FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 27th, 2020

DOUG PEDERSON, HOWIE ROSEMAN, BRIAN FLORES, STEVE KEIM & CRIS COLLINSWORTH ON THE 2020 NFL DRAFT — QUOTES FROM TODAY’S EPISODES OF LUNCH TALK LIVE WITH MIKE TIRICO AND THE RICH EISEN SHOW ON NBCSN

“We felt comfortable in the last couple weeks. Obviously, (Tua) is a very talented player and has a lot of great qualities we look for in a quarterback.” – Miami head coach Brian Flores on selecting QB Tua Tagovailoa

“This is my 22nd draft and I can’t recall evaluating a player with this guy’s particular skill set.” – Arizona GM Steve Keim on Isaiah Simmons

“There’s no competition. Carson Wentz is our quarterback…It’s about having a strong (QB) room, it’s about making sure that all of us are having guys on our team who can come in and play.” – Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman on selecting QB Jalen Hurts in the second round

 “If I were Aaron Rodgers, I would be really mad…Instead of getting additional help at wide receiver, at offensive line…they go out and draft for the future.” – Cris Collinsworth on the Packers selecting QB Jordan Love

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 27, 2020 – Mike Tirico hosted today’s episode of Lunch Talk Live on NBCSN and was joined remotely by:

    • Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson
    • Miami Dolphins football coach Brian Flores
    • Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim
    • NBC Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth
    • NFL Network commentator and host of The Rich Eisen Show Rich Eisen

 

The Rich Eisen Show followed Lunch Talk Live on NBCSN, as host Rich Eisen was joined by:

    • Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman
    • “The Last Dance” director Jason Hehir
    • NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah

 

Following are highlights from Lunch Talk Live on NBCSN:

Brian Flores on Tua Tagovailoa’s health: “Our entire staff did a really good job of getting the information on all of the players. We felt comfortable in the last couple weeks. Obviously, (Tua) is a very talented player and has a lot of great qualities we look for in a quarterback — he’s a leader, accurate, and tough.”

Flores on Tua Tagovailoa’s rookie season: “Like all of the rookies, they have so much to learn. It’s such a different game — they have to learn new terminology, get to know the guys on the team and know their fellow rookies. There’s a lot that goes in the first year as a rookie.”

Flores on the timetable for the Dolphins’ draft class this offseason: “We control what we can control. There’s nothing we can do, and every team is dealing with the same situation. The most important thing is to do a good job from the virtual meetings and lay a good foundation from that standpoint.”

Flores on building a culture in Miami last season: “That was a special group to me. It was a hard-working group and a lot of adversity earlier in the season. They just went back to work, and no one placed blame, pointed fingers, or made excuses…Hopefully some of the energy at the end of 2019 can be carried to this season.”

Steve Keim on the NFL Draft experience: “I actually thought it went off extremely smooth, especially in such an unprecedented time…I just feel the people that broadcasted it did a fantastic job.”

Keim on a camera being on him at all times during the Draft: “I think I was tentative at times, but it was as smooth as it gets. I knew from the league that they weren’t going to show us around our draft picks, so I felt pretty comfortable.”

Keim on what he learned from the virtual aspect of the NFL Draft: “I think it’s the virtual meetings. I look at the positive side of the Draft. Use the virtual meetings to our benefit and have the ability to get in front of more players. Maybe minimize some of the travel with our scouts and coaches.”

Keim on No. 8 pick Isaiah Simmons: “Loved the person and player. The speed, the length, and athleticism are exceptional. This is my 22nd draft and I can’t recall evaluating a player with this guy’s particular skill set. He can play the middle half, cover tight ends, can blitz and play on the hash. The guy has a unique skill set and brings a bunch of versatility to our defense.”

Keim on selecting Houston tackle Josh Jones the third round: “I was very shocked. He was in the Top 30 on our big board. He was a guy I saw at the Senior Bowl and did fantastic against top competition. He has natural knee-bend, is athletic, and rangy as a pass protector.”

Doug Pederson on the offseason program: “We started our offseason virtual program today. I had my first team meeting and we had over 133 members — team, personnel staff — on that call this morning and got everything kicked off. We also just finished with the draft, so putting the finishing touches on that…We are excited to eventually get back together.”

Pederson on addressing a room virtually: “It’s a weird feeling. We use Microsoft Teams and I can only see four guys on the screen. I’m talking into the computer screen and hopefully my message is getting across to the 133 or so in that meeting.”

Pederson on the needs addressed in the NFL Draft: “In talking to (Eagles general manager) Howie (Roseman) at the end of the season, we felt we had to be faster at all positions. That is something we wanted to address in either free agency or in this draft. This draft was deep from a wide receiver standpoint.”

