Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Armand Membou ROCKETING Up NFL Mock Drafts; Patriots Option At #4?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Armand Membu is racing up draft boards and could find himself in New England two weeks from now. 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

Starting point is 00:00:35 and also a sports talk show host veteran on today's show. We will tell you who we would put into the Patriots Hall of Fame and take a look at a mock draft that will make some of you very happy. But first, we discuss an O'Limon whose buzz continues to grow. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listen and for being an every dayer, the Locked On Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Today's episode brought to you by the all new 2025 Nissan Armada. Stay tuned for the Armada player of the week later in the show. Armand Membu, an intriguing, intriguing prospect. Some may say super intriguing, six foot four, 332 pounds, 33 and a half inch arms.

Starting point is 00:01:24 And Armand Membu is the type of intriguing prospect that if you swing and you hit, you look like a genius organization. Membu himself could make New England look genius. Elliot Wolf, listening to Mike Vrabel over there at the facility, taking the orders from Sergeant Vrabes, if they hit on Membu, if they decide to draft him at number four,

Starting point is 00:01:48 that is one of those moves that people will be talking about for a number of years. They took the high ceiling guy, they bring him in, and he ends up being their starting left tackle for the next decade, protecting the blind side of Drake May. Membu's consensus big board right now, if you look at his ranking, it's number six overall.

Starting point is 00:02:08 So what are people saying about Memboo, the pundits? What are they hearing? Matt Miller from ESPN wrote the following, we've been told to expect the best player available approach from the Patriots at number four, as scouts have been saying that New England would be happy with either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter, should they be available. But what if they aren't?

Starting point is 00:02:29 Keep an eye on offensive tackle Armand Membu. The Patriots have done a lot of work on him, so Membu could be in play early. Dame Bruegler released the beast this week at the Athletic. He had Membu as his second ranked tackle behind Will Campbell. Here's what Brugler wrote, as a pass blocker, Memboo displays above average balance, quickness, and a jolting punch in his sets to mirror up and down the arc. He was equally effective in the run game. Now, at Missouri, it should be mentioned. Lots of RPO offense, lots of zone

Starting point is 00:03:06 runs. Is that what Josh McDaniels is going to do? I'm not so sure. McDaniels offense in the past, it's been a lot of duo and downhill runs, right? Two blockers to one guy, you get downhill and you do damage. This zone RPO stuff, we'll see how much McDaniels is going to run of that because he has said he's going to change things He went to colleges He went to NFL programs last year when he had a year off quote unquote, and he talked to a bunch of coaches He studied a bunch of film. So maybe we see more zone. Maybe we see more RPOs Back to Bruegler all the talent is there for memboo to become a long-term nfl starting tackle

Starting point is 00:03:49 There's little doubt That memboo Is going to be an nfl tackle. There's little doubt That he's an nfl offensive tackle caliber type player little doubt about that And this really is the classic draft debate. I mentioned a couple of minutes ago that Memboo, he's the ceiling guy. And we always have this back and forth come draft time. And it doesn't matter what sport we're talking about. But let's just look at football and say, well, do you take the guy that has the high ceiling?

Starting point is 00:04:22 Or do you take the guy that has the high floor? do you take the guy that has the high floor? An example of that, you could argue was last year, the Patriots decided to draft Drake May. Drake May had a very high ceiling, but some people were concerned about his floor because they said if he doesn't iron out some of the fundamentals, if he doesn't figure certain situations out for himself, the footwork and all of that, if he's incapable of fixing those things and working on those things, then the floor is pretty low. But if he works on those things, he corrects the issues that he has fundamentally.

Starting point is 00:05:00 Watch out because his ceiling is very high. It's the ceiling versus the floor argument. You could look at Will Campbell and say, he's got a very high floor. Played in the SEC for a number of years, right? For three years. And the sack numbers were fantastic. The pressures not so much gave up.

