Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Born to Run? New England Patriots Running Backs 2021 Outlook — 6/29/2021

Episode Date: June 29, 2021

The New England Patriots are projected to field an impressive group of running backs for the 2021 season. To preview the Pats’ positional depth chart, host Mike D’Abate is joined by fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy. The duo discuss the Pats’ offseason improvements at the position, the fate of Sony Michel and those players that might have something to prove heading into training camp.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All of you, Foxborough faithful. You are now locked into the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Tuesday, June 29th, 2021. And it's a little hashtag Lockdown Murph Tuesday here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Locked On Patriots is presented today by RockAuto.com.

Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com today and tell them Locked On sent you. Greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation, and thank you for joining me here on this Tuesday episode of the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, and I cover the New England Patriots for Patriot Maven of Sports Illustrated. I am also your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, your feedback are always welcomed and very much encouraged. So share that feedback, send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there doing some Tuesday traveling through that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, after a brief hiatus, LockedOnPatriots is back at you, and we're back in a big way. You might even say a monster way. That's right.

Monday may have passed, but LockedOnMurf is still in effect. Today, my good green friend joins me here on the hot seat, and Thomas Murphy makes this a LockedOnMurf Tuesday, and we're doing some positional breakdowns. Last week, Murph joined me to talk some offensive line, and then on Wednesday, the Countess of Klaas herself, Ms. Claire Klaasie-Claire Cooper, joined me to talk some tight ends. Today, Murph and I are back at it, talking some running backs. And the Patriots do have quite the impressive depth chart when it comes to the running back

position. Damian Harris, Sonny Michel, Brandon Bolden, J.J. Taylor, Tyler Gaffney, and rookie Ramondre Stevenson. It's true, our good friend touchdown Osiris Rex, as in Burkhead, may not be back in the fold this year, but the Patriots still have quite the impressive group. In fact, I think this core of running backs can be even more impressive than what the Patriots put on the field in 2020, and they had a very productive season last year. So, on today's episode of the pod, Murph and I will discuss the feature-back prowess of Damian Harris. We'll also discuss the fate of Sonny Michel on the Patriots roster in 2021. Could the Pats possibly put him on the trading block?

We'll also be discussing the rookie expectations of Ramondre Stevenson, and of course, folks, the best of the rest, including Murph's main man, Brandon Bolden. Folks, an action-packed episode on the pod today, tons to get to, so without much further ado, let's get set to welcome in my good friend, the Green King of sting, the green master of disaster, the count of Murphy Fisto, my good friend Thomas Murphy to the hot seat when this running back preview episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, when it comes to repairing or maintaining your vehicle, why would you spend 30%, 50%, even 100% more for the exact same auto parts at a chain store or a new car dealership?

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Make sure to put Locked On in their How Did You Hear About Us box so they know we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. rockauto.com Patriots fans, it is a new week here on the pod, and I sincerely thank you all for putting up with all the scheduling snafus lately But thankfully, it is time for some green wisdom and counsel That's right, folks He is here

He is ready to roll Your favorite and mine My benefactor in this business The only guest on this pod with his very own branded hashtag The Count of Murphy Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy is back for his weekly appearance here on Locked On Patriots. Thank you for coming to me in friendship and for joining me today, Don Murph. Always a pleasure, man.

Always a pleasure. Whether it's Monday, Tuesday or whatever, that's when the week kicks off, man. When we sit down and we do some hashtag Locked On Murph stuff. And it is. It's always a pleasure to be here with you. You sell out. You blue check sell out. For those of you that don't know, Mike's new gig got him a blue check.

Actually, his talent got him the blue check. So now he's verified. He's verified. He's verified, which means that only Bob Sochi and I are the holdouts in the world of verification where we tell them that we're good. We're OK. I hate to break this to you, Murph, but double check Bob's Twitter handle. You might see a blue checkmark by his name. I do believe Bob has come over to the side of the verified and uh wow that wasn't intentional folks the side of the verified i like that um but uh no in any case

well you know hats off to bob and you know i god man how many people i've discovered in this in this business that now have blue checks and and I'm still sitting here. Absolutely. You know, our good friend Tanya Ray Fox and I were talking over the weekend. Recently, she was verified. You know I've been on the crusade to verify TRF. We've done the hashtag. Obviously, it worked. I'd like to take some small credit for that, but no, I'm only kidding.

