Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Are The New England Patriots’ NFL Draft Dreams Of Travis Hunter SHATTERED?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Patriots dreams of Travis Hunter might already be shattered weeks before the NFL draft. That's where we start on this episode of Locked On Patriots. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I'm your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, your New England Patriots expert, host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles and also a sports talk show host veteran.

Starting point is 00:00:39 On today's show, the red flags that could impact the Patriots evaluation of Abdul Carter and three big takeaways from the latest draft consensus big board from the athletic but first the Travis Hunter speculation is running rampant. We appreciate you joining the show making us your first listen and for being an everyday or the lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the lockdown podcast Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode brought to you by FanDuel.

Starting point is 00:01:09 Right now, new customers can get $250 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. Travis Hunter could single-handedly change the Patriots offense. The Patriots offense, simply put, needs a lead wide receiver. Stephon Diggs, of course, brought in a couple of weeks ago. That was a nice signing, but the Patriots need a true bonafide number one guy. And now Travis Hunter might not be the guy

Starting point is 00:01:37 on the outside at the X, but he is certainly talented enough to eventually become that lead receiver. And if he becomes that lead receiver for the Patriots, that means Stefan Diggs less pressure on him coming off ACL surgery. And he's in his 30s. It's a nice fit for Hunter to be that number one guy and Diggs be the number two. That would fundamentally change the Patriots offense for 2025.

Starting point is 00:02:02 It would also fundamentally change the future of Drake May. Imagine Drake May with Travis Hunter and Stefan Diggs as his one and two, and then slide in Pop Douglas as his three. That is a completely different world than what May had to go through during his rookie season. If you could line up Hunter, Diggs, and Pop on most plays, I mean, the Patriots at that point, their offense with Josh McDaniels would be cooking, and Drake May would have absolutely zero excuse

Starting point is 00:02:32 to not be able to rack up some impressive stats throwing the football. But it's a big if. It's a big if because that dream of Travis Hunter falling to the Patriots might already be did. Adam Schefter on the Pat McAfee show said, quote, a couple of months ago, I was of the mind that the Browns were really likely to go quarterback. That was because they wanted Cam Ward.

Starting point is 00:02:56 Cam Ward's not going to be at number two. And then we shifted to Abdul Carter. But the latest Intel now, I believe, Travis Hunter is the more likely pick at two today. Who knows if and when it'll shift again before the draft unquote. Let's get this out of the way. This is not reporting from Adam Schefter. There's nothing that I just said through that transcript that tells you Adam Schefter is

Starting point is 00:03:20 reporting that Travis Hunter is going to be drafted in the top two or three. This is a feeling. And I'm not really into feelings. When we talk about reports, we talk about the draft. I'm not into feelings because feelings change, feelings shift. This is not a report. This is Schefter gathering some information. And then it feels to me, there's that feel word again,

Starting point is 00:03:45 it feels to me like Schafter is telling us what he believes could happen after gathering some of this information. But even Schafter himself tells us that things have shifted. Things have changed. They've already changed over the past few weeks, right? I'll read that quote again from the McAfee show. A couple of months ago, I was of the mind that the Browns were likely to go quarterback. That was because they wanted Cam Ward.

Starting point is 00:04:14 Ward's not going to be at number two. And then we shifted to Abdul Carter. So there's the first shift. A couple of months ago, Schefter went out there and said, the Browns are going to draft the quarterback at number two. Now he says, well, that was the thought process because they believed Cam Ward was going to be available. Now they know Cam Ward's not going to be available. And they shifted to Abdul Carter.

Starting point is 00:04:38 But then Schefter says on the McAfee show, the latest Intel now, now, the latest Intel now now the latest Intel now not next week Not two weeks from Thursday night when the draft happens But the latest Intel now I believe He believes he's not being told he believes Hunter is the more likely pick at two today bunch of disclaimers bunch of caveats Well first it was a quarterback then we shifted to Carter, but now the latest Intel right now. I believe Hunter is more likely

Starting point is 00:05:13 To go at number two today That that's not a report and then he he finishes it with this Icing on the cake who knows if and when it with this icing on the cake. Who knows if and when it'll shift again before the draft. This is content baby, content creation from Adam Schefter. This is not hard reporting. This is not sourced reporting. This is a man that's telling us that he believes,

Starting point is 00:05:43 he believes that right now currently the Browns could draft Travis Hunter but let's say Hunter doesn't fall to four because Hunter falling to four would be to me right now borderline miraculous I think Hunter is arguably the best player in this draft. Speaking of shifts, there has been a shift over the past couple of weeks towards Hunter being the best player in this draft. Why is he not going number one?

