Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Edge Focus: Patriots Mock Draft Features Prioritizing Edge | Day 2 Swing!

Starting point is 00:00:00 We are less than two weeks away from the NFL draft, and our latest mock draft exemplifies the challenges that await the paths. This is Lockdown 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 happening? I am your host, Nick Cattels. On today's episode, taking a swing at a high-ceiling player from a smaller program. Our second segment, Mike Vrable dips into his Ohio State roots. But first, we're looking for the right defensive edge to believe in at number 31. Today's episode is brought to by Fandul.

Starting point is 00:00:47 Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $250 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Head to Fandul.com to get started. In our first mock draft of the 2026 season, we selected in the first round, offensive tackle from Clemson, Blake Miller. And our second mock draft, we selected wide receiver from Washington, Denzel Boston. We want to mix it up here for the third mock draft for the 2026 season. And the way we're going to mix it up here is that we are going to state from the very beginning

Starting point is 00:01:23 that defensive end, edge, is our number one priority. Heading into this draft, we want to land an edge at number 31. That is the priority. That is the statement. Again, we went to pro football focus for a three-round mock draft. And I'll start with the guys at Edge who are gone. Not a surprise. Ruben Bain gone.

Starting point is 00:01:46 In this mock draft, he was selected second overall by the Jets. Maybe a surprise there. R. Val Rees went third to Arizona. David Bailey went eighth to the New Orleans Saints. Then you had a little bit of a jump down to 15. Akeem Mesador went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then you had another drop down to 20. and at 22 and 23, we saw back-to-back edges taken.

Starting point is 00:02:10 The Chargers took Keldrick Falk with the 22nd pick and the Philadelphia Eagles selected Cassius Howell at number 23. Now, if we weren't focused, if we weren't focused on Edge, if that was not the priority for this mock draft, trying to figure out what your draft might look like if you decided to draft an edge at 31, if that was not the focus, We had some players on the board. We had three guys on the board that I think many of you would have loved at number 31.

Starting point is 00:02:42 Max Ihanna Chor, offensive tackle, Arizona State was available. Denzel Boston, who again, as we just mentioned, we drafted in our second mock draft. He is also available at 31. And somewhat of a surprise, KC. Concepcion was also available at number 31. So if Edge was not the priority, you could look at Maxi Hennichor. You can look at Denzel Boston. You can look at Casey Concepcion. But Edge, of course, is our priority.

Starting point is 00:03:15 No trades available to you. So who's sitting there at Edge? That makes sense to use the number 31st pick on. Well, you got T.J. Parker from Clemson. You've got Zion Young from Missouri, who has been linked multiple times to the Patriots. you've got R. Mason Thomas from Oklahoma. Those are the next three edge players on the board, Parker, Young, and Thomas. Now, I'm concerned about Zion Young not necessarily being a good enough pass rusher at the NFL level from the outside.

Starting point is 00:03:46 I do think whoever drafts Zion Young is likely going to move him to the inside eventually. Now, does that matter if you're the Patriots? Not if you think he's going to be great on the inside. you know Christian Barmore's contract. The last of the guaranteed money came in March so you could easily move on from Barmore after the 2026 season. And then you have somebody who was younger. You slide to the inside and Zion Young to play alongside Milton Williams. That could make some sense.

Starting point is 00:04:15 But for me, I'm looking for an edge right now. That's the priority. So I'm not necessarily buying into the idea that Zion Young is going to be an edge at the next level full time. R Mason Thomas, the other guy, I've got to ask a question, do you think he can play three downs? Because right now, R. Mason Thomas does not look like somebody who's going to play all three downs for you. Now, that's a question with Cassius Howell as well, but Cassius Howell is seen as the better prospect. And so are you comfortable selecting R Mason Thomas at 31? And another question for Armeson Thomas is, is this really a middle of the second round talent getting drag,

Starting point is 00:04:56 at the end of the first round. Now, that I think is going to happen this draft because this draft is so unpredictable and it's more a flavor draft than anything else. But if you look at the consensus from the athletics, Big Board, R. Mason Thomas is ranked 47. So to me, 31 feels a reach. So I'm going to look at T.J. Parker. And he's one of the first guys that we discussed right after the Super Bowl as a possibility for the Patriots. And that's going to be my pick. T.J. Parker, defensive end from Clemson, the athletics, big board, the consensus. He's at number 34, so you're right there at 31. Dame Bruegler lists T.J. Parker as his sixth ranked defensive end edge player.