Tanya and her talent deserves all the credit for that verification. But the fact that my good buddy here does not have that blue shield next to his name is a travesty. And that is my new crusade in life to get that. But thank you very much. It does open the door for a little bit more credibility. And I do appreciate it. I thank the good folks over at Twitter. I thank the good folks over at Twitter. I thank the good folks over at Patriot SI and especially my colleagues

over at the Locked On Network. A lot of my colleagues were verified so I know Locked On had a huge part in that and it really is a it's an honor. It really is. It's a designation. But you still, you know, take time out for us little people.

Oh please. When I call you my benefactor in this business but that's not just because i like the elation that is very much true without this man i may not have microphone and i'm very content and very um uh agreeable to admit that's ridiculous and uh in my in my opinion i think it's more true than not and uh believe me when i tell you i love having you on for obviously for obvious reasons we love talking football with one another. You know, I really am hard pressed to find a better friend in life, let alone in this business. But one of the big reasons why I love having you on as well is because of everything that you've done for me here. And

the rapport that we have is definitely not an accident, folks. Murph and I have hit it off since day one, and it's always my honor to have him on we make Mondays fun buddy but you know once again we're gonna make Tuesdays fun this week because it is hashtag locked on Murph Tuesday and uh me and my blue check mark uh do have a few questions for you Don Murph um because we all know that you are a wealth of knowledge uh whether it be offense defense defense, special teams. You bring the knowledge. And again, as I said last week, unlike some who claim this to be true, you, my friend, are nearly never wrong. And again today, we're going to pick your brain and select your green wisdom and counsel

for another offensive grouping chart that we're going through. As you know, here on Locked On Patriots, we're talking about positional groupings and, you know, as such, we're going to stay on the offensive side of the ball. Because last week we talked some O-line, and I know you love talking some O-line, but this is another positional grouping that I know has your sharp eye heading into training camp. Let's talk some running backs, bud.

The Patriots running game was really the true strength of the team in 2020, really the strength of the offense unquestionably uh it sounds a little odd after two plus decades of Tom Brady running things in the in uh under center that we'd be talking about the running game really being the the focal point of the offense but that's exactly how it went last year Damian Harris emerged as a true force in this backfield he's the feature back I don't think many are going to argue that point now he's joined in the backfield by Sonny Michelle Brandon Bolden player you know love very well JJ Taylor Tyler Gaffney and rookie Ramondre Stevenson that's a very deep very versatile running back core but there is a name that's conspicuous by his absence

that's Rex Burkhead his absence that's rex burkhead but you and i both have covered rex now for a number of years here in the wingland and rex was a solid back he was a very well-rounded runner uh and really a fan favorite for a lot of different reasons but he's moved on and he will now be playing his football elsewhere um i think this unit actually might be better this season than last, believe it or not, even with Rex's departure. And that seems to be a common tale in this Patriots team is looking at stacked positional groupings and saying that this unit has a chance to be better than the last. In your opinion, Bud, how did this running back room improve for 2021? Or if I'm being too presumptuous here, did they improve

from 2021? Yeah, of course they improved. Whenever Brandon Bolden walks into a running backs room, it improves. Had to get that in there. But no, this running back room, this group improved in the fourth round of the NFL draft this year and the selection of Ramondre Stevenson. Bill is putting together a bully here, people, on both sides of the ball. But what's happening over here on this side with this draft pick really has me excited. It really has me hopeful that this young man is going to be able to come in here and contribute. I know he can, whether or not Bill will allow him to. This is the big back that I've been hoping for for a very long time.

The Patriots delivered in selecting this young man. He can run for average. He can break off long runs. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He's an underrated talent, and getting him in the fourth round was a complete steal. We can all go back, jump back in the wayback machine and remember what LeGarrette Blount brought to this offense. This is what Stevenson brings to this offense. In the fourth round, I don't think you could have found better value than this young man. Najee Harris and Javante Williams are both bigger backs, but you weren't getting them there.