Starting point is 00:05:18 I think it was 18 pressures last year, if I remember correctly. But you look at Campbell, and I think many people would say that he's a safe prospect. He's a safe prospect, maybe not so much at tackle. Maybe you'd have to push him into guard. But people feel relatively safe with the idea of Will Campbell

Starting point is 00:05:36 playing in the NFL for nine or 10 years. Membu has that crazy ceiling. And you wonder, if he can can reach if he could fulfill that potential how good could he be but here's the big issue with Armand Membu for me you don't know if he can play left tackle now in the long term that might not be the end of the world because you could say well hey Nick who cares if you draft Membu and he's your starting right tackle for the next decade, that pick was worth it. And I wouldn't argue with you regarding that point in a vacuum. But here's the problem this year in 2025. If you draft Memboo

Starting point is 00:06:17 and he cannot play left tackle, he can't play left guard. If he is incapable of playing those two positions, then what do you do with Memboo? Does he play in 2025? You have to play him, right? You drafted him fourth overall in this hypothetical. If you're drafting somebody at number four, you best be starting that guy this season. So that's the biggest issue for me. If he can't move to the left side, then what do you do with Morgan Moses?

Starting point is 00:06:48 Are you going to try to put Moses over at left tackle in his mid-30s? You sign Moses so he could be your right tackle. The idea right now is that you've got Moses and Owenu on that right side solidifying your offensive line at least half of it. Hopefully Garrett Bradbury is ready to take on the job at center because right now you feel decent about center you feel really good about guard you feel really good about right tackle. How many moving parts do you want to undertake because you decided to draft Memboo instead of Will Campbell? If you're drafting an offensive lineman at four, it's between those two guys. So if you take Memboo, now you get a bunch of musical chairs happening.

Starting point is 00:07:33 You try Memboo at left tackle. What if he doesn't work out? Do you try him at left guard? Should you have just taken Will Campbell if you're going to play him at left guard? Because Will Campbell, you feel better about his options there at that position. So what do you do with Membo in 2025 if he can't play on the left side of the offensive line? I don't know. I guess you try to force Morgan Moses to the left and is that what you want to do? You want to treat the veteran? You want to treat the veteran?

Starting point is 00:08:05 You want to treat that guy? Just see him at the podium at that press conference announcing the free agents, the leader of men that he is? You want to mess around with Morgan Moses when you feel pretty good about him right now? Do you really want to mess around with that? You might be creating more problems. What if you move Moses to the left and he's just not good?

Starting point is 00:08:26 Then you're stuck with no left tackle again and no left guard. Now I do think you can iron out the left guard stuff between City So, Leighton Robinson, and maybe Cole Strange, but that's my biggest issue with Armand Membou. I'm concerned that you draft him at number four, he can't work out on the left side and now everything up front is scattered because you still got to figure out left guard. You're hoping Morgan Moses works out at left tackle and you hope that Membou is really good at right tackle because if Membou struggles at right tackle or he plays average football on the right side at the tackle position, and Morgan Moses plays average, if not below average, on the left tackle side, and you're still trying to figure out the left guard position,

Starting point is 00:09:11 now you've got somewhat of a nightmare up front. So that's my biggest question. I love the athleticism, but if you draft him and he can't play on the left side, that could mess up a lot of things for your program in 2025 and I do not want a lot of things being messed up in front of Drake May this year. I've seen enough of that stuff the last two seasons. I've seen enough bad offensive line play. The Patriots have announced three finalists for their Hall of Fame. I'll tell you who my selection is and why coming up next as we continue on with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown podcast

Starting point is 00:09:51 network, your team every day. The Armada player of the week is brought to you by our friends at Nissan and the all-new 2025 Nissan Armada. Each week we're taking a look at our draft prospects to pick one guy that stands apart. The guy we believe showcased the strength and power needed to push the Patriots forward as we look ahead to next season. This week's Armada and clear cut player of the week is let's go with a round two guy. Jaden Higgins, Iowa State wide receiver. Higgins is a dream big, go big type of X wide receiver from Iowa State. Higgins is receiving production increased each of his four

Starting point is 00:10:36 seasons in college as he conquered the college fields with capability and confidence, much like an Armada. Higgins is a big, rugged, and strong target. When it comes to the Nissan Armada, they say go forth and conquer. And that's exactly what I think Jayden Higgins can do in New England. It's clear that our Player of the Week

Starting point is 00:10:56 is out here ready to conquer the road ahead with confidence, just like you can in the all-new Nissan Armada or any of their outstanding vehicles. Take the Nissan Armada Rogue or Path their outstanding vehicles, take the Nissan Armada Rogue or Pathfinder and go find your next big adventure. Shop NissanUSA.com. So we all know that Bill Parcells is going into the Patriots Hall of Fame. That was announced by Robert Kraft down at the owner's meetings. Well, we just found out the three finalists. One of these people will join Parcells

