Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Drake Maye's Gunslinger Spirit Crushed by Patriots' Approach? | Parsons Trade?

Episode Date: August 20, 2025

Patriots' QB Drake Maye faces a crucial crossroads. Can the coaching staff strike the perfect balance between caution and unleashing his playmaking potential?Nick Cattles dissects Maye's development, highlighting the risks of over-conservative play. The discussion shifts to a potential game-changing trade for Cowboys star Micah Parsons, exploring how he could transform New England's defense. Cattles also spotlights undrafted sensation Elijah Ponder, whose impressive camp performance has coaches buzzing.The episode covers the Patriots' edge rusher situation and how special teams factor into roster decisions. Cattles provides in-depth analysis on each topic, offering fans insider perspectives on the team's strategy and future.Tune in for expert insights on the Patriots' most pressing issues as they prepare for the upcoming season.Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPatriots?sid=YouTubeLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL#patriots #newenglandpatriotsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at https://yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.BetterhelpThis episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Talk it out, with BetterHelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/lockedon.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)

The Pats want the best for Drake May, but the franchise could be on its way to making him less impactful. That's where we start on this episode of 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 up, Patriots fans? I'm your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England. host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattels and a sports talk show host veteran. On today's episode, a top insider says an elite talent is likely on his way out and we investigate if the Pats would make sense. Also, a once camp surprise sounds like a lock to make the 53-man roster. But first, the Pats could be making Drake May too timid for his

talent. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listen, and for being in every Dayer, the Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud partner, the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. The Patriots 100% unequivocally need Drake May to appreciate taking care of the football and taking care of himself. But there is a danger. There's a danger of preaching to Drake May so much to be safe, so much to be borderline conservative that you could be neutering your franchise quarterback. You could be limiting his ultimate impact on the field. I bring this up because Dan Orlovsky this week posted a video of May versus the Vikings from Saturday. And Orlovsky posted just preseason, but hope May is more aggressive in season.

Now, there's the video cut up of May, not willing to make a couple of throws that were there. Greg Bedard at Boston Sports Journal wrote about May versus Minnesota. Overall, May was tentative throwing the ball. He barely connected with Matt Collins on another high pass, a play in which he had two receivers, Pop Douglas and Kyle Williams, basically wide open for touchdowns. He took an unnecessary hit on another play where Williams was open on a pass. May should have cut loose.

Should have cut loose. This coaching staff has been getting the message to May. from the very beginning of them being in New England, the message is be risk averse, Drake. Don't put the football in harm's way. Don't put yourself in harm's way. When in doubt, chuck it out. Don't mess around.

And if you continue to preach to the quarterback to be risk averse, that might take precedent above everything else for the quarterback. And in most cases, that's okay. That's a good thing. but not when the quarterback is starting to think too much, not when the quarterback is concerned, maybe even afraid of taking chances downfield in a game. During practice is one thing,

but in an actual game, if the quarterback is afraid to take some of those throws that present themselves downfield because he's concerned it might lead to an interception and he's going to have to hear it from the coaching staff, then that could be a problem. You've got Josh McDaniels in your ear. talking to you as much as he can for as long as he can during game days.

And it just has to be another reminder to Drake, don't take an unnecessary risk. But you have to figure out what is unnecessary and necessary, because when you are somebody like Drake May, whose natural tendencies is to be a gunslinger, that's what he was at North Carolina. That's his natural form is a gunslinger. when you have that gun-slinging mentality, it's got to be difficult to not necessarily be a game manager. I don't think that's what Vrable and McDaniels want,

but it's got to be difficult to make sure you're picking your spots at the right time and the right way. Because May likes to let it rip, or at least he did. And now you see him against Minnesota on Saturday, and he has two throws that he could easily make and should make, but passes them up. And if you're the coaching staff, you've got to ask yourself the question,

are we taking too much of the gunslinger away from Drake? And that has to be an internal struggle for Drake May. The inner turmoil to be that gunslinger that he naturally is versus being the guy who was always mining his peas and cues, taking great responsibility and accountability on the field to not put himself or his team at risk. It's got to be this constant battle right now for him. And this goes beyond May in the pocket.