And the Patriots had other things to focus on. This one move makes the Patriots that much better this year. I agree with you. And look, from a standpoint of Ramondre Stevenson, you talk about size and that ability to be that dual threat type rusher, like a LeGarrette Blount, is not going to be an issue. Listed at 6 feet, 230 pounds, Ramondre is someone that comes in with natural size. But he's also a very physical runner. He has a very good stiff arm.

Take a look at some of the tape on him, folks, from his time at Oklahoma. You'll see it. He definitely has the ability to ward off defenders. That's going to help him out tremendously in the red zone. I think he's going to be a great red zone threat, especially when it comes to the off defenders. That's going to help him out tremendously in the red zone. I think he's going to be a great red zone threat, especially when it comes to the backfield. But he does have a athletic run style as well. He's got a lot of natural power to his runs,

but take a look at some of the tape of him being able to break free and rip off a few impressive runs. He can make tacklers miss in short yardage. So I think it's going to be very interesting to see how the Patriots deploy him. Again, you mentioned the comparisons to LeGarrette Blount. I do think that's a very apt comparison. I think that he's going to be someone that will bring back a little bit of what the Patriots had in the backfield when LeGarrette was here. And I really look forward to seeing Ramondre Stevenson. So in that regard, I know the loss of Rex is going to hurt this team in the short term.

But in the intermediate and in the long term, Ramondre Stevenson, I think, has the capability of really forming a tremendous one-two combination with someone like Damian Harris in the future. Murph, Sonny Michel, been the subject of a lot of debate over his time here in New England and at times you and I have both seen and the fan base has seen the fact that he can show that first round type of talent that shows that he can be a feature back in this league he's got the talent to be able to do it that's why the Patriots were so high on him when they drafted him. But injuries have played a huge part in his career. And because of that, some, including myself very recently, have speculated that Sony could find himself on the trading block, especially knowing that the Patriots have declined his fifth year contract option. I'm not saying it's extremely likely, but I think there is a chance that Sony may be moved before the start of the season.

Murph, you've been a proponent of Sony since the Patriots drafted him. I've been a big fan of his as well, so a lot of people were surprised recently when I published my initial 53-man roster projection and said that Sony Michel was indeed, or I believed he might be on the trading block and left him off of that roster. I received a little bit of vitriol from Sony fans for that. Who was surprised, thought I sold out. Thought it was the checkmark, I'm telling you. I think it was the checkmark that threw people off. But again, you've been a big proponent of his since day one.

What do you believe of the fate of Sony Michel in a Patriots uniform? I do believe that he's going to end up here and on the roster this year. We all can harken back not too long ago when the Patriots were scrambling to find a running back that was able to contribute in the playoffs, and were going through the bottom of the barrel and picking guys out of the scrap heap. Bill is not going to let that happen again, and I don't think that anybody is going to come up with an offer that is – put it this way, I don't think Bill is going to cast Sony off for a fourth or a fifth round pick.

You're going to have to give him a little more than that. That's probably what he's worth with his injury history. And, no, I will not turn my back on somebody because they've been betrayed by their body, and I've said that more than once about Sonny Michel. Sonny Michel is a man who, while he's been injured, is a real talent, people. He's a man who averages 4.3 yards per carry. That is nothing to sneeze at. And right now he is a depth piece, but he's a very good depth piece,

and he's still on his rookie deal, which makes it prudent to keep him around just in case. And, you know, knees don't really get better. I understand that. But I just don't think that Bill is going to want to get caught with his pants down again and need somebody in week 14, 15, 16, 17, and into the playoffs when we do have other injury issues in this running back group. There are guys out here who have not played full seasons, and Damian Harris, as much as we're going to talk about him in a minute,

he's somebody who only played 10 games last year. He did start all 10 games, and that was great. But, no, I think Sonny is going to be here all year. I'm going to have to disagree with you on the possibility of him being traded. Unless Bill gets blown away with a third-round pick, I don't think he's going to go. Fair enough, and I think you've made some good points. And look, a point that a reader of Sports Illustrated Patriots may have made over the last couple of days

