Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Drake Maye: “PUMPED” By New England Patriots Offseason

Starting point is 00:00:00 Drake May sounds ready to embrace the challenge of the 2025 season. That's where we start on this episode of Locked On Patriots. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I'm your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, your New England Patriots expert, host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles, and also a Sports Talk Show host veteran

Starting point is 00:00:36 on today's episode, the roster turnover that has been nothing short of massive this offseason and the challenges that kind of turnover presents. But first, Drake May speaks and has a lot to say. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listen. And for being an everydayer, the Locked On Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And this episode is brought to you by the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. Turn any TV into your Xbox, no console needed. Head to amazon.com slash fire TV locked on to learn more.

Starting point is 00:01:13 In 2024, we saw flashes from Drake May. Those flashes that made us believe that he was going to be one day a franchise quarterback. And the most important aspect of the 2025 season is Drake May's progression from year one to year two through year two heading towards year three. That is the most important aspect of the upcoming season. We could talk about a lot of different things offensively and defensively, but it begins with Drake May.

Starting point is 00:01:44 If he shows development, if he shows improvement, that's what you walk away from 2025 thinking that your guy at the most pivotal position in the league is ready for more. Maybe Drake May is already ready for more. This is from Mike Giardia as Drake May spoke to the media, quote, on his role growing, I don't think there's any added pressure. I think it's the National Football League. So every week you have to bring it. And I think if there is added pressure, I think you want the ball in my hands in crunch

Starting point is 00:02:16 time. Oh, baby. Oh, baby. Drake May, by all accounts, people that have coached him people that have played alongside him people that have Hung out with them friends family whatever Pretty much everybody says that drake may has awesome makeup That his character

Starting point is 00:02:41 His compete level it is exactly what you want from a quarterback his competitive level, it is exactly what you want from a quarterback. And there's that comment today, there's that quote from today telling us yet again, Drake May is ready for this, he feels like he's ready for this. That awesome makeup just flows out of him when he speaks at the podium, when he answers questions. Drake May is looking at the Patriots. He's looking at the fan base. He's looking at his coaching staff. He's looking at his teammates and he's telling every single one of those people,

Starting point is 00:03:10 fill my plate. I'm ready. Don't worry about the cup runneth over, not with me. Fill my plate, I'm ready for the challenge. Drake May sounds like a young man who is embracing the responsibility, embracing the responsibility that is being a franchise quarterback, it doesn't guarantee that he's going to end up playing that way on the field. It doesn't guarantee that he's going to be a pro bowler or

Starting point is 00:03:37 all pro for the next eight to 10 years, it doesn't guarantee any of that. But when we talk about makeup, we talk about mental, we talk about being ready for the challenge, at least mentally, from a confidence level, Drake May is oozing confidence. And he is ready to embrace the responsibility. He is ready to embrace the challenge that is going to be 2025, when everybody is expecting him to take that next step forward. Now, some might believe this is just lip service. I mean, you go to the podium, you could say what you want to say, but you got to go out there and prove it. But when watching Drake May last year, in some of those seminal moments

Starting point is 00:04:15 during a very tough season, I think we saw Drake May and his leadership in that makeup, in the fact that he takes accountability and responsibility when he feels that he's doing something right. tough season. I think we saw Drake May and his leadership in that makeup, in the fact that he takes accountability and responsibility when he feels like he needs to, which it seems like he feels that way 100% of the time, even if it's not him making the mistake. We saw it time and time and time again last year. One of his teammates messes up, he steps in front and takes the bullet. No matter what, no matter what, this young man that certainly sounds like he is ready, that he is ready to take on even more in his second NFL season.

Starting point is 00:04:57 But Drake May did not stop there. Talking about the offseason, very excited with what this team did. Phil Perry posted this quote from May, quote, I'm pumped talking about the off season very excited with what this team did Phil Perry posted this quote from May quote I'm pumped talking about the off season I'm pumped a lot of new faces found answers that a lot of different spots that hopefully we can plug and play this was a great off season for May so far the beginning of May no pun intended but this has been a terrific off season for him.

