Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Can New England Patriots' Defense Bounce Back in 2025? Free Agency, 2025 NFL Draft Prospects

Episode Date: February 22, 2025

Can the New England Patriots' defense bounce back in 2025? After a challenging 2024 season, the Patriots are eyeing a defensive resurgence. With key players like Christian Barmore and Ja’Whaun Bentley facing injuries, the team struggled to maintain their top-10 status. Now, under new leadership, the Patriots are exploring strategic changes and potential free agent signings to revitalize their defense. Host Mike D'Abate and guest Steve Balestrieri discuss the importance of athleticism and versatility, highlighting prospects like Abdul Carter and Jalon Walker. They also explore the impact of potential signings from teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. The conversation promises insights into how the Patriots plan to reshape their defensive strategy. #nfl #newenglandpatriots Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm... Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-... And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest ne ws about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Offense always gets the headlines, but defense is what wins championships. And for the New England Patriots, it's going to be what leads them back to respectability. Stick around. You're about to be locked into the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots

a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country, so reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to Locked On Patriots social media style, please follow our X account at LO underscore Patriots. And if you're still looking for me over where the skies are blue, you can find me there at MDABATENFL.BSKY.SOCIAL.

And of course, Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get $150 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. Pats fans, who says there are any days off? No days off in the NFL, and certainly no days off for your New England Patriots who face not only a pivotal offseason but a very tall task in returning a 4-13 team to respectability. The best way to do it to build within the trenches. We've already talked about the New England Patriots offensive line and what moves they may need to make in order to make sure that it's a formidable unit in 2025. But the Patriots defense was one of the biggest surprises of the season and not in a good way,

folks. The New England Patriots ranking number nine in DVOA overall in 2023 took a nosedive into the cellar of the NFL in 2024. There are a lot of reasons why, and we're going to discuss those today here on the pod. We're also going to talk about what it's going to take to fix this defense, especially the front seven. We're going to talk about potential free agent targets and some NFL draft prospects that might look pretty, pretty, pretty good wearing Patriot blue in 2025. I say we because there's only one man with the wisdom, the counsel,

the wit, and the grit we need to talk defensive line and front seven play, and that is my good friend, my Patriots bison, columnist extraordinaire of patsfans.com, the co-host of another great Patriots podcast that should be in your rotation, Patriots 4th and 2, my good friend Steve Balistrieri. Steve, welcome back to the pod. Thank you for joining me today, buddy. Oh, it's always a pleasure.

And please excuse the dark glasses. I had eye surgery this morning, and my pupils are still dilated. So I have to wear the glasses today. But I'm not trying to imitate Zoe, folks. For the benefit of those of you that are listening to this podcast and not viewing it on YouTube, yeah, Steve is wearing a pair of dark glasses. You look great, by the way, my friend. It gives you a very intimidating look. I really like that because our whole theme today is playing through the pain, kind of going through

the motions when it doesn't seem like you're physically up to the challenge steve could have very easily called in sick today folks he doesn't because there's no days off in the nfl there is no days off in football definitely no days off for your new england patriots so steve let's begin there because this season is going to be a very pivotal one for the New England Patriots. The past couple of seasons, this team has finished 4-13. They have not made the playoffs since the 2021 season, and the fans are getting frustrated, ownership's getting frustrated, and you know the players in that locker room want to return to a level of respectability. So in that vein, the Patriots are already making moves to try

to help their team advance into 2025 we've seen the release of linebacker sioni takitaki we've seen the re-signing of offensive linemen like ben brown at the center position and yesterday trey jacobs at the tackle position two weeks ago we talked right here on these airwaves about the re-signing of Jeremiah Farms. These are good moves for the Pats, but they're what I like to call building block moves. They're not going to move the needle one way or another. When we spoke about this team last year at this time,

with Gerard Mayo freshly taking the reins from Bill Belichick, we talked about the growing pains that this team was going to have offensively. I don't think anybody was shocked by the fact that this team was going to struggle on the offensive side of the ball, but the one thing we thought that would keep them in games and maybe help them win more than four games this year, at least so we thought, was the defense with a solid front seven and a pretty good secondary as well. Within a couple of days, we're going to get into that secondary and dissect that, but purely from a front seven perspective, Steve, when you look at this team, the unit that was a top 10 unit in 2023 regressing to a bottom dwelling unit in 2024. Obviously, the losses of guys like

Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon were a big contributing factor, but it wasn't the only factor. Why do you believe this defense fell off so sharply from one year to the next? And what hope do the Patriots maybe have that they can dig themselves out of it this season? Well, I think it, game two or game three? They lost him, and he's a big part of the defense. And the injury started to, you know, take a toll. Obviously, they were without Christian Barmore for the first half of the season. You know, so right there in the middle, now you have a great big void missing because you have one of your best young

defensive players and you have a guy who's a captain and just a tremendous, you know, presence on the field in the middle of your linebacking core. Now both of those guys are gone. And, you know, compounded with, you know, your two safeties are banged up all year, right? Kyle Duggar suffered an ankle injury that ended up being worse than anyone thought. You know, even himself, that required surgery as soon as the season was over he was never himself and then peppers has that uh unfortunate off the field incident and you know he was on the

commission as exemplars for about eight or nine weeks and those are the things i mean right down the middle of your defense that takes a toll they uh they traded away matthew judon and uh josh uche and they never got the the production from the other guys that they hoped for. Keon White started off great, but as the injuries piled up, his production went way down. I think the injuries had a lot to do with it. I think the coaching had something to do with it. They just – they never seemed to adjust during the season. That was always one of Bill's things.

And when an opponent's offense started to get the upper hand on him, Bill would call them all over. You'd see him down there talking to the guys. And they'd make adjustments. And nine times out of ten, they were the correct ones. This past year, I mean, I didn't see them making a lot of adjustments. I could be wrong on that. But, you know, I was looking for Mayo and Covington.

Pull those guys together. And, you know, when they come off the field and start telling them, hey, this is what they're doing. This is how we need to fix it. Didn't see that and uh you know i just think that there was a after those injuries started piling up there was kind of a collective malaise within the team you know they didn't seem like they were firing on all cylinders. I mean, with maybe the exception of the Bears game, you know, but, you know, they couldn't stop the run.

They weren't getting pressure on the quarterback, and it put way too much pressure on a secondary that, you know, had its own share of issues. Oh, absolutely. And I'm glad that you mentioned the secondary because the loss of someone like Jabril Peppers in the center of that secondary is going to have a negative impact on you. And he is a part of that middle backbone, that spine, if you will, of that defense. When you look at the middle at Juwan Bentley, you look at someone up front like Christian Barmore, and then in the backfield with Jabril Peppers I mean at various points of the season you were missing all three of those guys in the lineup that is a very difficult thing for any defense to overcome so I'm glad that you mentioned the secondary contributing there because there were

losses and problems there as well folks that did contribute to some of the problems you saw up front but I think you hit the nail on the head in two very key areas, Steve. One was the injuries that the Patriots simply had to play through. And unfortunately, that's a part of the game. And when you have players that are injured, like the caliber of Juwan Bentley and Christian Barmore, your defense is going to regress. And even if you've got the most talented group in the world on paper, you lose two of your key components, it's difficult. And it puts a lot

of pressure on guys like Keyon White and Anthony Jennings, who I think started off the season very well, but looked tired and looked worn out by the end of the season because of everything that was thrust on their shoulders. Essentially burning the candle at both ends. You can't do that and expect to maintain long-term success. So that's one point that I think you made that is absolutely right on the money. The next one is tough to quantify, but it's there and it's palpable and everyone can see it. And it's the lack of leadership on the bench in coaching. This team did not look prepared.

