Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Buzz: New England Patriots Gambling On Tackle Caleb Lomu’s "Wiring”

Starting point is 00:00:00 Reportedly, there are concerns about Caleb Lomu's wiring, but we're not overly worried and ready to tell you why. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked on Podcasts Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattels. On today's episode, a draft picks strength might have actually led to an often criticized weakness. In the second segment, a wide receiver's name reportedly was hot inside the Pat's draft room on night one. But first is the Pat's first round pick wired right.

Starting point is 00:00:45 Today's episode is brought to by a Fandul. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets. If your first bet wins, head to fandul.com to get started. No matter who the Pats picked in round one, there were going to be questions. When you're drafting towards the tail end of the first round, when the talent pool is not as deep as it has been in past years, and especially when you're looking at the sixth or seventh offensive tackle coming off the board in round one in this year's draft. We knew Maxi Hanna-Chore, somebody who's an exciting prospect, but he's very raw, plenty of questions about him. And Caleb Lomu also comes with questions.

Starting point is 00:01:26 And Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston was on CLNS with Mike Kass. Adler-Kiles recently, and Phil Perry had some interesting words as far as the intel that he received on Caleb Lomou. Perry said, quote, I think there are some concerns about like the wiring from what I've been told about this player. I think you'd prefer a little bit different football makeup, just about anybody that I've talked to that has met him or interviewed him or scouted him this offseason said the same thing. That's kind of the consensus. So the wiring. According to Phil Perry, people question the wiring of Caleb Lomu. Now, we've talked about the lack of finish to his play.

Starting point is 00:02:08 We've talked about the lack of nastiness that he brings to the field. And when you talk to people and people say, well, the wiring, the football makeup, that's mental. That's the player's mentality. The wiring isn't right. That's internal, right? That's the entire idea that this player not necessarily men, but, you know, mentally prepared to, you know, fight and play nasty and have that finish to his game.

Starting point is 00:02:39 And so the wiring may be a little bit laid back, not as aggressive, doesn't show as much urgency. Whatever it is, that's what people mean by saying the wiring. It is between the ears. Now, the question for me, number one, is can you coach it up? Can you coach that type of stuff up? The Patriots, offensive line staff, as we know, three coaches, Doug Marone, Jason Hotailing, and Jonathan DeCoster. Can those three guys, one of those three guys, two of those three guys, all three of those guys, can they figure out, can they figure out how to tweak or, quote, quote, fix the wiring of Caleb Lomu?

Starting point is 00:03:20 Can they figure out what makes him tick? And can they get more out of him in that category than maybe some. other coaches have been able to get from him. I also want to just make sure everybody knows that not every single player in the NFL is a killer, so to speak. Not every single guy drafted into the league has that killer instinct. Not every offensive lineman is nasty. And it doesn't make them bad players.

Starting point is 00:03:51 It doesn't make somebody, you know, stink at playing football if they don't have that nastiness. they're not a killer. There have been plenty of guys in the NFL that play at a very high level that would not be categorized as a killer, would not be categorized as nasty. Now, of course, much of this is position dependent. Like you would, of course, love to have your guys in the trenches, defensive line, offensive line to have that nastiness. Having nastiness at the wide receiver position, for example, is not as important as much. maybe it would be on the offensive or defensive lines. But again, there have been plenty of players on both sides of the football in the trenches

Starting point is 00:04:35 that don't have the killer or the nastiness, and they still find ways to be very productive NFL players. So I don't think this is guaranteeing Caleb Lomu to be a bust, so to speak, because he might not have all the wiring that football coaches want from their players, especially offensive linemen. But I do also wonder how much of the wiring has to do with Caleb Lomu's physical traits at this point of his life. Again, the wiring, when people say he's not wired right, they're talking about something mentally. However, I would look at Lomu and I would say, well, he's not the strongest guy right now.

Starting point is 00:05:24 he's not the biggest dude in the room. He's tall, but he's not, you know, he could add 10 to 15 pounds. And I think the Patriots would love for him to add 10 to 15 pounds. So how much of the perception, how much of the reputation of Caleb Lomu not being wired right, not having that finish, not being nasty? How much of it is people watching film and going to Lomu's games and seeing him get pushed around every once or while. They say, oh, if he just had a little bit more nasty, well, maybe if he just had a little bit more play strength, maybe if he just put a little bit more weight

Starting point is 00:06:02 on, maybe he wouldn't come across as not having that finish or not being nasty. How much of it has to do with Utah's offensive style, right? Their style of play, the RPO's, the quick passing, how much of that plays a role into all of this? Because I do think as you as you watch a player and that player is trying to learn the game at a higher level, and he's trying to combat some of his weaknesses, and he might not be the strongest dude, might not be the biggest dude at that point, you know, in his current form. And he's getting pushed around a little bit.