Starting point is 00:05:27 Think about what the Patriots have done. They have significantly invested in supporting him. And that's precisely what they should have done. Significant investment on the offensive side, an improved offensive line. You want to bring in Morgan Moses. You want to bring in Garrett Bradbury. You want to draft Will Campbell. You want to draft Jared Wilson. You want to build the depth of the interior of this offensive line. That's what they've done. They have improved the offensive line. I'm not

Starting point is 00:05:59 gonna sit here and tell you it's going to be a top 10 offensive line. I don't know how it's going to perform and you 10 offensive line. I don't know how it's going to perform. And you got to hope that you don't have to deal with a bunch of injuries. But on paper, it's all we could talk about right now in May on paper, this offensive line is improved. And really, how can you not improve the offensive line versus what it looked like last year? But the wide receiver room is also improved. Stefan Diggs, even at 80% is better than any receiver that you had in that wide receiver room a year ago. You add Diggs, you add Kyle Williams, you add Trevion Henderson. We're talking about explosive, dynamic, fun players, exciting players with a better offensive line.

Starting point is 00:06:48 A strong investment on the offensive side of the ball. So, of course, Drake May should be ecstatic. Now, things could have gone better. You could have signed Chris Godwin. You could have signed Ronnie Stanley. Things could have gone better But you've got to be happy if you're May because you're watching your team operate as if you matter You're watching your team operate as if you're the number one priority

Starting point is 00:07:25 First four picks of the draft offense offense offense offense that sends a message to Drake May hiring Josh McDaniels as the offensive coordinator sends a message to May bringing in Thomas Brown and Todd Downing and Tony Deuce and Doug Marrone incredibly experienced coaches most of them overqualified for what their positions are on this coaching staff that is heavy investment having not one not two but three offensive line coaches in the room heavy investment This has been a very good offseason for Drake may One more comment that I wanted to talk about from May as Far as having the ability to call out the protections and adjustments at the line of scrimmage This is from Mark Daniels, quote, you want that.

Starting point is 00:08:07 It's great for me to hold the pin last. It'll be great for me to take the next step. Again, the willingness to embrace the responsibility, the willingness to embrace the growth. He knows the expectations. He knows what people are hoping he'll be able to do this year. He knows that everybody wants to see that improvement, and he certainly wants to show that improvement. But here's the thing about 2025. It's not just about what he does on the field.

Starting point is 00:08:38 It's the fact that the intangibles that we have read about, that we have seen and heard from May from time to time Those intangibles are going to be tested his football IQ is going to be tested this year Because he's going to be asked to do more at the line of scrimmage So test that football IQ His leadership is going to be tested with all the new faces in this locker room with all the new faces on the offense with all the new faces in this locker room, with all the new faces on the offense, with all the new faces on that offensive line. A big part of Drake May's job early on in camp is going to be able to embrace those new faces, get everybody together as the quarterback of this organization, and lead those men onto the field. So the leadership qualities, those intangibles, they're going to be tested. His competitive fire, his compete level, it's going to get tested because he has to get buy-in. He's

Starting point is 00:09:34 got to get buy-in from all of his teammates. We heard Austin Hooper this week say, I came back for Drake May. It's a great start. You have a veteran like that in your locker room who wants to come back and work with you, that says something, but all of these intangibles, all of these off the field qualities that we've talked about, the intelligence, the competitiveness, the leadership, they're all going to be tested in 2025.

Starting point is 00:10:01 And I think he's ready to be tested. And I think he's going to pass that test This offseason speaking of it can be described with one word Change that's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of lockdown patriots part of the lockdown podcast network your team every day Did you know that your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices. No console required. Just grab your paired controller, subscribe or sign in to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with EA Play included in your Ready to Play.

Starting point is 00:10:40 Dive into hundreds of premium titles from EA Sports College Football 25 to Call of Duty, Black Ops 6 and Avowed as easily as you stream your favorite shows. It's gaming made simple and it's all on your Fire TV. With 4K streaming, you can also watch more than one and a half million movies and TV episodes from your favorite subscribed services like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, Max and more. Head to Amazon.com slash Fire TV locked on to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller is required. It's available on select devices including Fire TV Stick 4k 2nd gen, Fire TV Stick 4k Max 1st and 2nd gen and Fire TV Cube third gen. When we found out that Mike Vrabel was taking over, was being hired as the head coach, I

Starting point is 00:11:33 expected lots of change with Vrabel. I expected a lot of people out, a lot of new people in. But even somebody like me who expected a lot of change those expectations have been exceeded What we have seen at Gillette Stadium over the past two to three months is a massive overhaul of this roster So many guys have been sent out packing So many cats have been brought in as part of this new core The cats have been brought in as part of this new core, this new roster almost, from Mike Fraple, Evan Lazar of Patriots.com. He wrote, roughly a third of the Patriots' 90-man roster will be newbies with 14-plus veteran free agents joining the team.