Starting point is 00:06:12 Because Tennessee needs a quarterback, and Kam Ward's the best quarterback in this draft. If Tennessee had their quarterback, if Will Levis didn't fall on his face, I think you'd be seeing the Tennessee Titans drafting Travis Hunter. So arguably the best player in the draft to believe he's going to fall the four is is very difficult to believe.

Starting point is 00:06:33 And it's even more difficult to believe because he is not restricted by position. He is so different than so many other prospects 99.8% of the prospects because Hunter as we know can be cornerback or he could be wide receiver and many will tell you that he's the best cornerback in this draft and he's the best wide receiver in this draft so that versatility makes it less likely he's going to fall the four because if you're drafting Hunter you could draft him if you need one of those two positions. The Giants are the perfect example. The Giants drafted Malik Neighbors last year.

Starting point is 00:07:09 So what would they do if they drafted Hunter? They could justify drafting Hunter by putting him at corner back and saying, there's our number one shut down outside corner. So that versatility also makes it very, very unlikely, very unlikely. The last part of this I want to talk about is the fact that it's clear Cam Ward is the prize. He's the prize. Tennessee wants to draft him at number one. The Giants would absolutely move up and draft him if they could. And here's Adam Schefter telling us that the Cleveland Browns, they were

Starting point is 00:07:46 locked in on a quarterback at number two when they thought that quarterback that was going to be available was Cam Ward. And it just reminds us again, I hate this, but as we get closer to the draft, it reminds us again, that win against Buffalo in the final week of the season was crippling. Because the Patriots would have been sitting there at the number one pick with the Giants, the Titans and the Browns, all wanting Cam Ward. And the Patriots would have been in a position

Starting point is 00:08:23 to trade down but stay within the top three, not only getting a fantastic return for the number one pick overall and accumulating extra picks but also staying in the top three to guarantee themselves one of Hunter or Carter, an absolutely crippling win against the Bills in week 18. And that could have long term ramifications on this organization. Man oh man speaking of Abdul Carter, we have a recent report on Carter's red flags coming up next as we continue on with today's episode of Locked On Patriots, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day.

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Starting point is 00:10:53 prospect. We know he's a great prospect on the field. He's got tons of potential. We could talk about him all day long, what he did at Penn State this past season, right? But when you look at Abdul Carter, there are other questions, just like every other prospect in this upcoming draft. There are going to be questions. Some even have red flags. And there's a recent report mentioning some of those red flags regarding Abdul Carter. Bob McGinn, he's a veteran in the game out there in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has written about NFL prospects for a long time. He digs in, he talks to a bunch of scouts, and here's what McGinn wrote about Abdul Carter recently. He's a Pro Bowl player. And this is what a scout said to McGinn. He's got everything you're looking for as an edge rusher,

Starting point is 00:11:39 but he's not a quality guy. But he's not a quality guy. It's a shot. but he's not a quality guy. But he's not a quality guy. It's a shot. McGinn writes that Scout was one of four, not one, not two, not three, but four personnel people to express reservations about Carter's makeup. One Scout said, quote, he's not a great worker.

Starting point is 00:11:57 So one Scout says to McGinn, he's not a quality guy. Another Scout says to McGinn, he's not a great worker. And McGinn spoke to four personnel people who expressed reservations about Carter's makeup. Here's what another scout said to McGinn, quote, there's a little baggage that comes with him. Some people just shrug their shoulders and say it comes with the territory. Other people were a little more concerned with it.

Starting point is 00:12:23 And of course, not only when you look at this, right, the scout saying some people were a little more concerned with it. And of course, not only when you look at this, right, the scout saying some people shrug their shoulders, whatever, there's some baggage here, but you know, shrug of the shoulders. Other people were more concerned, or at least a little more concerned with that baggage. And we're not even talking about Abdul Carter's injuries, right? He also had shoulder and foot injuries. He's not the biggest guy with the biggest frame to play that position. So the red flags are now creeping out of the woodwork, thanks to Bob McGinn. And this is absolutely unequivocally worth discussing.