Starting point is 00:05:40 And if you look at top five, his top five already taken by now. So if you're sitting there at 31, if you're Dame Bruegler, the next best available edge is T.J. Parker, six foot three, five, eight inches, 265 pounds. maybe a little heavy. We've talked about the Patriots, you know, mostly liking guys who are 255 to 260. But Draymond Jones is also 265 former inside player. So T.J. Parker closer to the Draymont Jones example than the Harold Landry example. But again, 63 and 5 eighths, 265, 33 and 1 8th inch arm.

Starting point is 00:06:17 So the arms are long enough. His relative athletic score was fantastic. 9.35. that put him 137 out of 2085 defensive ends, according to the relative athletic score going back to 1987. And really what jumped started T.J. Parker's stock for this year's draft. It wasn't what he did at Clemson in 2025, which we'll get to a little bit later. It was the pre-draft process. He was excellent at the Senior Bowl.

Starting point is 00:06:47 He was really good Senior Bowl practices. Then he went to the Combine and he proved himself to be more athletic than people thought. he was going to be. That pre-draft process of showing more athleticism and more explosivity, I think really helped T.J. Parker and put him back into the first round conversation. And at the senior bowl, he showed multiple rush moves, multiple ways to attack tackles, which was another question about his ability at the NFL level. ESPN's Matt Miller writes that T.J. Parker is a quote unquote, elite run defender, As a matter of fact, 32.4% of Parker's tackles at Clemson were tackles for loss.

Starting point is 00:07:31 32.4% of his career tackles were TFLs. He can get into the backfield. And he can also drop into flats. So we know the Patriots love dropping their defensive linemen into the flat every once in a while. Parker can do that. Now, what are the cons? Again, his 2025 was not nearly as good as his 2024. 2025, he had five and a half sacks in 41 pressures.

Starting point is 00:07:57 If you go back to what he did in 2024, you see a player that had 11 sacks in 51 pressures. If you're drafting T.J. Parker at number 31, you're thinking he's more going to be the 2024 version instead of the 2025 version. That's what I'm drafting here at 31. Some more cons. Parker needs to refine more moves within his pass rush tool belts. As we mentioned at the senior bowl, he showed a couple of more moves that he did not necessarily show on film. And T.J. Parker is not one of those elite bend guys getting around the edge. But the projection for me, I'm taking T.J. Parker at 31. If that's my priority, and that is the premise of this mock draft, I'm taking Parker at 31. And I think he is going to

Starting point is 00:08:49 be your third defensive end on your depth chart. I think he's right behind Draymont Jones and Harold Landry, I think he is somebody if Landry is out, if he's not the same guy, you can really plug and play a T.J. Parker. And then you start to look forward to 2027. If you say goodbye to Harold Landry, I think T.J. Parker could slide right into Landry's spot in 2027 and start. And then you've got Draymond Jones and T.J. Parker as you're starting defensive ends for 27. But I think he's going to play a lot in 2026. I think he's a fit. He can play the run. he can play the pass, makes a lot of sense.

Starting point is 00:09:27 So T.J. Parker goes in round one of our third mock draft. Coming up, we add to Drake May's weaponry in round two. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. It's tax time, but for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is a lot, trying to book an appointment. That's not the most convenient. Sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers, emailing back,

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Starting point is 00:12:07 Also, don't forget if you're watching us on YouTube to click that thumbs up, hit that like button, throw a comment in your thoughts on T.J. Parker being our first round selection in this third mock draft. Want your thoughts. So don't forget to comment. And don't forget to subscribe as we start to march towards 10,000 subscribers. That is the goal for the draft. We continue to march.

Starting point is 00:12:29 It's a difficult march, but let's continue to do it. I love all of the support. Can't say enough to every single one of you who will watch and listen to invest their time in this show. I appreciate every single one of you. Continue to help us out, like, comment, and sub at YouTube. All right, now we're sitting at number 63. T.J. Parker selected at 31. We're not going to be looking at an edge here in the second round.

Starting point is 00:12:53 So the needs, wide receiver, tackle, tight end, interior offensive line, notably guard, linebacker and free safety. Those are really the top six needs to me remaining once you make that pick at 31 of T.J. Parker. Now let's look at tackle first. And this is the challenge. You know, if you don't get a tackle on day one, if you don't get a tackle at 31 or by moving up to get your tackle,

Starting point is 00:13:21 then you're most likely looking at day three. The next guy on the board, the way this has fallen for us on pro football focus, is Markell Bell at 98. The average draft position at PFF has been 98 for Markell Bell. So drafting him at 63 would be a major reach. And it feels like you're just staring down that barrel of a developmental offensive tackle on day three. If you don't land the guy in round one, it's most likely going to be day three.