Starting point is 00:12:18 And I did a little bit of a breakdown. And we've got 14 notable free agent signings. You've got another 11 players that were drafted last weekend. And then let's say, because we don't know how many UDFAs are really UDFAs signed to the roster versus camp invite types. So let's say you got five UDFAs. That is 30. You've got the 14 free agents, the 11 drafted players, and then you've got the five UDFAs. That's 30 of your 90-man roster, which is exactly a third.

Starting point is 00:12:56 Last time I checked, not a math major, but 33% of your football team in 2025 is new. That's a ton. That's a ton. When a third of your 90-man roster is new, that's a massive overhaul. And I was thinking about this. It truly is the opposite of Gerard Mayo in every single way. Think about it. Gerard Mayo last year, during the off season, when you go from 23 to 24 and you think about what camp looked like last year, it was like a family reunion. Everybody showed up to camp. Everybody knew each other. Most were comfortable with each other. You knew what made somebody mad. You knew what made somebody happy. It's a family reunion under Gerard Mayo.

Starting point is 00:13:49 The defensive coaching staff, a lot of guys, left over, family reunion. What was Mike Vrabel? The Mike Vrabel era begins like it's orientation. If you went to college, you had your first day orientation, right? You're meeting everybody for the first time. You're trying to figure out who's who. You might be a little sheepish around certain people. You might feel comfortable around other people.

Starting point is 00:14:15 You're just trying to figure it out. First day orientation, happy to be here. Who were you? Oh, well, this is who I am. Mike Vrabel's first camp is going to be in orientation. Gerard Mayo's first camp was a family reunion. And that tells me that Vrabel is comfortable with being uncomfortable. Because when you get so many new people thrown into one place,

Starting point is 00:14:43 that opens the door for discomfort. That opens the door for some uncomfortable conversations. That opens the door to some awkwardness. And so you embrace the awkward, you embrace the uncomfortable, you embrace the discomfort. Vrabel is ready to jump in and say, yeah, I know there's a lot of us that are new to each other and we're going to have to figure each other out.

Starting point is 00:15:13 But I am ready to embrace that challenge, just like last segment talking about Drake May, ready to embrace the challenge as the franchise quarterback of the New England Patriots. Vrabel is ready to embrace this challenge of mixing all of these different personalities, all of these different backgrounds, one big pot of jambalaya and throwing it all together for a camp experience that is going to be unlike many camp experiences that these players have had in prior years. And if you are willing to embrace that level of uncomfortable, that means you're a very confident person. You're very confident and you're comfortable to embrace something like that. Tells you a lot.

Starting point is 00:16:08 You know, else tells us there's going to be a lot of competition at camp this year because there's less incumbents. Think about last year's camp guys are walking in and they know what they do. They know what their job was last year. They know who Gerard Mayo is. They know who DeMarcus Covington is. They know a lot of the players in the coaching staff and the players that are the players. So you had a lot of incumbents. The defense was full of incumbents.

Starting point is 00:16:34 I thought it was a good idea at the time because their defense in 2023 was really good. I said, why not bring those guys back? But it was almost like everybody was too comfortable. Everybody was just too comfortable with the situation. Familiarity, it breeds comfort. And sometimes when you get too comfortable, it's a bad thing. This camp I don't think is going to be comfortable. You have less incumbents, a bunch of new faces, you're going to have some

Starting point is 00:17:05 hot competitions for roster spots. You also have a younger roster, a hungry roster. Young cats who want to prove themselves against NFL veterans. They want to battle. And when you have a younger roster, and all of this competition, it brings energy. And I just have to younger roster and all of this competition, it brings energy. And I just have to believe that Vrabel loves the idea of that kind of energy seeping through every single space during camp. Because if you do it right, and you have that level of competition and you have that energy,