Let's think about when May extends plays. We've seen some of the best. We've seen some of the worst. Against Washington in the first preseason game, May is trying to extend that play. And of course, it opens the door for a bad decision. in a fumble and turn over. But then you have May extending plays and making plays. You have him scrambling for touchdowns.

You've got him making the play to Mack Hollins against Minnesota. And that was one of those plays that he actually had somebody downfield he should have thrown to from the pocket. But he extends the play. He rolls out. He finds Hollins. And it's a chunk play. So you get some of the best of May when he's extending plays.

But then you have the risk of extending. playing plays and trying to do too much. May has to ask himself, when should I escape? When is the right time to run? I have to remain a passer. The coaching staff telling me to remain a passer. But what happens if I remain a passer? I'm extending a play and I throw off one leg and I make a mistake.

But then you have the highlight play during practice going back a week or two ago where Drake May is rolling out to his right, throws off one leg, chucks at 45, 50 yards down field to I believe it was Pop Douglas. perfectly thrown football for a touchdown. So you see that play, but you also understand that that play at a separate time could quickly become an interception in a momentum changing type play for the defense. The big plays versus holding on to the football, the big plays versus throwing an interception every once in a while.

These are the decisions that May has to make on the fly in real time. and it's it's got to be tough because if you naturally want to uncork it and then you have somebody else saying to you don't uncork it every time and then you start thinking I can't just let it rip every single time now you start thinking and you could overthink and that could become an issue Taylor Kyle's posted Vrable says he likes where Drake May is at but they've discussed not taking senseless hits outside of the pocket and that's another part of this extending plays getting outside the pocket, you could take unnecessary hits. And I agree with Vrable. Everybody should agree with Coach Vrable. You don't want May taking unnecessary

hits. You never want to see your quarterback taking unnecessary hits. You don't want the senseless, you know, violence getting to your quarterback. But the challenge is defining and finding that line. What is senseless? What is not senseless? It's not every time when you're running, or extending plays that you know there's going to be a situation where you took a senseless hit. If you knew that ahead of time, then you wouldn't do it. So you have to recognize that. And you also have to understand, if you're Mike Vrable and Josh McDaniels, that you could take away some big plays from this offense by limiting May's ability to extend

because of being too concerned about certain stuff. You have to understand that. And you're also towing the line when you want to use his legs because we all know. We've talked about it. You want May to be a runner at times. You don't want to run them 15 times a game, but you do want to utilize his athleticism. And we've heard McDaniels has been using some of that stuff at practice. You've got some option play happening.

So when do you do that? because if you're calling plays to utilize May's legs, you're opening the opportunity for him to run with the football. And if he has one big play off of a run, well, the next time it's a pass play, but the pass rush is getting to him, you know, his most recent memory is, well, I picked up 20 earlier in the game with my legs,

so I'm just going to run with the football. So there's a balance here. And there's also a balance here with the offensive line, because the offensive line could create desperation, At Tuesday's practice, you know, May was sacked according to Andrew Callahan six times. Phil Perry had it at seven sacks. And Perry wrote on May's first 18 dropbacks of 11 on 11, that's when those seven sacks happened. 18 dropbacks, seven sacks.

Pressure equals mistakes. May will have the urgency to do something to help the team win. That kind of urgency can backfire because, again, It presents a level of desperation. And so ultimately the question is, we'll may be capable of balancing all of this. If he can, the sky is the limit. But can he balance the gunslinger tendencies,

the athleticism with taking care of the football and taking care of himself? And will the staff, will this coaching staff go a little bit too far and actually neuter their quarterback, 's ability to make some big plays. We'll see how it goes in 2025. There could be a divorce on the way between a top talent and his franchise.