More often than not, and I'm sorry to say this, but more often than not, the other side looked much more prepared than the Patriots were to meet the task at hand uh you're absolutely right in your assessment that they did not adjust um if your opponent insists on war so to speak steve it's always incumbent upon the defense to take away their ability to wage it and the patriots simply did not do that this year uh they didn't have the personnel to do it i don't think they had the coaching staff to do it. And when that happens, offenses are going to start teeing off. And I think that's why you saw so many talented offenses and maybe even middle of the road offenses have

great success against this team, simply because there just wasn't that devotion. There wasn't that discipline. And most importantly, there wasn't that type of talent in that part of the field that would prevent some of these offenses from making plays. So earlier on, I mentioned the release of Sione Takitaki. And obviously, his signing last year caught some eyes because he was known as an Elliott Wolfe guy, someone that Wolfe had an awful lot of faith in, liked his game, like this character. I can tell you in the brief interactions that I had with Sione this year, he is a high character, high quality human being without any question. But it always felt like to me, like maybe this was not the best fit for him in terms of the style that he plays. I also thought he was going to be an even worse fit in a Terrell Jennings defense that we're going to see. Obviously, the Patriots felt that they were better moving in a different direction, but are you at all concerned that the Patriots let go of one of their better players when it came to sideline to sideline speed? How much of a necessity

do you believe it is for this front seven to address that need in the offseason? Well, I think it's very important because that was an area that they struggled in. But as you said, I mean, you know, Taki Taki started off injured, so he missed a lot of valuable time. And I don't think he was all the way back. I don't think he was 100%, percent um you know when he did come back last year um so and it showed on the field i mean he was a guy i was kind of hoping you know he was going to turn into one of those guys that they always seem to find you know he was a you know middle of the road kind of guy on another team and then he comes here and then he thrives um but it didn't work out and you know at least they recognize that early enough where you know they're doing him a solid

they're releasing him now gives him time to catch on with another team and you know he can sign with anybody right now because he's been released so So I think they did him a solid. It just was one of those things that didn't work out. And, you know, I was sorry to see it, but it happens all the time in the NFL. Steve, as much as we can keep going on and on about the Patriots' decline from one year to the next, we want to talk about the ascent. We want to get back to talking about the rising again of this defense and i do believe that with mike drable at the helm the patriots are poised to do just that he's a defensive-minded head coach if there is something

that goes wrong as we've said many times steve who is a better consigliere than mike drable he's been there he's done that steve and i are going to delve into the list of front seven prospects when it comes to free agency and who might be catching the Patriots' sharp eye in the coming weeks when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. A proud part of the Locked On podcast network, your team

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Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots as we continue to break down the New England Patriots roster. And so far in our roster breakdowns, we've been very heavily predicated on the offense. Well, today we're flipping the script and we're going to talk about the defense specifically the defensive front seven the

linebackers and that defensive line units which struggled mightily in 2024 and need an upgrade in 2025 part of that is going to be selecting new young prospects in the upcoming 2025 nfl draft we're going to talk about those guys in just a moment, but right now we're going to focus on potential veteran options, free agents who the Patriots might be smart to take a look at in the coming weeks. I say we because, as you can see here on the screen here today, and for those of you that are listening to this podcast as opposed to viewing it, my guest today is my Patriots bison, Steve Balistrieri.

Steve, in the previous segment, we talked about why this Patriots defense regressed in 2024 and what they need to do to rebound in 2025. Now, when you look at the list of free agents out there this year and you look at the Patriots needs, I know a lot of fans are going to tell you they need to really focus on offense. You need offensive linemen. You need receivers, maybe even an additional running back to come in and to try to provide some help for Ramondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. But I think the Patriots need to be very careful about investing some of this 126 million plus in cap space that they're going to have available thanks to the increase of the nfl salary cap which was released earlier this week that's going to need a veteran presence

on that defense so from top to bottom whether it be defensive linemen or whether it be linebackers who's catching your sharp eye right now and should be a potential target for the New England Patriots? Well, you know, I just look back to the Super Bowl, and, you know, I think Josh Swett, Zach Bond, I mean, who wouldn't want those two guys in your linebacking core if you're going to address that in free agency rather than the draft. And, you know, those are two guys. I think, you know, you put them on the defense. And all of a sudden, your linebacker core is looking really, really good.

