NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah Talks Rams, Raiders, Cowboys & More with Rich

The 2026 NFL Draft was less about quarterbacks coming off the board than about teams wrapping infrastructure around the ones they already have, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah told Rich the morning after the draft. "This draft was a lot about teams helping their quarterbacks," Jeremiah said, walking through a class where the Cardinals, Jets, Titans, Browns and Bears all leaned into building around a young passer rather than chasing the next one.

Jeremiah's biggest sample-size case study is Ty Simpson landing with the Rams at thirteenth overall. The strengths everyone agrees on, he said. The footwork, the release, the ability to work through progressions. The disagreement is whether fifteen college starts is enough to project a top-half-of-the-first-round quarterback who will then sit a year or two behind Matthew Stafford. "Can you be a great golfer if you just go to the range for six years and then hop out on the course?" Jeremiah asked. "You're getting a lot of practice. You're getting a lot of work in, but you're not really playing."

On the Raiders question that turned into a Charles Davis bench-clearer over how many starts Fernando Mendoza will get as a rookie, Jeremiah came down on the conservative side. He pointed to a first-year head coach, a quarterback room with Geno-Cousins-style money already paid out, and a Tom Brady philosophy that prizes watching a professional prepare. "This is a very secure group from upstairs to downstairs and I just don't think they're going to be in a rush," Jeremiah said.

The class he likes most is Cleveland's. The Browns slid back from second to fifth a year ago, took Mason Graham, then turned that into KC Concepcion, Dylan Sampson, Quinshon Judkins-style depth, and now Carnell Tate-tier weapons plus another tackle in Austin Barber. On the inevitable quarterback question that follows, Jeremiah said the investment math points one way. "Comparing what you've invested into Shedeur, even though he's younger, comparing what you've invested obviously into Watson, like it's not close," he said. "He's going to get the first chance at this thing."

Jeremiah liked the Cowboys class on substance, not just on bodies. Caleb Downs as the statement pick, Malachi Lawrence as a longer-runway swing, Jay'Shawn Barham as a Christian Parker fit. "It shows to me that there's a lot of belief and conviction in Christian Parker and his vision," Jeremiah said.

Asked to call the 2027 first overall pick, Jeremiah passed on Arch Manning and went with Oregon's Dante Moore to the Miami Dolphins, with Dan Marino at the podium on the Washington Mall. Rich reminded him the clip lives forever if he is right.