Starting point is 00:13:00 There's no doubt it's worth discussing. Because when you are going to draft somebody in the top four, if Abdul Carter is sitting there for the Patriots and they have the opportunity to draft him at four, you've got to think about some of these questions regarding his work ethic. Because when somebody gets paid top five pick in the NFL draft type money, every once in a while, that guy's going to dealer clap and walk out. Now it doesn't happen often, but it happens.

Starting point is 00:13:34 Jamarcus Russell is one of the shining examples of this. Top draft pick walks in, got his money, said thank you and moved on. Now, NFL owners try to set this up in a way with their contracts, these rookie contracts now with the 50 year option you can kick in, they have more control than ever. And the money is not as outrageous as it used to be, going back to the Russell days, but it's still worth discussing.

Starting point is 00:14:01 When a guy has some work ethic questions surrounding him and he gets drafted in the top five He's gonna get those endorsements. He's gonna get that big fat rookie contract And is that guy willing to put in the work? He had some work ethic things going on at Penn State when he was getting paid that NiL money NFL money much larger than NIL money when you get drafted in the top five, baby. So Abdul Carter, I do think you look at him with these work ethic questions.

Starting point is 00:14:32 Does he want to put in the work? Is he going to be laissez faire? And if he gets that big money like he's going to, if he's drafted in the top five, which we all anticipate him being drafted in the top five, if he gets that kind of contract, how much does that impact his work ethic, which is already questionable? Now, the biggest question for me, when looking at Carter and what the scouts said, is Carter's red flags, are his red flags malicious? Or is this more about a gifted, a very gifted 21-year-old athlete who's playing at a top

Starting point is 00:15:10 college, went to the college football playoff? Big plays come easy to him because he's so talented. And does he take certain things for granted? Does he believe he doesn't have to work as hard as the next guy because he's just that talented and his natural talent will take over. So is this malicious? Is the baggage with malicious intent? What is the intention of Carter? Does he intend to be an all-time great? Does he intend to put the work in when he gets to the NFL because he understands that the NFL level is a much higher level than Penn State in the Big Ten? Or is it going to be

Starting point is 00:15:51 just business as usual and the contract makes it even more difficult for the young man to work his tuchus off? Legitimate, legitimate and worth discussing. But here's where the background work matters. Every NFL team does background on these prospects. These scouts have been pouring through the film, but the coaches, the coaches on the Patriot staff, they have connections, they have a network, and they talk to college coaches. They talk to guys that are at Penn State and they do their homework.

Starting point is 00:16:28 Now nothing is perfect. Sometimes teams swing and miss again, Jamarcus Russell as an example. You could say the Patriots swung and missed on Jalen Polk. They thought they got a steady solid character type guy who was going to grind his way through and he was going to get right in with the program. And then they found out that he's going to social media. He's posting some things he shouldn't be posting. So teams aren't flawless.

Starting point is 00:16:52 Everybody makes mistakes, but the background matters. And that background is done by the coaching staff, right? A lot of these teams in the NFL, if not every single team in the NFL, they have their own arm as far as investigations go, right? They have people with law enforcement connections and they dig through these guys past and they figure out if they are bad people or might've done a stupid thing,

Starting point is 00:17:16 made a bad mistake at a young age. That's why you do this homework. The interviews at the combine, the interviews, when you bring in somebody for a top 30 visit, these dinners, these lunches, these breakfasts, they matter because it's all in the name of gathering information and trying to figure out who the person is sitting in front of you. And the Patriots hopefully would know on draft night if the Carter baggage is just too much

Starting point is 00:17:46 to take on. Outside looking in, not having the inside intel, I'll tell you, I would draft Carter in a heartbeat and I would trust both Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams to take care of the young man and to get his work ethic turned around if it needs to be turned around to get him focused on his professional football career. I trust Rabil, I trust Williams. Carter's a pro bowl talent and if he reaches his tippity top of potential, he could be all pro talent and you just don't pass that up.