Starting point is 00:13:53 And of course, nobody should be uber confident in drafting somebody on day three at the tackle position who is going to make a difference for you in 2026, might not even make a difference for you in 2027. Can it happen? Of course it can happen. Anything is possible, Kevin Garnett told us. So yes, it's possible you can draft the tackle on day three that could make a difference and impact for you this upcoming year, certainly by 2027. But to me, it is not a guarantee. So tackle, it's iffy. Once you get past 31, it's iffy. Wide receiver, Skylar Bell, average draft position of 63rd, of course, from Yukon. Bryce Lance from North Dakota State. Average draft position at PFF is 67th. Antonio Williams from Clemson, average draft position of 71.5.

Starting point is 00:14:46 And then Elijah Surratt from Indiana, an ADP of 72.4. So those are your wide receivers you're looking at. Skylar Bell, Bryce Lance, Antonio Williams, and Elijah Surrott. Tight end. Max Claire from Ohio State, 77.2 ADP. Sam Roush from Stanford, 91.2 ADP. And Michael Trigg from Baylor, who's at 107.6 in average draft position. Linebacker, Josiah Trotter, is there from Missouri, 67.7 ADP. Kyle Lewis from Pittsburgh, 80.5 ADP. Anthony Hill Jr., Texas, who some had in the first round at the beginning of this process is now at 82.1 average draft position. Interior offensive line. I want to talk about this a little bit later in the week. But the Patriots have now been linked to a lot of the top guards in this draft. Guys that are going to go maybe late day one, guys that are going to go day two.

Starting point is 00:15:50 And it's pretty fascinating to see this, them being linked with so many different guards that are likely going to go day one, day two. the J. Pesontas is of the world. Keelan Rutledge. And we'll start with Keelan Rutledge here. Interior offensive lineming guard 71.4 ADP from Georgia Tech. Jalen Farmer, 87.9 average draft position from Kentucky. The safety position I'm going to hold off.

Starting point is 00:16:17 I don't think you need to draft the safety in the second round. You look at the next four or five guys at that position. They're very likely going to be there in the third round slash fourth round. So I'm not necessarily being urgent about safety in the second round unless somebody tumbles to me. And that would not be the case given this mock draft from pro football focus. The best players available, Skyler Bell aforementioned and trade on Stukes from Arizona, a cornerback.

Starting point is 00:16:45 Bryce Lance is also looked at as one of the best players available if you're looking at average draft position. Now, Skyler Bell, Dane Bruegler, has him ranked as his 19th wide receiver in this class. He has Bryce Lance ranked as the 16th best wide receiver in this class. If you look at the Athletics Consensus Big Board, Skylar Bell is 88th and Bryce Lance is outside the top 100. So I don't love the options here at wide receiver at 63. I'm likely going to wait if I'm the Patriots. I think I can land somebody who is of similar value in the third round that I can get right here. So I'm going to wait at wide receiver. I think it's too early for Kyle Lewis,

Starting point is 00:17:30 the linebacker from Pitt. He might even be a safety. I think it's a little bit too early for Kyle Lewis. And I'm also willing to wait on an interior offensive lineman because I think I can get a guard in third round. I think I can get a guard with one of those two fourth round picks. So I'm willing to wait on safety. I'm willing to wait on wide receiver. I'm willing to wait at guard. as we talked about tackles, nobody really jumping out at me at tackle. I don't want to draft Markell Bell in the early 60s here, low 60s. I think that's a reach. So the pick for me is tight end Max Claire from Ohio State.

Starting point is 00:18:06 Now, maybe you draft another tight end, maybe you draft the Sam Roush, but looking at the pro football focus, average draft position, looking at the consensus. Big boards, Max Claire is that guy from Ohio State. He is a move tight end. He is 64th on the athletics consensus big board. So you're getting him at pick 63. Dame Bruegler has Claire ranked as his third best tight end in this class behind Kenyon Sadiq and Eli Stowers.

Starting point is 00:18:37 So Max Clare is Bruegler's third guy at the position in this draft. 6 foot 4, 3 eighth inches is the height. 246 pounds. Dame Bruegler's strengths for Max Clare. Athletic in his releases quickly enters routes. Swift long strides to eat up grass on seams and crossers. Able to throttle down and make sharp fluid cuts as both a route runner and ball carrier. Tracks the ball naturally and makes adjustments to snare mid-stride.