Should the Pats butt in our answer next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. This episode is presented by Yahoo! Fantasy. It's the best time of the year. NFL kickoff almost here, and that means Fantasy Football. season is back in full swing. And this year, Yahoo Fantasy is turning things up with a fantasy football experience like never before. Whether you're playing Yahoo Fantasy for the first time or you're a veteran making your millionth league, you should know that Yahoo Fantasy,

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fantasy.com slash locked on NFL. Adam Schaefter going out there on ESPN making some noise. Shefter said that the Cowboys and Micah Parsons, to him, are headed towards a divorce. He does not think a long-term contract extension is going to happen between player and franchise. And I'll tell you right now, this is the deal that you make 100 times out of 100. If you're the Pats, you're absolutely interested in making this deal. If you find out that Parsons is available, you have to take advantage. You have to get involved.

You cannot pass up a deal for that type of talent. Short term, long term, both. Parsons is an answer for you. And that's why you have to absolutely go after this if it is there to be chased. Parsons just turned 26 years old in May. We're talking about a young guy. I mean, you could argue he is just beginning to hit his prime as a pass rusher. We might not have seen the best of Parsons.

It's tough to argue that we've seen the best, frankly, only 26. And you know that if you trade for Parsons, you're going to get an extension done because that's the issue with Dallas. Dallas is not, you know, upset with Parsons because he doesn't produce. they're not upset with him because of any trouble he got out you know he got into off the field this is strictly about money and this is parsons believing that the cowboys have not taken care of him in due time and so he wants out and if this is truly headed towards a divorce shefter's the best in the business if this is truly heading towards a divorce then you should feel relatively confident that you

you're going to get a contract done with Parsons because I would just have to imagine before you make any kind of trade with the Cowboys, you would have a conversation with Parsons representatives. You would have a discussion to make sure things are set, to make sure that you're going to get the guy signed long term. You're not making this deal unless a contract is done, agreed upon. You can shake on it. You can email each other. You can send a text. You could use the WhatsApp, however you want to do it. You've got to make sure. So we're not just talking about a short-term boost. We're talking about somebody who was 26 years old, who would sign a contract extension long-term. You'd have him for at least the next three, four, maybe even

longer, next three or four years, five years. And because Parsons is 26, he fits the timeline of your best defensive players. You think about, Christian Gonzalez. You think about Christian Barmore, Milton Williams. All those guys are, you know, 23 to about 26, 27 years old. And then you plug Parsons right into the middle of that. I mean, imagine going out there with that defense. All those guys in their early to mid-20s, Gonzalez at corner, Barmore Williams on the inside creating pressure. And then Parsons wreaking havoc on the outside. I mean, so many different possibilities with those four guys.

Those four guys can simply just stop an offense. They could stop most offenses. And he fits that timeline. I mean, long term, if you're looking at Edge, you've got questions. You've got questions right now. Caleb on Chase on, first two practices of the week, before you go into the Giants game, has leapfrogged Keon White. During Tuesday's practice, White was strictly with the twos.

So it looks like, reportedly, White has been demoted. He has been pushed back to the second defensive unit. Chason has been a beast. He's had a great camp. And he has taken that spot from White. And as we get ready for the Giants preseason finale, who knows who's going to play probably not a lot of the starters but if you're looking at it right now it's harold landry and kalevon chase on on the outside those are your top two edge players

chase on a one year deal landry's 29 years old if you were banking on white i don't think you're as confident now with him being demoted to the second defense so maybe they thought White was off to a great start. They thought that this was going to be the beginning of something, but it seems like he has fizzled out. Now, of course he could make another push. Maybe you get into the regular season and Keon White gets going and all of a sudden he's absolutely bananas and you say, man, that was a couple of weeks of a rough patch during camp.

That's possible. But right now, can you guarantee it? Right now, can you guarantee that Keon White is the answer at edge for the next five years? not with being surpassed by Chase-on, as good as Chase-on's been in this camp. So you've got Chase-on-one one-year deal, Landry 29. Keon-white demoted to the second unit. Anthony Jennings looks like he's probably done, whether it's a trade or he gets cut. And if he makes the team, he's going to be at the very bottom of the debt chart.