while I did publish my 53-man roster prediction is that Damian Harris also had his injury problems last year. Where does it leave the Patriots if all of a sudden Damian is down and you have to rely on Ramondre Stevenson to be the feature back for even one two three weeks that's a lot to ask of a rookie and especially a rookie that seems to have had some growing pains in uh in training camp we heard that he uh recently uh drew the ire of ivan fears who uh is as good as they come when it comes to running back right he knows how to whip these guys into shape um he may need to uh you know to get uh you know a little bit more out of remandre during training camp to really know exactly what we're dealing with so i think it's a fair point um again

i think that there's a possibility based on the fact that maybe the patriots may want to get something for him while you know risking the uh the, risking the point of having him walk away for nothing. But, again, it's risk versus reward. And I think the argument that you've made makes the reward a little bit higher. And, again, folks, just because I left him off my 53-man projection doesn't mean Bill's going to do it. It doesn't even mean that I think Bill should do it. It's just what I would do if I were in that position. But, Murph, you've made an excellent case because, again, Bud, you're a wise and considerate young man. You always bring

that level of wisdom and counsel here to Lockdown Patriots. We crave it. We need it. And we do crave a little bit more wisdom and consideration because those are desperately needed here in New England, especially when it comes to the state of the Patriots running back core as a whole. Here are my good friend's thoughts on the outlook of this unit and who might be with something extra to prove. Find out when the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues. Lockdown listeners, we've all heard the phrase often imitated but never duplicated. It's a part of the sports fan's lexicon,

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when you use the promo code LOCKEDON. Bet online. You're online sportsbook experts. Pats fans, Thomas Murphy joins me here on the pod today. It is hashtag LockedOnMurph Tuesday. Getting the week kicked off a little bit on the late side, but still with a lot of excitement when my good green friend joins me here on the hot seat. And Murph, we've talked about the fact that the Patriots have some bona fide talent on this running back core. Damian Harris, of

course, being the feature back, no question about it. We talked about Sonny Michel in the last segment, and I think you made a convincing argument about the ability and ability to remain here on the roster. So assuming that Damian Harris and Sonny Michel have safe roster spots, we also talked about Ramondre Stevenson. We think he can turn some heads. The Patriots did spend fourth round draft capital. So unless he's absolutely just dreadful in training camp and the Patriots see no upside, you have to think he's going to be safe on the depth chart as well. But there are some in this running back core

that might be facing an uphill battle to make this roster, including someone you know and admire very much. I know, folks. Murph knows who I'm talking about. You know who I'm talking about, but I'm not going to steal his thunder. I'm going to let him talk in just a moment. We are talking guys with something to prove, buddy. So, Murph, as we head into training camp, who has your sharp eye as someone that could find themselves on the roster bubble if that player does not have a strong start to training camp? Unfortunately, it is my good friend Brandon Bolden. People are going to be talking about it to nauseam,

but at the end of the day, he will be there. He opted out last year. He took a bit of a sabbatical to go down and play in Miami for a year. But when you look at what Brandon Bolden brings to this team, not only in the wealth of knowledge of knowing this offense and being able to be plugged in there when somebody is injured and give you that day or that five carries or those two catches out of the backfield,

get a wheel route going to Brandon Bolden, that's excellent. Another thing that people forget is his blocking ability in the backfield. This is a man that knocks defensive ends out of ballgames, people, with one shoulder. But if you go back and you look at what Brandon does especially well and what he brings to the table, and that is what he does on special teams.

The Patriots' depth at this position in the past has been tested, and without Brandon Bolden on this team, the special teams unit as a whole is less consistent and less for his absence. So for that reason, I am going to put him on my fourth semester, along with the fact that, you know, he's just an amazing human being. I think Brandon, at the end of the day, will be. The other guy that we're talking about is J.J. Taylor. Taylor is only listed at 5'6".