Pederson on letting Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz know they were going to draft QB Jalen Hurts: “I just wanted him to understand that we value the quarterback position extremely high here in Philadelphia, but at the same time, Carson understands and I wanted him to know that he is our starter. He’s the face of the Philadelphia Eagles. He is our franchise…I wanted him to understand that we’re going to continue to evaluate quarterbacks and continue to draft quarterbacks every year.”

Pederson on selecting WR Jalen Reagor in the first round: “Jalen (Reagor) is extremely explosive, has great speed, and a dual returner for us…He made perfect sense for us and is going to be a great fit.”

Cris Collinsworth on humanizing the NFL Draft: “They took this big, corporate monster who always bullies through everything and sort of humanized the whole thing. I thought the NFL came off as more human than I can ever remember it being.”

Collinsworth on Jordan Love to the Packers: “If I were Aaron Rodgers, I would be really mad. It has nothing to do with the fact that he might take his place…Instead of getting additional help at wide receiver, at offensive line…they go out and draft for the future.”

Collinsworth on Tua Tagovailoa to the Dolphins: “The negative rumors about Tua (Tagovailoa) were all coming from Miami-based newspapers…The gap was too big between those two players (Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert) in my estimation. When I heard all this noise, I just kept thinking this is just a bluff…You have to come away with Chris Grier and Brian Flores as one of the huge winners here because not only did they get their guy, they didn’t have to trade up to get him.”

Collinsworth on Patriots not selecting a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft: “ I actually thought that New England was going to trade for Andy Dalton during the draft once Joe Burrow was picked by the Bengals…It feels like Dalton is the one quarterback that could slide right into Josh McDaniels’ offense and be able to run that fairly effectively.”

Following are highlights from The Rich Eisen Show on NBCSN:

Howie Roseman on selecting WR Jalen Reagor in the first round: “This was a heck of a receiver draft, everybody knew that…You really couldn’t go wrong with the amount of talent that they had…This is an explosive guy…I learned under coach (Andy) Reid and you’ve seen what he’s done with the targets he has in Kansas City.”

Roseman on selecting QB Jalen Hurts: “My job is to do everything I can to make Carson Wentz successful…and we’ve shown him with our actions how we feel about him…But my job is to ensure that our team and our organization, we’re protected…(Hurts) is a heck of a player, he’s a heck of a person, he’s a huge asset to any team.”

Roseman on Philadelphia’s QB situation: “There’s no competition. Carson Wentz is our quarterback, I want to be clear with that. It’s about having a strong (QB) room, it’s about making sure that all of us are having guys on our team who can come in and play.”

Daniel Jeremiah on the Packers selecting QB Jordan Love: “I understand that from an organizational decision. If you are a huge Jordan Love fan and you feel like he can be the quarterback for the next 15 years, that’s the long-view decision…This was not a next-year decision, this was a next 15-year decision.”

Jeremiah on the Eagles selecting QB Jalen Hurts: “I think when it first happened it was kind of shocking…The more you think about it, the more you can wrap your mind around it…This is a team that lost a playoff game last year (with a backup QB)…They saw firsthand, if they just had a little bit better play at the quarterback position, they win that playoff game.”

Jeremiah on who he thought had the best draft: “The Minnesota Vikings I thought nailed it…(Stefon) Diggs caught 63 balls last year. I bet Justin Jefferson will come in and catch more than 63 balls this year as a rookie. He’s ready to go and he fits them beautifully.”

Jeremiah on the 49ers’ draft: “Beautiful job of trading, maneuvering around the board. John Lynch, I thought it was a clinic.”

Jeremiah on the Dolphins’ draft: “I liked it, it wasn’t a home run. I thought it was a good draft. If Tua (Tagovailoa) hits, then it’s all worth it. It was good, not great.”

Jason Hehir on how he gained Michael Jordan’s trust for the documentary: “His team had the foresight to put me in front of him a few times before we did the shooting…Just to hang out, nothing high-level. Just relaxed, because I think he abhors meetings. He’d rather just chill out with you and have a beer and talk a little bit…By the time we sat down for that first interview he knew me…He knew what my vision for the project was and I think he knew that he was in a safe space.”

Hehir on interviewees speaking about events that happened a long time ago:So many people, with time, I think are more honest. One of Michael’s concerns at the outset of this thing was that people with this much time and hindsight would give their own version of the events and it wouldn’t be accurate. I was always of the opinion that, if anything, people are going to be more accurate because they’re willing to be more honest because there’s less at stake.”

–NBC SPORTS–