of all time, but that's another discussion. Um and he says top three: now: i've actually heard top top three and not two or three. But that's that's that's that's.

Why he's talking about part of you? I live with women. That's why there's a part of that! I see where you go. That was that joke that was that joke hey! Thank you for tearing that up. So, let's see it up, there's a part of you in your body that debates with yourself - and you know it's not something - that's accepted by society - yeah that you might think in your mind and that's the best player of all time.

Yeah yeah, that's profound yeah! That's a i mean you know. What's crazy, i definitely changed it. Things could get very weird if, like this was my whole thesis and could, by the way, continues to be with lebron like if you told me, lebron gets two rings in the next three seasons that registers in my head, as like. Oh, it got put together in la or brawny came in and he went somewhere else and it got put together like steph, can still win three four titles.

When you talk about accomplishments and titles and that sort of stuff, that's when i kind of back away from those arguments, why? Just because there's so many like you give me the side, i can argue it right, like i'm just saying flat out pound for pound, like if i'm a coach and i'm coaching against the team, and you said who is one player that i wouldn't want on the Other team, in terms of having to account for him all over it for me, so that's why i think steph, but anyway i would say warriors and then it's a coin flip between uh boston or um, milwaukee and new jersey for me, okay or brooklyn yep. But i'm uh, i'm gon na go i'm gon na rock out with the nets and warriors man and who's gon na win. It warriors okay, alan, yes, coming out the east uh, because i'm a big, especially once again the playoff time, i'm big on who has the best player yeah. I think that's what makes series so tough.

You know. So i think in the east i got ta go with milwaukee order nets and then in the west in the west i have to go phoenix man, phoenix or golden state. Only thing that kind of makes me with golden state is steph being a little dinged up going into the playoffs. You know not kind of having.

I don't want to say not having that rhythm, but i do think it's tough when you're playing against a team like phoenix who has who has been very cohesive in this happening, because i think they lost 16 games. I think that's nothing. 18.! That's insane! Yeah! That is good. 64 wins like i think people are sleeping on them a little bit like.

I think it's gon na be a rematch from last year. I just don't see it, you do yeah. I know you really just don't. I can't wait to text you guys and the reason why i say that man is because phoenix has a complete team.

They're, pretty everybody knows their roles, they have a very cohesive team and once you get to the playoffs, you know what's funny, they remind me of young golden state before they super teamed out with durant like it was so teemy like clay, steph and draymond, and everybody Surrounding them and andre, like as a vet like in that chris paul's, like a little bit more like they're just teaming up to me and milwaukee, has that that's? Why that's why i say to somebody exactly the celtics play defense, you know what it is they play. Defense, you know what honest is a little more alpha than tatum just a little bit, and i love them too. That's my problem with the celtics, those two, the two-headed monster and that's obviously, more tatum than brown, but, like i don't trust it. It gets cold out of nowhere for no reason or logic.

I think that, like the person i most fear on that team, from like real life, like is smart, smart 100, that player mark is smart, would be my favorite player of all time. If he was on the knicks. That's how much i love the 83 intangibles. I sent i hate going to nick's celtic games because marcus smart does 12 things in a game that i admire the most yeah, but he's a celtic.

So i hate him. What are some of those things like pulling on someone's shorts poking someone in the ribs playing deep, like all these weird ass things that, like like, like, like not patrick beverly, like 15 percent, a little bit more, not crazy about the last. You did you like? Patrick, listen, i'm someone who has no talent that has to rely on all those things to compete, and i because of that i know how much it matters. People are not mentally strong and people are not mentally strong out.

There. You've got 88 of league players out there, not as mentally strong as people think and little can them up like a little. I really obviously that's like hyperbole but, like i believe in those little diving like doing something with the crowd like humans back to brands. The way we started, this podcast brandon was just talking about intuition energy's real humans play that way like little things like one, the player on your i'll, give you a great action i'll, give you a great marcus, smart thing.

I've watched you know the league, the nba is so about streaks, right, it's so streaky 12 and over on it. You know like down 20, you win by 25, like it's very streaky, with the three ball and the way the league is now i've seen marcus smart, multiple times, just against the knicks in the last two seasons. Do the small little thing that starts the 12-0 run like you could just see the rest of his team getting more hyped yeah, it's real! You know who else has that who milwaukee withdrew holiday? I love jewellery by the way. That's why i feel like in the playoffs, because you have middleton, who can kind of be a possible with all due respect, roller coaster of some games when i say roller coasters to 17..

You know what i'm saying like it's kind of that range, but we're having giannis and drew holiday and knowing what you're going to get the whole podcast picking up our acoustics and having giannis and drew in a seven game series. Let's talk about other interests. What about fighting here's, what i mean by that mma boxing or actual wrestling like wwe stuff, like any of those things ever hit your radar. Like i love all those things.

Did you like that growing up i'll? Let them start! Oh, i grew up watching like wwe. Go ahead so who's your favorite wrestler of all time, probably rey, mysterio, rey, mysterio yeah. You love the flying around yeah. We used to jump off my auntie cows.

Do the tricks and stuff so did you with the mask yeah most? Definitely so i we. We definitely uh grew up watching that in the house. We couldn't watch it in my house, but we go around the corner. I love it.

We can go watch that for sure you're, a wrestling guy at all i was growing up. Mine was neither uh, the rock or john cena yeah you're, that era yeah yeah, i was rocking sting sting from wc. Now, of course, he was beast. He was him.

I did bang with the undertaker too. I'm not gon na lie. The whole wolf pack was aj who's, your favorite wrestler of all time. You kid aj aj.

What are you? What up? I'm 40 you're. 30. 35.. 35 - is a weird one.

It's the worst era yeah, because aj aj's, like childhood, was in between hogan ultimate warrior, macho man, my era and and the rock stone cold. He still got that because he was young, but the true childhood, where it's like this. He had like tatanka and like like duke the dumpster drozy and all sorts of like weird, that was the bret heart yokozuna, where the top top top, but it was like that wasn't the two big eras, but who is your favorite wrestler? Actually, i actually don't think i know. Actually push comes to show for fun.

Try. The reason i guessed it was the british bulldog is, the british bulldog was a good guy. He turned bad and aj cried because he was hitting like me, though all right hold on was it wcw or wwe. I actually that's who i thought it was.

It was a wwe wrestler. I loved that, like the monday night awards like nwo yeah yeah, i was gon na say um. I was gon na get sean michaels wow. Was it wow? Okay, okay, crazy, very as a group yeah greatest match of all time ramon? He came into the league earlier when they would hype guys before they one of the things that wwe did when it was wwf that i thought was better than anything was building up hype.

They would they would do these promos for weeks before the guys showed up in the ring you'd be watching saturday morning, and mr perfect is the one that everybody knows they did mr perfect for two months before he went into the ring. I don't know if he was hurt, i don't know if he was still under contract, kurt henning. I don't know what it was. I don't actually know the real details of why.

But it was months that you'd watch saturday morning because that's when wrestling was popping in the 80s you'd watch in the morning saturday morning when, when they used to have the best guys fight like no names like barry horowitz and k9, they used to fight like scrubs. They didn't fight each other like it is now they like, they would build up guys they hyped. Mr perfect, by the time mr perfect fought his first match. He was the second most popular wrestler in the vince mcmahon.

Did that brilliantly? For me, it's macho man randy savage by country mile, because i'm also i'm like this is why i was smiling when you were talking earlier. I would have loved to be a professional athlete singularly to be on the road. I want everyone booing against me.