Starting point is 00:06:39 I think people go, oh, well, he should just fight more. Well, yeah, that could be the case. And maybe that is just the case, and it's just that simple. Or maybe he lacks a little bit of confidence because he is not as strong as the guys as he's going against. and he needs to build up that strength. Maybe he doesn't have that confidence. He doesn't have that nastiness because he doesn't feel like he has that frame.

Starting point is 00:07:02 He has that build right now to throw dudes around. You know, some guys are just naturally strong. They don't have to be big. They don't have to be muscular. There are plenty of dudes who are big and muscular who are not strong, who are not nasty. But I do wonder how much of that plays a role into this reputation. You know, maybe he's just not big enough right now. doesn't have enough play strength right now.

Starting point is 00:07:25 Maybe he played in the type of offense that did not necessarily ask him to bring that nasty play in and play out. And I don't want to forget what happened with Christian Gonzalez back in 2023 and everything that was said and written about his weaknesses. And again, cornerback, different than offensive line. But I think you'll understand what I'm putting down in just a minute. Dame Bruegler back in 2023, he wrote about Christian Gonzalez. and by the way, Gonzalez was Bruegler's number one cornerback. If you're wondering, Caleb Lomu was Bruegler's fifth ranked tackle in this year's class, not seventh out of the seven.

Starting point is 00:07:59 He was five. But back in 2023, Bruegler wrote about Gonzalez, want to see more tenacity from him. Lacks ideal finishing strength. Greg Bedard, my friend, wrote, What was the issue with Gonzalez and we term it minor going from 10ish to 17? It seems this all centers around makeup. That sound familiar.

Starting point is 00:08:23 Phil Perry talking about Caleb Lomu. You'd prefer a little bit different football makeup. Here's Bedard back in 2023 saying people around the college game were questioning Christian Gonzalez's makeup. Gonzalez transferred from Colorado where those coaches dinged his ball skills and his lack of defensive back swag. So that's kind of in comparison to an offensive lineman's nasty is a cornerback's swag. And to some people, Gonzalez did not have the swag you would like from a number one corner. One top executive told Bedard back in 2023 about Gonzalez, mental toughness, emotional issues, maturity, physical toughness, why he fell so far. Another quote, Christian isn't an alpha, but he's also not a punk either.

Starting point is 00:09:13 I could see some teams thinking he is a punk because there's some run support film that's iffy. but credit to the Oregon coaches. I don't know how that happened, but he's at least more forceful in the run game than he was ever at Colorado. So with Gonzalez, when you saw him at Colorado, he didn't defend the run much at all,

Starting point is 00:09:32 didn't want to get involved. Oregon, he got better at that. I would say since he's been a patriot, he's gotten even better at that aspect of the game. So that would tell you that as far as Christian Gonzalez was concerned, you could coach that into him a little bit more. Here's another quote about Gonzalez in 2023. He may not be a killer, but he'll rise to the challenge and at least be a guy that you can live with in the run game, unquote.

Starting point is 00:09:57 So it's worthwhile to keep in mind what Phil Perry said about Caleb Lomu. And we need to be mindful of that, the possible weaknesses, right? And we need to be objective and look at it with reality and acknowledge that he might not have the right, quote unquote, make up to be as good as he could be on the offensive line. Maybe the wiring is a bit off. Or maybe people just have this perception of him and he can work on that perception because there are things that are correctable and there are things about his, again, size, his frame, his strength.

Starting point is 00:10:35 And maybe with a little bit more of that and a little bit more of experience, he's also not the most experienced dude, right? He's what, like a red shirt sophomore. So when you look at Caleb Lomu, he's not a finished product. And maybe just maybe with a little bit more seasoning, with a little bit more time in the oven, so to speak, he'll start to feel a little bit more confident in what he can do. And that will show in more nastiness than finish. I mean, how has the Christian Gonzalez pick worked out?

Starting point is 00:11:12 There were questions about his makeup. his play strength, his physicality. How'd that work out? So far so good. So let's see what happens when Lomu puts on some weight, gets coached in the NFL, and, you know, spend some time in the league. Maybe we'll start to see the progression like we saw in Gonzalez.

Starting point is 00:11:31 All right, there was one receiver that reportedly had the eye of the Pats on night one. We'll have the latest next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. The NBA playoffs are here, and every possession matters. If you're looking to get even closer to the action, Fandul has a great offer to get you started.