That may be giving him a couple of inches there. He might be stepping on his tippy toes. He only had 23 rushes last year, but he did average four yards per carry. He's an exciting guy to watch. A lot of people compare him to a Deion Lewis type although a bit smaller but I have always thought of him as a mini-Mac Heron he's a fantastic ball player

and I think he's going to end up making the team too it's really hard he might be the man on the outside looking in, either one of these guys. Yeah, I think you're absolutely right when it comes to the guys on the outside looking in. And for what it's worth, Sony actually ended up being my guy on the outside looking in because of the upside and the long-term potential of someone like J.J. Taylor, who can be very shifty, who can be very versatile. His value in special teams could end up being something that keeps him around. I like the Mac Aaron

comparison. I think of him a lot to Deion Lewis, but I actually think that's very good, maybe even a little bit more apt for someone like J.J. Taylor. And I agree with you on Brandon Bolden. I did invest a roster spot on my 53-man projection this week for Brandon for exactly the reasons that you said. His value in the locker room, his value with being able to work with rookies, impart wisdom and counsel, impart knowledge. But he still brings a lot to the table on the field, folks. I heard some people rumble and say, oh, well, you know, it's just you can't give roster spots

based on guys in the locker room or what he brings. That's not what the Patriots would be doing. Brandon Bolin brings an invaluable amount of savvy to the field when it comes to special teams, and he can be an option out of third down folks. I really do believe that he's still a solid option on the field that can rip off a few runs, can catch the ball out of the backfield. He always tends to find the end zone when it looks like the end zone can't be found. That's not something that you can teach. That's something that's intrinsic in a running back. And Brandon Bolden has it, and he knows this system so well.

So, again, I really don't envy Bill's decision to have to cut this between the running back core and the linebacking core. That is going to keep Bill up for quite a while uh between now and roster setting in early september this is going to be a very very interesting roster cut down and the running backs are as deep as as anybody and you know we haven't even discussed tyler gaffney who had some time here before uh yeah himself to be a a decent runner at times i really think he's a camp body, no more, no less. But at the same time, other teams would probably be looking at him and saying he could be an option for us in the backfield.

So the Patriots have a wealth of riches here. When you're talking about someone like Tyler Gaffney, he was probably the forgotten man on this depth chart. I think he's been cut ten times. Yeah, exactly. By the Patriant alone you know he had his stops in carolina and he went out to san francisco you know took it took a year down there in jacksonville but no i i i'm i'm with you the tyler gaffney is probably a camp body somebody that can come in here and bill can depend on um uh during workouts and things like that

and put a little money in his pocket. But I don't see Tyler Gaffney making this team. Outside looking in, he's across the street peeking at your widescreen TV from his front porch. Yeah, maybe with a pair of Bushnell binoculars and trying to get a closer look at that point. But you know what? Who knows? Stranger stranger things have happened anything is possible in foxborough and that leads me quite nicely into my final question for you today my friend and that

it seems that we're in agreement that this running back group will see even better statistics in 2021 than they did in 2020 and they were impressive in 2020 strong offensive line this year the presence of the two tight end sets which i think is such an underrated part of why this running back core is going to be better. Those runners are going to be able to facilitate play action. It's going to force teams to cover both tight ends, which means one less defensive back on a guy like James White, who will not be covered as much. I wrote about this last week, about James having been covered a lot of times. Thank you very much. Thank you. I do appreciate that. But, you know, James having to be covered by a defensive back because he was really one of the big threats. Teams were game planning to take James White out of the game. I don't think you're

going to see as much of that this year because the Patriots do have more options and more guys that are going to necessitate that type of coverage from the defensive backfield so with James being freed up to be a pass catching back out of the backfield maybe even rip a run or two this team has the potential again to be better in the running game than they were in 2021 Murph when you look at into that big green Murphy and crystal ball and I know I just said better in 2020. It's supposed to be better in 2021 than 2021, folks. Correcting myself on the fly, but, you know, that's how we do it on Locked on Patriots.

But again, buddy, look into that big green Murphy and crystal ball, not Belichickian, Murphy and crystal ball. What is your 2021 season outlook for the Patriots running back core? I think it's a fantastic one. I think it's one that's going to be more exciting than one that we can maybe remember, you know, going back to the days of Deion Lewis and, oh God, why am I doing this? Why do I do this to myself? Shane Vereen.