Elijah Ponder, we'll talk about him in a little bit, a very interesting, very interesting prospect for this. team. Truman Jones. Interesting, but not as interesting as maybe Ponder. And then you got Braden Swinson. We don't know what Braden Swinson's going to be. So, I mean, if you could bring in somebody like Michael Parsons and solve at least one edge rusher long term, solve one of those big questions that you've got in the long term, then you do it. Because you know what Parsons is dude's a beast, a versatile playmaking beast. And because you're also looking at the offensive line and the wide receiver positions, you're not really sure about a couple of the positions up front that we've discussed.

You're not really sure what you're going to get out of this wide receiver core, especially with the injuries that are popping up over the past couple of weeks. You're going to lean on your defense. And so you could lean on your defense in the short term with Parsons. you can also go into the future with those four guys I mentioned a couple of minutes ago, knowing that your defense with that type of talent should be very good for multiple years, which affords you some time to if you don't have the answers in the wide receiver room, if you don't have the answers on the offensive line for all five,

it gives you some time that you lean on your defense and you start to upgrade at those other spots offensively. So eventually within the next year, 18 months, you feel like you are a playoff team. Now it's going to cost you a lot. We're talking premier cost. And Frank Schwab recently wrote about the Kaleel Mack trade because that's probably what you're looking at. Mac was 27 defensive player of the year in 2016. Parsons has not been a defensive player of the year. Mac was a two-time first team all pro before that trade to Chicago.

Parsons has been a two-time first-team All-Pro. And of course, when Chicago acquired Khalil Mack, he was signed to an extension. That was the richest ever for a defensive player. Chicago sent two firsts, a third, and a sixth. The Raiders actually sent Mack a second and a conditional fifth. So in essence, if you're making that deal for Parsons, Parsons is your first round pick in 2026, while you give up a first, a third, and a sixth, but you get back a second and a conditional fifth round pick.

And I think you got some wiggle roomy for the Patriots because the Patriots have not one but two fourth round picks in 2026, and they have two sixth round picks in 20206. So if you want to recoup that third round pick, you could probably make a trade over draft weekend and slide up to the third round given the ammo that you have in the back pocket right now. So, you know, I would absolutely, I would absolutely make a deal like that if I were the Patriots and Micah Parsons is actually, in reality, going to be available.

He lifts your ceiling and your floor. And it's a statement to the league. You're letting everybody know in the NFL that you're not messing around. You're trying to win. You're not afraid of giving up assets. You're not afraid of paying the money. That is a statement. And you could also use Parsons to help you recruit other players.

Are players going to turn down the opportunity to play in New England if the Patriots go out there and acquire Michael Parsons? I think it would be less likely that those players would say that. A camp surprise now seems like a roster lock, and we're not talking about Efton Chisholm. Find out who we're talking about next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Have you ever decided at the last minute? to head to a ballgame with friends or family. Maybe it's a game day.

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And the more you read about Elijah Ponder, the more you hear about him, the more it feels like the Patriots might have found another UDFA gem. We think about Efton Chisholm in what he's done as an undrafted free agent. On the defensive side, Ponder is opening a lot of eyes. Now, who is Elijah Ponder? He's got tools. His relative athletic score was a 9.70 coming out for the draft. That was the 62nd highest RAS out of 2012 defensive ends going back to 1987. So he is incredible.

athletic you think about edge rushers you think about some of the best athletes on the field so for ponder to be the 62nd best highest r a s at that position since 1987 tells you how truly athletic this young man is and dame brugler of the athletic actually had ponder with a sixth to seventh round grade so he did not think Ponder was going to be a UDFA. Here's what Brugler wrote on Ponder in The Beast. Of course, Ponders from Cal Poly. A two-star recruit. He bypassed a few FBS offers, Colorado State, San Jose State, to sign with FCS Cal Poly.