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Starting point is 00:12:44 FanDuel, play your game. The Pats were not solely focused on offensive tackle in the first round. Reportedly, they also had their eye on Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion. And if you've been listening to us over the past month or two, that news should not surprise you. We'll get to that. But speaking of listening, thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Check out the Everydayer Club, add free episodes, access to a group chat

Starting point is 00:13:13 with other listeners of this show. Tap the link in the show notes. You can find out more, or you can go to lockdown patriots.com. If you're watching us on YouTube, help brother out, click that thumbs up, give us a like,

Starting point is 00:13:25 throw your comment in as well. Are you concerned about Caleb Lomu's quote unquote wiring? I'm not overly worried. Let's see what happens as he gets a little bit older, puts a little bit more weight on, gains a little bit more strength, and gets coached up at the NFL level.

Starting point is 00:13:41 But maybe you disagree. Throw a comment in and let me, know, and don't forget to subscribe. I said it before the draft. I would not be surprised if the Patriots entertained Casey Concepcion if he fell to 31st. I would not be surprised whatsoever. And leaks have started to come out about teams' intentions, their thoughts. And so here's the latest from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on the Pats. A rival team picking late in the first believed that to be true that the Patriots were interested in Concepcion. Eventually, number 24 pick, Concepcion was a hot name.

Starting point is 00:14:19 Had he slipped past Cleveland, New England was to believe, it was believed to be one of many teams that thought highly of him. So, the Patriots were interested in possibly selecting a wide receiver at 31. A rival team picking late in the first believed that to be true. Now, was that rival team the Miami Dolphins, division? rival, I don't know. Was it the Seattle Seahawks at 32? Was it the Kansas City Chiefs at 29? Not sure. But according to Jeremy Fowler, KC. Concepcion was the hot name. And if he slipped past Cleveland, and I think what was it, 24, New England was believed to be one of many teams that thought highly of Concepcion. Again, this is not surprising.

Starting point is 00:15:11 This is not surprising that the Patriots were at least interested in Concepcion. Concepcion made a top 30 visit to Gillette, and he has a great fit on the field. We discussed this leading into the draft. What I really liked about Casey Concepcion was his inside, outside versatility. He played about 34% of the snaps. I believe on the inside, he played on the outside as well, 50 plus percent, whatever it was, 60 plus percent. he is somebody who has that versatility. You want to line up inside, you can line them up inside.

Starting point is 00:15:46 You want to line them outside, you can line them up outside. So that versatility for Josh McDaniels, we talk about it all the time. We talked about it with Romeo Dobbs. We've talked about it with plenty of players throughout the years within McDaniel's offense. If you have that type of versatility, you can always be a very, very good fit into this offense. So top 30 visit made sense, inside, outside versatility. Made sense. Texas A&M's offense is an RPO scheme. We know that Drake May has run some RPO with the Patriots, but you do wonder if the Patriots are going to run more of that as time goes on.

Starting point is 00:16:24 And when you just look at Concepcion's game, a lot of the things that we have discussed regarding the Patriots and their wide receivers, again, Concepcion can check many of those boxes. Sudden release, according to Dame Bruegler, right? he has sudden releases at the line of scrimmage. Would be fantastic. Short area quickness. Inside in a McDaniels offense, that short area quickness. Great yards after the catch ability.

Starting point is 00:16:51 Screen passes. Gadget plays. Concepcion, very good at separating from defensive backs. How many times have we talked about Patriots-wide receivers being unable to separate consistently from cornerbacks? and head coach of Texas A&M, Mike Elko, he said that Casey Concepcion has a quote unquote tremendous work ethic. So Concepcion again checked a lot of boxes for the Patriots. And he was widely regarded as a top 25 player.

Starting point is 00:17:23 Now we heard some stuff late in the process that he could slide down into round two. And there was some questioning as maturity. Bert Breer wrote about that right before the draft. but if you are going to legitimately and genuinely look at best player available. And if you're thinking, hey, best player available at 31, if we're sitting at 31, and this is when we went through all the mock drafts, right? When we went through the mock drafts, if the seven tackles were off the board, if the edges were off the board and you wanted to wait until the second round because you didn't want to reach,

Starting point is 00:17:58 because maybe you loved Gabe Accus, but you did not think that Gabe Accus was one of the, 32 best players in this draft. Maybe you thought he was closer to 40 or 45, and that's why you moved up in the second round to draft ACUS. If the board fell a certain way and the Patriots did not move up to draft one of those tackles in the seventh of the seven tackles in Caleb Lomu, and they were waiting at 31, this was one of the options. And we discussed that.