Starting point is 00:18:22 You don't pass that up unless you know with 100% certainty that that guy's not going to work out at the next level because you got information that was bad enough to say thanks but no thanks. We're passing on you to the next team because we don't believe that you have things settled in the right way. But I'm drafting Carter again outside looking in unless there's something that's major there. I'm drafting him. He's got too much talent He was moved to defensive end in the spring of 2024 So he's only played like 16 17 games, whatever it is at the defensive end position. He was linebacker before that at the defensive end position he was linebacker before that.

Starting point is 00:19:11 So what you saw last year in some big games college football playoff game against Notre Dame. I mean what you saw last year from Carter was tip of the iceberg type stuff because he is just starting out working at that position. So yes I I would draft Carter. I would trust Frable. I would trust Williams. But you got to do the digging. And you got to make sure you know everything about Carter before you spend the fourth pick on him. All right, coming up next, our three biggest takeaways from the Athletics latest Consensus Big Board

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Starting point is 00:21:15 Don't wait. Do it today. The draft is getting closer and you can just feel it, right? You can feel it. And as the draft gets closer and closer, the consensus big board from the athletic gets more and more interesting. And I think it has just that much more substance to it because we're getting closer. These pundits, these experts, the sources, scouts, everybody's gathering more information

Starting point is 00:21:44 as time goes on. And the more information you get should give you a better idea as to who is going to go and when they're going to go. And so when you look at the athletic consensus, the big board, it's a fascinating piece of work. And it should give you a pretty good idea as to where these players are right now. It's not a guarantee, nothing is a guarantee, but it should give you a pretty good idea. And it's just an interesting part of the entire mosaic of an NFL draft year in and year out.

Starting point is 00:22:16 And I always say it, NFL drafts are like snowflakes. Every single one of them is different. It's interesting to try to figure out what is the evaluation of the Patriots for these players versus this consensus big board because every team has their big board. Every team feels different about most players, not every player. I think most teams feel the same about blue chip prospects, your handful of guys. But when you look at each and every player that's going to be selected through

Starting point is 00:22:47 the seven rounds of this upcoming draft two weeks from Thursday night, you have to understand that teams look at these players differently. And every board is different grading systems are different. And so the Patriots evaluation of each player and their draft board, how does it stack up against this consensus big board that the athletic throws out there? It's a very interesting thought, right? Well, here are my three big takeaways from the latest consensus big board

Starting point is 00:23:18 that the athletic provides to all of us, or at least those who want to pay for the athletic to see the big board. Number one takeaway, if we're talking Patriots at number four, Will Campbell is not good value. He is not good value because he is the 11th player on this consensus big board. Number 11, not even in the top 10.

Starting point is 00:23:43 And of course, when you think about will Campbell and whether or not he's worthy of being drafted forth we all know what the first question is we could talk about the tape we could talk about how he's had some issues with the speed rush on the inside but that all kind of goes back to the biggest question and you know where I'm going I'm not going to spend too much time on it because it's been talked about ad nauseam already but the arm length the wingspan those questions if will Campbell was a surefire left tackle he would not be ranked 11th on the consensus big board it just wouldn't happen he'd be ranked fourth fifth he might even be

Starting point is 00:24:22 ranked ahead of Carter if he was seen as a no doubt sure fire, unequivocal left tackle, a Joe Alt type tackle. If he was seen as that kind of player at that pivotal position, there's no way on God's green earth that he drops down to 11th. There's just no way and he continues to drop this latest consensus big board. He drops two spots. He was at nine the last time this big board came out. So he continues to fall down the board. You know who's going up the board? Armand Membu. Membu is the number one offensive tackle on this consensus big board. And that just supports what I just mentioned a moment ago, right? This idea that if we'll Campbell, if everybody, if all 32 teams believe that

Starting point is 00:25:11 Campbell was a tackle and every single analyst and pundit said he's no doubt a tackle, he's a starting left tackle for the next decade, Campbell would be in the top five played in the sec played very well against some of the best edge rushers in college football. If he was seen as a surefire tackle, I think he'd be ranked ahead of Memboo. Campbell's athletic enough. I know Memboo was just crazy off the charts at the combine, but Campbell is very athletic. Memboo is tackle number one, and he is sixth on the big board, while Campbell is tackle number two and 11th on the big board while Campbell is tackle number two