Starting point is 00:11:26 in the Patriots Hall of Fame this year. Logan Mancans, Julian Edelman, and Adam Vinatieri are your three names, and all of them are worthy. You could see all three of these guys eventually get in. Mancans, the attitude, the production on the field, on the offensive line. He's your prototypical bill bella check Patriots offensive lineman playing hurt torn ACL who cares Julian Edelman

Starting point is 00:11:55 Do I need to talk about Julian Edelman and what he did throughout his Patriots career and how beloved he is here in New England And how about old- school Adam Venetary getting his shot as a first ballot guy for the Patriots Hall of Fame. Again, they are all worthy, all three of them, but I am going with Venetary. Venetary is my pick. If I'm going to sit here, and I would sit here and tell you this, if I'm going to sit here and tell you that Adam Venetary should have been a first ballot NFL Hall of Famer, then how can I sit here and not say that he should be a first ballot Patriots Hall of Famer? You look at the NFL and what Venetary did in the league for so long. Number one in all time points ahead of Morton Anderson. We're talking legendary status. Moments. How many moments did Vinatieri have

Starting point is 00:12:54 not only as a patriot but also as a colt when he went to Indianapolis? How many big kicks did he make? How about the longevity and how consistent he was for most of his Patriots career? You just always felt, you always felt when there was a big kick to make, Vinatieri was going to make it. You didn't even have to think twice. He was so dependable. And yes, he was once called the best player on the team, as we remember. Vinatieri's 2001 postseason was the foundation of a dynasty. We will look back and we will remember Tom Brady

Starting point is 00:13:39 and his epic run, of course, being the goat. We'll look at all the different characters that played roles in the story of not one but two dynasties here in New England. But Venetary set that foundation. Brady wasn't great in 2001. He was just trying to hold on for dear life for most of that run. Right. He had his moments, but that Oh 01 postseason should be remembered for defense and Venetary's

Starting point is 00:14:09 kick making. That was the foundation of the dynasty. And what we all understand or should understand is when we talk about the Patriots Hall of Fame, it's really tough. It's really tough to break down each and every career and say this guy deserves it more than that guy that guy deserves it more than this guy We are fortunate enough to watch a team Go through not one but two dynasties over a 20 year period That is utterly ridiculous

Starting point is 00:14:44 That is utterly ridiculous. But when you have two dynasties, and when you have those dynasties run through 20 years, and you win a slew of super polls, there are going to be a lot of guys that you look at up and down those rosters and say, he could be a Patriots Hall of Famer. He should be a Patriots Hall of Famer. He should be a Patriots Hall of Famer. So we're gonna have more and more of these very difficult conversations about who should get in before who But this time around for me, it's Vinatieri the foundation one of the foundational pieces of that all one team Has to be in, right? I mean, the kick against the Raiders, the kick to win the Super Bowl against the

Starting point is 00:15:31 greatest team on turf, how does he not make it in the first ballot? I just, I can't see it. I can't see it. If the only vote that was going to count would be my vote, Adam Venetary would be first ballot guy in there, no questions asked. Edelman and Logan Mankins, I love you, I appreciate you, I respect you, I know what you did for this organization. Your time will come one day down the road, probably sooner rather than later, but we're putting Adam in before you two. road probably sooner rather than later, but we're putting Adam in before you two. That's what it should be.

Starting point is 00:16:09 Is that what it's going to be? I don't think so. I actually think Edelman is going to be in. I think he's going to get in this year with Bill Parcells. I think Edelman is going to get the vote from the fans. I think it's more likely that Edelman gets in instead of Vinatieri. I would put Mankins third on the list out of these three guys. Again, he's more than deserving, but if you're looking at these three guys, I would personally go Vinatieri, Edelman,

Starting point is 00:16:37 and then Mankins. But I think Edelman gets in before Vinatieri does because of recency bias, because everybody's going to remember that unbelievable catch against the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl from years ago. And people more recently saw the impact that Edelman had on the field and off the field, of course, with his friendship and Tom Brady. But I think people will look at this,

Starting point is 00:17:02 and there will be recency bias. They'll think of the Atlanta Super Bowl, the LA Super Bowl a little less because there wasn't much happening offensively in that game. I was actually at that game. There was not much happening offensively. And people will remember Brady's unbelievable, unbelievable second half, fourth quarter against Seattle and that Super Bowl down in Phoenix and Those recent memories get you all feeling good, right? You get all in your feels