Ponder played a hybrid edge role throughout college, both standing up and putting his hand in the dirt, and ranks third in school history with 26-5 career sacks. You think about, you know, standing up, putting your hand in the dirt, you're talking versatility, and we know that Vrable and Terrell Williams love versatility on their defensive line. Back to Bruegler. Quick off the ball. Ponder can threaten the corner or work across the faces of blockers inside. Overall, Ponder doesn't always play up to his testing numbers, but he rushes with an initial and late burst to affect

the quarterback. When I read or hear about a guy coming out into the draft and someone like Bruegler says, he doesn't always play up to his athleticism. He always doesn't play up to, you know, the standards of those numbers and what they would tell you, what he should be. First, I think, well, the guy is just a raw athlete, right? He's, he's a piece of clay that has yet to be molded. And then I got some other questions. Is it a motor problem?

I mean, you could be a great athlete, but if you don't have a motor that keeps on ticking through a football game, that's going to be a problem. So is it the motor? Then I think about a player like Ponder who has that freak athleticism, who turned down, as Bruegler wrote, he turned down a few FBS offers and ended up playing in the FCS. Is a player like that getting bored? Now, that's not an excuse. But sometimes when you're a freak athlete and you are so much better than the person across from you and you're younger, you could tend to get. a little bit bored. So was there a lack of a motor? Was he bored? Or was it coaching? Did the coaching

at the FCS level not get as much out of ponder as they should have? Because I'll tell you, Mike Smith, outside linebackers coach, pass rush specialists for the Patriots, he spoke to the media on Tuesday, and Mike Smith loves himself, loves himself, some ponder. Mark Daniels, Posted this, Smith calls Ponder, one of the best undrafted players he's been around. Mike Smith said he got goosebumps talking about Ponder. The man said he got goosebumps. Mike Smith played in the NFL. He's been around a lot of great players.

He's been around a lot of very, very good pass rushers. And he's saying he gets goosebumps talking about this young man. Taylor Kyle's posted, Smith says, the UDFA has a veteran presence to him and has an extremely bright future. Yeah, when your positional coach is talking like that about you, you should feel really good about making the 53-man roster coming out of camp as a UDFA. I mean, Mike Smith is throwing bouquets at ponder's feet. Loves them.

And, you know, we talked about last segment, the issue with the edge position, you know, do you really have a long-term answer there? Do you feel like your young guys are going to be able to do what you need them to do for the next four, five, six, seven years? And ponder's are part of this because defensive end, edge, outside line, it is a premier position. Being an edge is a premier position. And if you think that ponder can make plays,

then you're keeping him on the roster. When your pass rush specialist is walking around saying he gets goosebumps, thinking and talking about Ponder, how do you wave Elijah Ponder and hope that he gets to the practice squad? I mean, is there any doubt? If you have any doubt, think about special teams. Yeah, I said it.

Andrew Callahan posted, The Patriots core special teamers are emerging. Brendan Schooler and Jack Gibbons played on all four units against Minnesota, while Christian Ellis, Jalen Hawkins, Craig Woodson, and rookie Ponder appeared on three. every other guy that's playing as much special teams as Ponder is playing is making this roster, hands down. Gibbons is making the roster. Ellis is making the roster.

Schooler is making the roster. Hawkins is making the roster. Woodson just got picked. He's making the roster. So Ponder's out there with guys who are going to be on this roster, which should tell us. You know, when you talk about players trying to crack the 53, players that were UDFAs, one of the best ways you could do that, find yourself on the roster, is playing consistently on special teams. And that's precisely how Jeremy Springer has been using Ponder.

And Ponder has had a number of really nice plays and blocks on special teams through the first two preseason games. So it's difficult to envision Elijah Ponder not making this roster excited to see him but we'll see if we'll see if he makes the roster but he's out there I'm excited to see him with his athleticism with this defensive staff their penchant for you know letting it go and letting guys rush interesting that wraps up this edition of lockdown patriots reach out to me on Twitter at nixie radio don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel and don't forget to hit that like button give us a thumbs up and subscribe let's

Continue to push those subscribers. Let's challenge these other NFL teams on lockdown the Patriots. Come on, we could do better. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen and for being an everydayer. For your second listen, check out Lockdown Fantasy Football with hosts Vinnie Iyer and Kate Madjuk. Find Lockdown Fantasy Football on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day and we'll see you tomorrow.