Starting point is 00:25:46 and 11th on the big board. And that's because Membu's size and athleticism tell you that he is going to be a tackle. The question with Membu of course is, is he going to play on the right side as he has in college or is he going to play on the left side where some teams might try to transition him in the NFL? If you miss, if the Patriots miss that four because they draft Campbell and he doesn't work out, it's a complete mess. So the consensus big board, a vital piece of information here telling us that Will Campbell is seen across the league as the 11th guy in this draft, not the fourth. He ain't the top five, he ain't the top 10. He's just on the outside looking in at number 11. Here's my second big takeaway

Starting point is 00:26:30 from this consensus big board. Let's talk Mason Graham, defensive lineman, interior defensive lineman from Michigan. We all know who he is by now, right? He has a great motor. He's a productive player, very sudden. So people are telling us via this consensus big board that Mason Graham is number four in this draft. So if you were just going off of this big board and drafting the players one, two, three, four, you would be drafting Mason Graham fourth, Graham would end up with the Patriots. Now he's a variable guy through and through right again, that motor means a lot to variable. He's a violent player. He's a leader. He's been very productive during his time at Michigan.

Starting point is 00:27:21 So he is a he's a variable type player. Now the question with Mason Graham is how much do the Patriots weigh what they have already on the defensive line, especially on the interior, because you just signed Milton Williams that big contract Christian Barmore is at Gillette Stadium this week. Pictures came out of the voluntary workouts and Barmore's working out. So it's not just the situation where he comes and he talks to the coaches and he's watching all these guys work out. There are pictures out there on social media delivered by the Patriots themselves of Barmore working out on a weight bench.

Starting point is 00:28:01 So if you've got Barmore, you've got Milton Williams, you could also push Keon White into the middle at times. How much does that play a role in whether or not the Patriots would draft a Mason Graham at number four? Or would they just say he's the best player on our board? We don't care. We're going to bring them in anyway. We're going to draft them. The other team that could be very interested in Graham is Jacksonville. I don't think you could get Jacksonville to move from five to four, but keep an eye out on the Jaguars. My last, my third and final big takeaway from the athletic consensus big board offensive

Starting point is 00:28:37 tackle position. I mentioned Campbell, I mentioned Membu. Membu's one, Campbell's two. Overall, six and 11, respectively. And when you look at the other tackles on this big board, a lot of guys towards the middle to end of the first round. Kelvin Banks from Texas. He's dropped two slots since the last Consensus Big Board. He's gone from 16 to 18. Josh Simmons from Ohio State. He's dropped five spots since the last big board came out. He's gone from 20 to 25. Josh Connerly of Oregon. He dropped down a spot. He's ranked at 33. So those are three tackles all believed to have the capability of playing left tackle.

Starting point is 00:29:20 Banks is more of a question because of his size and his frame. But you've got banks at 18, you've got Simmons at 25, you've got Connerly at 33. You know what that tells me? A possible trade backup scenario for the Patriots. If that's where these guys land, the Patriots could, they could trade up and draft Kelvin Banks in the top 20. They could trade up and land one of Simmons or Connelly in the mid-20s, mid to late 20s. And I think a trade up, if you don't draft Campbell or Membu at four, I think a trade back into the first round scenario is alive for the Patriots. And shoot, if Connelly keeps dropping, maybe you can get them at at 38 Fascinating stuff from the athletic with that consensus big board. Thanks 18 Simmons 25 Connelly 33 Graham is at 4 meanwhile Campbell's at 11 and

Starting point is 00:30:13 Membu is at 6. All right that wraps up this edition of lockdown Patriots tomorrow on the show We'll have some interesting Intel on Tet Macmillan Let me know your thoughts on today's topics reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C radio Let me know your thoughts on today's topics. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C radio. Throw a comment in on YouTube and thank you for making lockdown Patriots your first listen today for your second listen. Check out the lockdown NFL draft with Damien Parson and

Starting point is 00:30:35 Keith Sanchez. Now that the season is over, get the latest draft rankings, rumors and news every day. Find lockdown NFL draft on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day. Find Lockdown NFL Draft on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day. We'll see you tomorrow.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Are The New England Patriots’ NFL Draft Dreams Of Travis Hunter SHATTERED?

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