Starting point is 00:17:33 So I think the recency bias is going to help Edelman leapfrog those other two guys and it's not just He was the most recent guy on the field producing It's also because of what he's doing right now Logan mankins Who knows what he's doing like is like shooting some animal in the woods somewhere far far away. I don't know It's not like Logan mankins is you know all over the news and and all over the podcast game and on National television talking football on the weekends, but that's exactly what Edelman is doing, right? How many people watch games with names? His popularity is at an all-time high off the field, and that plays a role. And the youth, the younger generation, sound like a guy yelling at clouds in his front lawn, but the younger

Starting point is 00:18:21 generation, they will vote in droves for Julian Edelman. Anybody who is 25 to 32 years old is very likely going to be voting for Julian Edelman. So I think Edelman gets in before Venetary, but I think Venetary should get in before Edelman. He's my first ballot guy. He's more than deserving, and he should get in before Edelman. He's my first ballot guy. He's more than deserving. And he should get in first. All right. Our reaction to the latest mock draft from a local writer is coming up next as we continue on with today's episode of Locked On Patriots, part of the Locked On

Starting point is 00:18:58 Podcast Network, your team every day. Mock draft season is in overdrive and it's not only mock draft season, it's also lying season. A lot of misinformation out there being leaked, folks. Be ready for it. It's the final two weeks. It's the final countdown and there are going to be teams leaking all sorts of false information to these pundits to these writers to these analysts smoke screens everywhere

Starting point is 00:19:31 Beware of the smoke screens To try to find the true value of a player in this draft right now is very difficult the true value of many of these guys are frankly just unknown. It's an unknown for most of these players as we get closer to the draft of how teams truly value them, because these teams are always trying to angle, always trying to find a way to land the guy they want. So beware of smoke screens, beware of the the lying season But also enjoy mock draft season. So let's get to Chad graphs

Starting point is 00:20:09 latest mock draft At the athletic and I'm going to cover the first four picks that graph makes in his latest mock round one number four pick overall graph has the Patriots drafting Armand Membu, I think we just talked about that guy, right? So Memboo gets drafted fourth by Graff in his latest mock. Then Chad Graff comes back, and at number 38, he drafts Jaden Higgins.

Starting point is 00:20:40 Didn't we talk about that guy a little bit earlier? Wide receiver out of Iowa State. So number four is Memboo, number 38 is Higgins, round three, number 69, of course, the Patriots have not one but two third round picks. The 69th pick in the draft, round three for the Patriots in Chad Graf's latest mock. Ashton Jaloti, an edge out of Louisville. So Ashton Jelotti, not Ashton Gentti, Ashton Jelotti is the first third round pick for Chad Graf

Starting point is 00:21:16 in his latest mock. And then we will finish here with his fourth pick for the Patriots, round three, number 77, Basil Tooten running back out of Virginia Tech. So looking at Chad Graf's mock draft is a pretty interesting exercise because really I think he's trying to mix. He's trying to marry the idea of a player with a ceiling and shooting for that higher ceiling but also trying to address needs. It's a very delicate balancing act. You look at Membu. Membu again talked a lot about him earlier.

Starting point is 00:21:53 He's got a high ceiling and picking him at four there of course is a risk to it but he would theoretically if you believe he could play left tackle, he would fill the biggest need on this football team right now. So you're not only filling the need, you're also taking the guy with a very high ceiling if he could fulfill that potential. Then you look at Jayden Higgins at 38 out of Iowa State, similar to Membu in a way because you hope that he hits his ceiling. You hope that he fulfills that potential because as we've been talking about the last couple of years with the Patriots, they desperately need an ex-receiver. They need that big-bodied

Starting point is 00:22:40 guy who can make catches down the field and that is Higgins. Higgins is a true bonafide X receiver. He's not playing in the slot. He's not moving around all over the place like a Z and doing different stuff. He's going to be your X. And you hope that he would be your X for the next seven or eight years. You hope that he could be the guy

Starting point is 00:23:03 that Tyquan Thornton wasn't, but was supposed to be. And then you look at Jilotti. And Jilotti is interesting. You know, he had 60 pressures. 60 pressures last year. This dude was a monster for Louisville, but it's Louisville. So you have to question who he played against. And could you really see him being that game wrecker at the NFL level? A lot of people will tell you he'd be more