It could be really brilliant with the way things are going and you add the LeGarrette Blunt type in there. It's going to be a lot of fun. We're going to see as you said, a lot of play action out of this sets that the Patriots are going to be running. Two tight end sets. Three tight end sets with maybe James White split out. Last year, White had a bit of a down season, but we all understand what was going on there.

But I think we could actually see, depending on who is under center for the majority of this season, I think James White could catch another 70 balls this year. It won't be a high know, a high like he did in 2018 with, I think, almost 90 catches, but it's going to be a lot of fun to watch people. I'm calling this group a hydra because they're just going to be able to come in and do so many different things. You're not going to know where it's coming from. It's beautiful. And please strap yourself in and check this out. Absolutely. So well said. I really think that in a lot of ways, the running back core

has such a potential to be an entertaining group to watch. And really, I think the most productive group to watch. I'm sorry, Claire, I know you're excited about the tight ends. I'm excited about it too. I love seeing Hunter Henry in a Patriots uniform. I love seeing Jono Smith in a Patriots uniform. I think Devin Asiasi is going to be better this year than he was last year. You talk about three tight ends, solid tight ends that can give you a lot. They're a diverse group, and this is something that's going to be interesting to watch. But from top to bottom, this running back core has run for power, run for speed, ability to catch out of the backfield, the ground and pound type, but also the run for finesse. When you can master all of those,

especially if Cam Newton rounds into form, has a better year this year than he did last, you're talking about someone that can almost be another de facto running back from the quarterback position. And if he can start getting the ball, ripping off runs, facilitating the zone reads, the RPO, this is a running game that I think can be among the best in the AFC, and I truly mean that.

And maybe that's a little pie in the sky, but I stand by it, and I think this team has the capability of doing some great things with the running game for 2021. But what can I say? You lend the wisdom, the counsel like no other. You truly are familiar here on Locked On Patriots. On a personal note, I want to thank you for hanging in there with me, of course, these past couple of weeks and some of the scheduling snafus that we've had. Folks,

let me tell you, all of the praise that I keep on this man professionally is well-deserved, but personally, there's not enough praise that I can give him. This is truly one of the great guys that you'll meet in this or any business, and your support to me over the last couple of weeks, buddy, has been invaluable, indelible, and it's something I'll never forget. So folks, for all of you that aren't, you should be already. But if you aren't, for the benefit of some of our new listeners, please do me a favor. Follow my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto, on Twitter at TeamMurph207. Murph continues to put out daily exceptional content on E2G Sports, all over E2G Sports. So many of the great writers they have there are putting out

tremendous content by the day, all major sports. Check it out. It truly is amazing. But, of course, I'm biased to this man's content because it's always point, click, and learn material. You'll enrich it, and you'll become a better sports fan never miss an episode of one patriot's place with murph our great mutual friend steve balistrieri and of course the countess of class herself claire clazy claire

cooper buddy thank you again for appearing today honored and humbled as always by your presence always my pleasure bud and anytime you call I will make the time to be here. Thank you so much for having me. Pleasure is all mine. And don't worry, that hashtag LockedOnMurphMonday is already branded. And next week, folks, we will get back to the normal. I promise you, even with the 4th of July holiday, Murph and I will find a way to get a recording in

and bring you a little wisdom and counsel on your Independence Day. Until then, my friends, stay safe and well. And thanks again for joining me here today on Locked On Patriots. All the best, buddy. Thank you, my friend. You too. Just like that, Patriots fans, we are almost halfway through your work week. But the action here on Locked On Patriots is just beginning.

Plenty more positional breakdowns still in store. And for all you fantasy football fans out there, winning your league starts with the right data. My colleague here at the Locked On Network, Vinny Iyer of The Sporting News, provides you with the edge you need in your fantasy football leagues. Locked On Fantasy Football is a daily podcast all year round, so your fantasy team never fails. Subscribe to Locked On Fantasy Football

wherever you get your podcasts. And as for your New England Patriots, be sure not to miss a single second of the action here on Locked On Patriots. So be sure to follow, subscribe to, and download Locked On Patriots on platforms such as the Odyssey app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,

wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Thomas Murphy for joining me here on the pod today, for his time, his insight, and his appearance. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until next time, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.