You know, you would have Keon White, hopefully Christian Barmore's back. Then you have a guy like Sweat who's – I think he's an outstanding edge guy. He can rush. He can do everything. And then another guy like Zach. What an incredible interception he made. Now, are those guys going to be released? Not released, but are they going to be allowed to test free agency? I don't know. I mean, you know, that will be up

to Philly, but I find it hard to believe both of them are going to, you know, get out there ready. But whoever does, I would love either one of those guys right off the bat. Oh, absolutely. How could you not? And I mean, you're taking pedigree from the defending world champions and you're adding it to a mix of players that desperately need that type of experience and that battle test in big games, such as huge playoff games and ultimately the Superbowl. And you're talking guys that did it against the best quarterback in the league and Patrick Mahomes really made him look futile in that ball game. So yeah, why wouldn't you want to raid that defense? Why wouldn't you want a guy like Sweat or someone like a Zach Vaughn, which we've mentioned before? Milton Williams is another

one that I think could look good in a Patriots uniform as well. So there are a lot of guys that you would love to see come in and bolster that defense. Any one of those three would fit that bill. One thing that I do stress with the New England Patriots, I do believe they need a lot more athleticism than what they had in the front seven last year. And that led me to looking into someone that I think could be a good fit here in New England for a lot of reasons. The only issue that I see is I believe he's going to be overvalued on the open market that may price him out of what New England is willing to spend. And that's Baron Browning from the Arizona Cardinals. And of course, coming that way by way of the Denver Broncos. When he got traded to Arizona mid-season, that's when you started to see him live up to his

potential as a former third rounder a few years ago 21 of his 29 quarterback pressures last year came in an arizona cardinals uniform also upped his quarterback pressure rate to 15.9 percent that was from weeks 10 through 18 that he was in an arizona cardinals uniform that's the 14th best mark among edge rushers in the nfl with at least 100 pass rushes over that span so browning is someone that can get the job done no question about it he's an ohio state guy so you know mike vrabel is going to be looking at that and saying hey you know what we can get a couple of buckeyes in here you know all of a sudden it's starting to look pretty good you know that those ties do run folks um but ultimately i think this

is someone that could come in and um and provide the type of athleticism that the Patriots need. I'm fully aware that he comes with the setbacks. He's not the best against the run. And I think he's going to be looking, especially with this, maybe for a more shorter-term investment because I think he believes his best days are still in front of him at 26 years old he realizes that maybe the injury may force a short-term deal this year to kind of approve it deal to show that he's all the way back once he does then he can go out and try to get max money i think that's how he's going to try to approach this offseason um again is it is a team going to overvalue him and offer him the bag

right off the right out of the gate? That, to me, is what would turn the Patriots off. But if not, this is a guy I think the Pats should be keeping an eye on. Yeah, and I agree with you 100% on there because he's more still right now as a designated pass rusher than perhaps a three-down linebacker. But he showed, like you said, he can do the job. So that is, you know, that's enticing, you know. And there's another guy that we all know.

Now, he's not technically a free agent, but he wants to be traded. And, you know, if they're willing to listen to offers, you know, Miles Garrett, he's a game changer. Oh, yeah. And, you know, again, I'm not saying they have to, you know, give up their first-round draft pick for him, but if Cleveland is adamant about not trading him, that's one thing. But he's pretty adamant about wanting to leave.

But he said he wants to play for a Super Bowl, so he might not want to come to New England right away. But it's something to keep in mind. And sometimes money talks, you know, and if you pay him enough, he might be willing, again, short-term deal, three years, bring him in. He's still young enough to get another big payday because I think in a Mike Vrabel, Ter Ralph Williams defense, he'll clean up. If I'm the Patriots, I'm holding a help wanted sign and I'm looking for any and everything, keeping my eye on all options and then picking the one that's best for me.