Starting point is 00:18:28 Would it be a little bit weird as far as the investment goes because we're all waiting for the AJ Brown trade and you signed Romeo Dobbs, sure. But if you are going to stick to your word, if you're going to believe in best player available and Concepcion drops to 31 and you have him in your top 20 or your top 25, of course you're going to entertain it. Of course he's going to be a hot name for you in the draft room. Now, as far as AJ Brown and the dynamic and how that would work, Well, Fowler wrote about KCC and A.J. Brown. As one team source pointed out, the Patriots have nothing binding with the Eagles and Brown. No firm agreement is in place.

Starting point is 00:19:13 Now, could there be a wink-wink-wink understanding? Certainly. I love that play. We discussed this this week on the podcast, right? Like, I believe the Patriots and the Eagles have some kind of handshake, wink, wink, whatever you want to call it. I think each side fully understands that. Brown is going to be a Patriot.

Starting point is 00:19:32 And I think they have a pretty solid idea as far as the parameters for that deal, depending on if certain things come into play. So I love that. You know, there's no firm agreement that's in place. But could there be a wink, wink, wink understanding? Certainly. And I think that's why we've had so much smoke regarding Brown and the Patriots and how this thing has been covered from the very beginning all the way throughout

Starting point is 00:19:58 last week when Schefter, Adam Schefter was writing that A.J. Brown is likely a Patriot by June 1st or June 2nd. I do think there is a wink, wink understanding. But back to Fowler, New England was free to make a move for a receiver and it was on its radar in the first two rounds. So again, there's a lot of ifs. If this guy fell, if that guy fell, if offensive tackle and edge, if those runs happened and we missed out on those two positions, I think there's a lot of context here. that needs to be added. Were the Patriots interested in Concepcion? Yes. Did they at least entertain the idea of drafting him if certain things happened on Thursday night last week? Yes. But does that mean that they were likely to draft him?

Starting point is 00:20:44 Not necessarily. Again, not surprised at all because heading into the draft, we talked about Concepcion being the type of wide receiver that would work with A.J. Brown. That could work with Romeo Dobbs. So not shocking. But I'm not sold that they would have picked him because even Jeremy Fowler himself wrote that the Patriots were looking at tackles and edges in quote-unquote, possibly wide receivers.

Starting point is 00:21:15 So I think this is just a number of scenarios that the Patriots ran through. In Concepcion falling to 31 with nobody that they necessarily loved sitting there, maybe they loved Concepcion if he's there at 31, hey, would we take him? it's a hypothetical right would we take them and i think given certain circumstances they would have but i don't think the patriots have any regrets the way they handled the first round i think they're very happy to have moved up and drafted caleb loamu at 28 overall and i do believe them when they say they had loamu ranked higher because a lot a lot of people had loamu ranked higher than you know being picked 28 number of people coming up

Starting point is 00:22:01 up the seventh round pick whose strength might have led to a weakness. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Chris Sims ranked the Pat's first seventh round selection as his third best quarterback in this entire draft. And that QB's potential might even be higher than many things. Thanks for checking out the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. watching on YouTube. So that first seventh round pick for the Patriots came at number 234,

Starting point is 00:22:44 and it was quarterback Barron Morton from Texas Tech. And I think when you look at Morton and what he might be able to do, you immediately think quarterback three emergency role. And I think that would be smart for all of us to view him in that light. He's 6-2-21, 24 years old. But the most fascinating aspect of Baron Morton is this debate about his arm strength. There was a scout that spoke to Bob McGinn before the draft and said about Baron Morton, I just thought his arm was okay. Mike Giardy got a text from an NFL executive. That text read, average NFL arm talent.

Starting point is 00:23:29 Dame Brugler wrote in the Beast that Baron Morton doesn't have zip in his arm to get a way testing tight windows to get away with testing tight windows. But is there more to this story than just Barron Morton has a weak arm? There could be. Alex Barth, who does tremendous work at 985, the sportsub. He pointed out that Baron Morton played two years with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. And as Alex Barth wrote, we really have not seen him throw at full strength.

Starting point is 00:24:02 Now, if you think that's just like a home or take from Alex Barth, I point you to Eric Galco, who is the director of operations at the Shrine Bowl. And Eric Galco posted that at the Shrine Bowl, Baron Morton showed high-end arm talent with an 85th percentile spin rate as compared to NFL quarterbacks. So I do think there's some wiggle room here. there is the possibility that the biggest weakness that scouts point out regarding Barron Morton questioning his arm strength, there is a possibility, if not probability, that he was just fighting through the injuries. And the AC joint that was sprained not just for one year, but for two years, inevitably impacted what we have seen leading into the draft.