Starting point is 00:17:46 and you have that level of competition and you have that energy. Young guys versus some of the veterans. You know what that does? It breeds relationships. And that's what Mike Grable is trying to forge here in New England. He's trying to breed relationships throughout this roster and to build it the right way. There's also a lot of trust in the scouting. I mean, let's be honest. When you have 30 roughly of the 90 guys on your roster as you get ready for camp being new faces from different places, that's a lot of trust in the scouting staff. That's a lot of trust in the front office. That's a lot of trust in the connectionsouting staff. That's a lot of trust in the front office That's a lot of trust in the connections that your coaching staff has with some of these players Because you're bringing in 30 new personalities. You're bringing in 30 new egos

Starting point is 00:18:34 You have to find new captains because you've said goodbye to pretty much every single one of them outside of Jabril Peppers Who lost his captaincy last year because of the off the field stuff. So you're not only trying to bring in players that are going to work within the fabric of this football team, you're also bringing in guys hoping that you will find some of those future captains. And that's why you see it. That's why you see what the Patriots have done. They drafted guys that were captains in college football.

Starting point is 00:19:04 They drafted guys who were leaders on their college teams because they understand, they understand the challenge of that. They want that challenge. Let's find the new leadership. Let's find the new captains of our team. Let's mix these egos and personalities and get the most out of it that we can. So lots of trust in the front office, lots of trust in the scouting, lots of trust in Mike Vrabel. I think this camp is going to be fun. I think this camp is going to be very competitive. With change comes challenge.

Starting point is 00:19:48 And with this much change, even more challenge. That's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of Locked On Patriots, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. When you have back to back four win seasons, you're desperate. You're desperate for upgrades and talent. You're desperate to find any kind of improvement that you can find. And when you have so much turnover, like we talked about last segment because you're so desperate to find the upgrades and talent. You're so desperate to find improvements throughout your roster with so much

Starting point is 00:20:33 change. There are going to be challenges. There are going to be a number of challenges within this football team dealing with all of this newness. Again, when you're familiar and you have everybody coming back, when it's the family reunion, yeah, there's challenges. Crazy uncle might say something out of pocket. Grandpa might fall asleep at the inopportune time. The kids, nephews and nieces might be running around,

Starting point is 00:21:03 kicking your shins. Yeah, there are challenges at those family reunions. But at the end of it, you know who everybody is and you know everybody's quirks and you work through it and you look back and say, yeah, just another family reunion. But the challenges of the orientation day, the challenges of meeting new people, the challenges of finding commonalities, there's going to be lots of youth, as I of meeting new people, the challenges of finding commonalities. There's going to be lots of youth, as I mentioned this last segment, and that's a learning curve. When you have so many young players, you're going to have to deal with the inevitable

Starting point is 00:21:37 learning curve. One of my favorite sayings is, you don't know what you don't know. It's simple, but it could not be any more true than it is. You don't know what you don't know. And these young players coming in, even though if they feel like they're ready, Jared Wilson and Trevion Henderson and Kyle Williams and Braden Swinson and Joshua Farmer and Will Campbell, they could certainly feel like they're ready. They could certainly feel like they know what they need to know, but you don't know what you don't know.

Starting point is 00:22:04 And until you actually step foot on an to know, but you don't know what you don't know. And until you actually step foot on an NFL field for an NFL training camp, you're not really sure what to expect. And so I think it's gonna take some time and it's gonna take some patience from us because the expectations are getting higher and higher for this team, the excitement. I don't remember excitement like this since

Starting point is 00:22:31 maybe back in 2021, when they spent all that money in free agency, and they drafted Mac Jones. It's probably been a solid four years since we had this kind of excitement surrounding this team. But we've got to be patient because there's just so much youth on this roster. And we have to understand that there's going to be a learning curve. We've got to be patient. Some of these guys might be overwhelmed early. I can see it in the first month, maybe some struggles.