But if the Patriots do not choose to fill all of these voids and Steve, I think thus being realistic, they're not going to fill every void they have along the defensive front seven with just free agents they're going to need to bolster this group with the draft and there are some talented players that would look good in Patriot Blue even if it means using a first rounder to get them here we're going to talk about potential day one selections that might open both eyes real wide if you're a Patriots fan. But we're also going to talk about the probably more realistic versions in day two and day three. Finishing it up by talking draft when we continue this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Cats fans, thank you so much for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots as we continue to break down the Patriots 2025 roster. And today we are talking all things Patriots defensive linemen and linebackers. The front seven for your New England Patriots, once one of the most fearsome

groups in the land. Not so good of a performance in 2024, but this team is onward and upward. Joining me here today to break down all of the information is my good friend, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com. And Steve, in the previous segments, we talked about what went wrong in 2024, which veterans may look good coming into New England, helping to bolster this group and lead them into a new era under Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams. But you and I both know that as much as we'd love to use a large portion of that $126 million in available cap space on defense, the Patriots are going to have to spend a chunk of that on offense. That offense needs an awful lot of help. So in that regard,

the Patriots have to strike a balance. They have to be able to fill a lot of the holes they have on this roster with both savvy free agents and solid draft prospects. And that's where we're going to end our conversation on this subject today. Obviously, the Pats have a tremendous amount of draft capital, including the number four overall pick. Now, most people seem to believe a lot of the draft pundits, a lot of the mock drafts that you're seeing out there, project that the Patriots will take an offensive lineman or maybe even a wide receiver with that number four overall pick. The only deviations we're seeing to that are an edge rusher and a dual threat hybrid player,

the likes of which we haven't seen in the NFL in quite some time. I'm talking Abdul Carter as the edge rusher, and I'm talking Travis Hunter as the cornerback slash wide receiver. I think if either one of those gentlemen that I just mentioned end up at four, I don't think the Patriots hesitate to choose either one of them. These guys are generational talents, and you always go for the best player available when you're more than just one player away from contending. If they don't, some people say that they will just go for the best offensive lineman available, but some are under the impression that the Patriots may actually trade down into the

lower part of the first round and try to bolster their team that way. If they do that, I think they're going to go more defensive focused than they are offensive focused. So in that regard, Steve, when you look at the potential talent available at linebacker, at edge rusher, at defensive tackle, this is a draft class that does have talent in all three levels. So who's catching your eye right now? And who are you really going to be paying attention to when the NFL scouting combine begins this week? Well, it starts obviously with Abdul Carter. If by some weird stroke of luck, he's still around at number four, I think you can't pass him up you can't because he's one of those

guys i think you know there's a lot of really really good football players in this draft but he's one of those can't miss generational type players i think right so if he's not there at number four and they decide to trade back, I know a lot of people, if he's not there, then they're kind of looking at Will Campbell, the offensive tackle, which I would have no problem with, but we're talking front seven right now. I think there's also a very good chance they could slide back maybe three or four spots. And then the guy I would love to see in this aspect would be Jalon Walker, the edge rusher out of Georgia.

And is he Abdul Carter? Maybe not, but he's not that far off. No, he's not. No, he's really, really good. And to me, he would be an exciting, exciting player in this defense. Oh, I think he'd be phenomenal in this defense. And look, you want to talk about a team that might be willing to leapfrog the Patriots to get into that number four position if they have their sights set on a

quarterback who knows maybe the Las Vegas Raiders get on the phone and they try to work a deal with Mike and this Patriots brain trust and see if they can move up Patriots move back yeah I think Walker would be excellent and he brings that versatility to the defense that you know Mike Vrabel is coveting this to me would be the ultimate Vrabel move. I think if they pull this deal off and they bring in Jalen Walker, I think it proves right now this is Mike's team. He's moving forward and this would be inputting his stamp on this defense. Look, he doesn't have imposing size. We can't sit there and say that he's that intimidating presence just by walking on the field. 6'2", 245, adequately sized. No one's saying he's undersized, but he's not that imposing physical figure

that's going to make you go, wow, all right, yeah, I got to go up against this guy. I'm in trouble. But his ability, his athleticism, we talked about athleticism earlier. This is the kid to bring in if you want athleticism. That hybrid type of player that Mike Vrabel loves to coach in a defense, this kid would be it.