Starting point is 00:23:32 of a sub pass rusher at this point. Maybe he grows into something more. But that's why we talk about ceiling. He plays the edge. That's a need. You do need a young edge player. Harold Landry not getting any younger. None of us are, but especially Harold Landry in the NFL. And then, of course, you've got Chase on on a one year deal. Who knows if he's going to be here long term. the pass rush pop that you hope? Probably not. So getting younger at edge makes a lot of sense in this draft and bringing a guy in who was highly productive like Jeladi makes

Starting point is 00:24:11 a lot of sense. But what's the ceiling? Can he hit that ceiling? And when you talk about to and you're talking about somebody with burst and don't forget Robert Kraft down at the owner's meetings talked about drafting a speed running back. Vrabel mentioned it at the owners meetings that they want to draft the running back. So to make sense. The second of the third round picks at number 77 overall, you bring a running back in that has burst and you hope that he can explode year one for you as that speed slash receiving back. So Graff is trying to marry ceiling with need.

Starting point is 00:24:47 Very difficult, very difficult to pull off. I also find it telling that that Chad has three of the first four picks on the offensive side of the ball. Now that would make sense because the Patriots invested heavily on the defensive side and free agency, all the names they brought in, and I think that was supply demand. There wasn't a ton of depth in the offensive class. There was a lot of talented players on the defensive side that were available this offseason.

Starting point is 00:25:20 I mean, you could just look at the cornerback position where you land Carlton Davis, but there were two or three other guys that you could have signed. That wasn't necessarily the case when you were looking at a number of positions on the opposite side of the football. So the Patriots, they spent a lot of money on the defense. So now you come back in the draft and you use three of the top 77 picks in the draft on offense with Membu, Higgins, and Tooten. Now tackle position, it's interesting because as we discussed earlier, you're drafting Membu

Starting point is 00:25:55 at four, you better hope that he works out at left tackle because if he can't make it work at left tackle, then what is he doing? So did you fill the need or did you think you filled the need? If you thought you filled the need, but you really didn't fill it, that could be a big problem. But if you could take, this is all hypothetical. If you could take this draft from Chad Graf, and you could say, as you're looking back, say on like Sunday or Monday, you're looking back at the draft and you're breaking down draft weekend and

Starting point is 00:26:31 you could say, Hey, the Patriots, they drafted a tackle and they believe he's going to be a left tackle. They drafted an ex receiver. They drafted a young edge and they drafted an explosive running back. I think many people, I think many Patriots fans would be happy with that draft. I think there are a number of Patriots fans. I don't know if it'd be the majority because I do feel like the Will Campbell people are creeping in and it's a growing section of Patriots fandom. But if you're looking at this draft on its face, you got your young tackle, you got your young ex receiver, you've got an explosive running back to go along with a

Starting point is 00:27:13 young highly productive edge from Louisville. And I believe that a lot of fans would be happy with that. And if Membu can play on the left side, if Membu and Higgins fulfill their potential, I mean that is the type of draft that sets up Drake May for the next decade. And that's not hyperbole. If you could get Membu on the left side and he works out on the left side, then you got him for at least eight years, nine years, 10 years. Hopefully, fingers crossed longer if you can stay healthy. But if you could put Memboo at the left tackle spot and you've got your outside receiver in Higgins, and now you've got Higgins to go along

Starting point is 00:27:56 with Pop Douglas on the inside, and then you hope, you hope you pray to the football gods that Jalen Polk wakes up and he could be your future Z Hopefully fingers crossed but for 2025 you could have Higgins on the outside You could have digs all over the place and you could have pop Playing in the slot that would make a lot of sense. You still got Kendrick Bourne Hopefully you get the most out of him

Starting point is 00:28:23 You got your two tight ends with Henry and Hooper. They can bust down the seam. So if you hit, if you hit on those picks, if Membu and Higgins, if they both fulfill their potential, Drake May is set up so much better than he's set up right now. And he's set up better now than he was last year. But if you could draft those two guys and you hit on both of those picks, now you've got the two biggest needs on the offensive side of the football

Starting point is 00:28:51 to help your young quarterback. It would be huge. It'd be huge. But there are those questions about Membu that we brought up earlier. And I just can't run away from that question. What do you do if he can't play on the left side? Can he even contribute in 2025? I don't know. That wraps up this edition

Starting point is 00:29:13 of Lockdown Patriots. Let me know your thoughts on today's topics. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio and don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel of course. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today. For your second listen, check out the Lockdown NFL Draft with Damian Parson and 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 an awesome, and I mean it, have an awesome weekend.

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Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Armand Membou ROCKETING Up NFL Mock Drafts; Patriots Option At #4?

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