Starting point is 00:23:04 Maybe they don't hit the ground running because there's so much newness and there's so many young guys. It might take them a month or so to kind of get their feet wet and feel comfortable, understand what the business is of an NFL work week. We have to be ready for that. We've got to appreciate it. We've got to acknowledge it. We've got to understand it. So one of the challenges with so much turnover, so much roster overhauling, is you now bring a lot of youth onto the team. And with inexperience comes mistakes.

Starting point is 00:23:38 We have to be ready for that. Also, when you have lots of new, it takes time to establish chemistry now in a perfect world Everybody would walk out onto the field first day of camp. It's like nobody missed the beat Nobody missed a beat everybody was perfect Everybody got along players were finishing each other sentences It was like a hallmark movie out there. Didn't take much time at all to establish that chemistry. By the end of the two-hour

Starting point is 00:24:10 practice, like the end of a two-hour Hallmark film, everything was figured out. Happy ending. That's not the real world. It's going to take time to establish the chemistry along the offensive line between Drake May and his skill position players, the defensive front seven, the secondary, that communication has to be created and established. So these are the challenges. It's exciting to turn over the roster because the roster wasn't nearly good enough. It's always fun getting excited for new players, getting excited for a draft class.

Starting point is 00:24:56 But we have to understand they're going to have to establish that chemistry. They've got to figure each other out. It's not going to be a one week thing. Trust is earned. And these guys are going to have to learn to trust each other and earn that trust from each other. Because eventually, you've got to see eye to eye on the field. And that might take a little time. But you've got to get there. So when you have so much new personalities, egos, backgrounds, as I mentioned, when you've got all of that new in the pot, it might take a little while for that pot to settle. And then you can say, all right, we have found

Starting point is 00:25:40 each other. We've established that chemistry. We've established the trust between each other. And that's going to also come down to the coaching staff. And with so much new on this roster, with so many different names, from so many different places, that is a lot of pressure on the staff. And there's a lot of new within the staff. A lot of these guys haven't worked with each other. Now on the defensive side, there is more of that history between guys. Offensively, not so much.

Starting point is 00:26:18 Now there are some links and connections here and there, but we're not talking about coaches that have coached alongside each other for years and years and years. That's not the case. That is not the case. So just as much as there's new on the field, there is new in this coaching staff which brings challenge. Those coaches are going to have to reach everybody. You've got to put together the best 53-man roster that you possibly can if you're Mike Raible. And that's going to take every one of these coaches to reach every single one of those players.

Starting point is 00:26:54 You've got to find a way to reach every single individual. That's what you've got to do as a coach. And when you have so much new, it's probably going to take some time to figure out what makes guys tick. You can do all the scouting you want. You can talk to the players all that you want, but when you get out there on the field and you start getting into the heat of a competition, you have to figure out as a coach, what makes a guy tick the The opposite, how to calm a guy down,

Starting point is 00:27:26 how to best get your message through to that player. And with a whole new coaching staff, and with a third of your 90-man roster being, you know, new to New England, it's gonna take some time. And that's a big challenge. It's a big challenge for this staff. It's a big challenge to divvy up the opportunity. Who's going to get reps?

Starting point is 00:27:49 When are they going to get reps? You've got to make sure that you move a guy up, so to speak, on the depth chart at the right time. How do you divvy up the opportunity? If you got 10, 11, 12 receivers out there battling for their lives. You got Jaylen Polk and Jayvon Baker battling for a roster spot. Kayshon Booty battling for a roster spot. You got to make sure you give guys the opportunity that they've earned and then you've got to make some pretty hard decisions because if you have some heated competition it's going to be some very tough decisions that you're going to make. And just like we've got to be patient, letting this team grow together during camp,

Starting point is 00:28:32 the coaches also have to show some patience. Vrabel does not like, no coach likes, mistake football, right? He's going to have to be patient and understand with so many new faces on this roster, so many new faces working together for the first time on this coaching staff with so much youth, you got to have the right amount of patience to make sure that you give this meal enough time to cook in the oven. Fascinating to watch it all play out. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Let me know your thoughts on today's topics. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel.

Starting point is 00:29:18 Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today for your second listen. Check out Lockdown NFL Scouting. The NFL draft, of course, is donezo, but the roster moves, the news, it all keeps going. Hosts Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this off season. Find Locked On NFL Scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Drake Maye: “PUMPED” By New England Patriots Offseason

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