He won the Butkus Award last season as an off the ball linebacker. And I think it's so funny that you mentioned him because he's someone that I came in today ready to talk about because simply I just loved watching him. I went back and I watched so much on this kid from earlier this season, the games against Texas and Tennessee and Clemson. We talked earlier about Takitaki being gone and the absence of that sideline-to-sideline athleticism. Watch him in a few of these games, folks. You can see that type of sideline-to-sideline prowess that really, I think, is going to make this kid pop in the NFL.

And again, coming from a program like Georgia, high-level football IQ. This kid knows the game. He knows the field. He knows the field. He knows the assignment. And he also knows the assignment of everybody around him. And I think that really speaks well for him. So that type of character, that type of athleticism. Yeah.

You want to talk about people that are not being talked about enough as a potential Patriots target. Yeah. I think Jalen Walker should definitely be in the conversation. If the Patriots are willing to move down a little bit I wouldn't quite do it at four I don't think if you're staying at four it's for Carter or it's for Hunter those are the only two guys that I would invest that number four in right now but you can move down a little bit and you have gone good authority that Walker will be there when you're on the clock, yeah, this is a move I don't hesitate to make.

Absolutely. And, you know, I just, you know, you're looking for game changers, right? Right. And this kid is a game changer. And that's what you're looking for. Now, if you go offensive lineman, it's not so much as a game changer, like a wow type of guy, but he's going to be a guy that's going to anchor your offensive line. And you, you know, you, you draft a really good one when your quarterback isn't getting sacked all the time. It's true. Yeah, you're right.

You know, and, and, you know, but also in the running game, you want to see a mauler out there, right? You want to see a guy that's cutting a swat. But, you know, those, yeah, in effect, they are game changers. But you're not going to see the results all the time. But a guy like Walker, absolutely. I would love that pick if they slide back. Yeah, absolutely.

And if they do slide back, folks, New England would be very smart to keep this kid on their radar. And I think they will. Depending on now, that's not to say that I believe he's going to end up in New England. I think it's way too early to determine whether or not this is a feasible move for the Patriots. But if that's where they're going to be drafting, this is the type of kid that I can see Mike Rabel loving to coach. And I think he also brings that athleticism and maybe that nastiness that Terrell Williams is looking to bring up front. Steve, I think the Patriots are going to be fairly active on day two and day three, filling

necessary holes, maybe along the defensive line, in the trenches, picking up some depth at linebacker. Are there any day two or day three prospects right now that you're looking at and saying, yeah, this guy's got New England Patriot written all over him? There's a couple of guys. I'm not sure where they'll end up. I think a couple of them, maybe even all of them, might end up in the first round. But there's another Georgia guy, Michael Williams, edge guy. I really like his game. And then Shamar Stewart out of Texas A&M.

Right. Yeah, you know. And Walter Nolan, the defensive tackle from Miss. You know, I think if they were to be able to drag any of those guys out, I wouldn't be heartbroken. Now, again, I'm not sure where these guys are going to go yet, but, you know, you have to, you have to look at it from, you know, you have to look at it from, you know, from the aspect, look, we want guys that can make a difference, that can play. Let's keep our eye on them and, you know, see how things work out with the draft. Because there's always going to be guys that rise and fall. And if any of these guys avail themselves to them, I wouldn't be heartbroken

whatsoever if they went for one of those guys as well. Steve, what can I say? Always an honor and a privilege when you stop by and you talk football with us, especially when you're talking defense, you're at your best when you're talking protection, my friend. And that's why we always love having you here for these types of conversations. In the meantime, I want to give a tip of the cap to my good friend Steve Balistrieri for always joining me. Whenever I need him, he's there for the handoff, and I appreciate his wisdom, his counsel, his

wit and grit each and every single week plus here on Locked On Patriots. Most of all, we appreciate all of you, all of you everydayers, all of you occasional listeners, and of course, those of you joining us for the first time. We appreciate you making us a part of your daily Patriots coverage.

Once again, I'm Mike DeBate, and on behalf of my Patriots paisan, Steve Balistrieri, stay safe, stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again next week on Locked on Patriots.