Starting point is 00:25:01 I would also say that it's quite possibly he just doesn't have a strong arm. But if you believe Eric Alco and they've got that 85th percentile spin rate, he might have a little bit more zip than people thought. A little bit more about Baron Morton, football IQ, pretty high. Tough dude. Again, played through the AC joint sprain not once but twice in his college career. He also played with a hairline fracture in his right leg. for about half of the 2025 season.

Starting point is 00:25:34 And of course, that could also impact your arm strength. Because if you can't get your lower half into certain throws, you have that, you know, hairline fracture in your right leg, you're not necessarily, you know, planting. Baron Morton's a right-hander. So his plant leg is the right leg. So, I mean, imagine planting on that back leg that has a hairline fracture. every time you try to throw the football. Some good athleticism.

Starting point is 00:26:06 Evan Lizarre pointed out some off-platform throwing ability and pocket mobility. So it'll be interesting to see what people are writing and what people are seeing at camp regarding Baron Morton's arm strength. Pick 245, seventh round, running back Jam Miller from old Alabama. Dame Bruegler actually had a sixth to seventh round grade projection on Jam Miller. So, you know, he got picked. He could have been picked in the sixth round, and it would not be a surprise. He got picked in the seventh at 245.

Starting point is 00:26:35 He is 5'10, 208, 22 years old. And I think it would make all the sense in the world to pretty much Pencil in Jam Miller battling for that running back three spot on this roster. Terrell Jennings, other guys, Landl Larison, of course. We know Elijah Mitchell was released by the Patriots earlier this week. I don't think that's a coincidence that they drafted Jam Miller. and then released Elijah Mitchell. So Jam Miller should be battling for those, you know,

Starting point is 00:27:04 running back three snaps in camp. I also would not be surprised if he played special teams. He ran a 4-4-2-40. He's pretty good with lateral cuts, finishes into contact. Now, some questions, his vision isn't always consistent, and he's not always the most patient guy in the backfield.

Starting point is 00:27:25 So the vision and the patience, inconsistent levels there. His past protection, not good. A lot of college running backs are not good in past protection. And he also had three drops on only 23 targets last season. So there would seem to be a limitation as far as what he can do as a receiving back. But interesting guy, throw in the mix, running back three, special teams. We'll see what happens. And then we had a double dip at edge.

Starting point is 00:27:55 We were wondering if the Patriots would double dip at edge, and they did. Quintavius Hutchins from Boston College, 6.3, 233. So he is no doubt light. We talked about R. Mason Thomas being a little light in the tookus at 241. Quintavius Hutchins 233. Now, Lance Zerlind had Quintavius Hutchins as a sixth round projection. So again, you know, some pretty good value late in the seventh round here, a guy that could have gone in the sixth.

Starting point is 00:28:27 Only 16 starts in college. Lance Zerlind pointed out that Hutchins plays bigger and he plays stronger than you might expect given his weight. Again, it's only 233. Lance Airline also wrote that Hutchins is pretty good at setting the edge. And we always talk about the bend. Remember Gabe Accus, we said he doesn't have a ton of bend around the edge. He's more like kind of a straight line speed athlete guy, like speed to power.

Starting point is 00:28:54 Well, when you look at Quintavius Hutchins, he does have that bend around the edge. I was watching Trevor Sigma talking about Quintavius Hutchins and said, look, the guy's got a really good initial burst, but he has no plan after that. So he's a developmental edge. But the Patriots have a tremendous amount of experience when it comes to defensive line coaching, outside linebacker coaching, you know, Mike Smith, outside linebacker, you know, past Rutgers. specialist coach, Clint McMillan, defensive line coach. Terrell Williams was a defensive line coach forever in the NFL, Mike Vrable. So look, this is the staff that might be able to get something out of Quintavius Hutchins. I think you look at him right now as a special teams player, but you don't know. Maybe he factors in as that fifth pass rusher. Maybe he beats out

Starting point is 00:29:49 Braden Swinson in camp. It doesn't hurt to add another edge who has some bend. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel, hit that like button and subscribe. And if you never miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get Lockdown Patriots, ad free, plus members-only discord access and more. Head to Lockdown Patriots.com or check the link in the show notes to learn more.

Starting point is 00:30:22 Have a great day. And we will see you next. time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Buzz: New England Patriots Gambling On Tackle Caleb Lomu’s "Wiring”

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