Starting point is 00:19:07 Use his late, well-time hands to finish tight window catches. Competitive blocker who can wall off lanes or run his feet once he engages. NFL scouts say he works hard behind the scenes. Sounds like a prototypical Mike Vrable tight end. And the fact that Max Clear comes from Ohio State, you'd have to imagine that Vrable has a great read on the player and the person in this situation. Seems crossers, mostly a chain mover. What are the cons from Max Clear?

Starting point is 00:19:40 He has not done any athletic testing. That's an issue. He's also not great in run blocking. He's serviceable. Maybe he gets a little bit better, but it's hard to imagine him being anything above average when it comes to run blocking, which isn't the end of the world. If you have him as the move tight end and you've got somebody like Julian Hill or somebody else down the road

Starting point is 00:20:02 to be your blocking tight end, your Y guy. But right now, Max Claire is not going to be moving a ton of people in the run game consistently. And the productivity at Ohio State, yet Max Claire, he averaged less than four targets a game at the college level. So this is another projection pick. But Max Claire is there at 63. He is the pick, the tight end from Ohio State. You have now addressed tight end and edge in the first two rounds.

Starting point is 00:20:35 We're not done swinging on offense, though. And in the third round, we take a hack for the fences. That's next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. The NBA playoffs are here where every possession matters, every matchup is magnified, and every game can swing a series. And right now, Fandul is giving new customers a great way to get in on the action. If you're a new customer, you can bet just $5 and get $250 in bonus bets if your first bet wins.

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Starting point is 00:21:58 All right. So we filled the edge need. We filled the tight end need that priorities sitting here in round three at number 95 overall. Tackle, still on the priority list, wide receiver, a guard, linebacker, free safety. So we're talking late third round. We're talking late day two. That's the pick here. Now, there's a fascinating wide receiver available.

Starting point is 00:22:26 Ted Hurst from Georgia State. His average draft position is 90.7 on the consensus big board at the athletic. He is 73rd. Dame Bruegler has him ranked as his 13th wide receiver. Again, last segment we talked about Bryce Lance being 16th for Bruegler, Skyler Bell being 19th for Bruegler. So Dame Bruegler is higher on Ted Hurst than those other two wide receivers. If we're looking at best player available at tackle, guess what?

Starting point is 00:22:56 Markell Bell is on the board. Interior offensive line guard, Billy Shroth from Notre Dame. I know a decent amount about him. Safety, Genesis Smith is the best player available at that position. Linebacker Keishon Elliott. So Markele Bell, Billy Shrower. Genesis Smith and Keishon Elliott at tackle, guard, safety, linebacker, respectively. I'm willing to wait on the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:23:23 I know I sound like a broken record, but once I get past that first round, I don't think there's a huge difference in the type of offensive lineman that you can get at 95, then you can get in the fourth round with your two fourth round picks. And with the two fourth round picks, you also have the ability to move up in the fourth round. So if you like a Markell Bell, maybe you can move up a few spots in the fourth round, draft bell. So I'm not going to show the urgency on the offensive line. I think I can wait. I think I can get a similar level of talent in the fourth round that I can at this point. So I'm going to take the big swing. I am going to take the big swing. And I am going to draft

Starting point is 00:24:01 wide receiver Ted Hurst from Georgia State. Six foot four, two hundred and six pounds. You want to talk about athleticism, top notch athleticism. Again, 64206. His relative athletic score was a 9.9, which puts him 40th, 40th at wide receiver out of around 4,000 receivers that have been charted with a relative athletic score since 1987. We are truly talking about a top-tier athlete at 64206. He is that big outside X receiver. He ran a 4-4-240, 64-60, 4-4-2-40. Dane Brugler has a note in The Beast.

Starting point is 00:24:44 Ted Hurst has 34 catches of 20 plus yards over the past two seasons, which is number one in all of the FBS. This is arguably the best downfield receiver from a productivity standpoint the last two years in college football. He high points. He high points to football. He has the catch radius that we've heard Mike Vrable talk an awful lot about. Dame Bruegler also points out. that 70.9% of Ted Hurst's receptions were for a first down or a touchdown. Crazy.

Starting point is 00:25:24 And he turns 22 in July. So he's still young. He's going to be 21 when he gets drafted. So what are the cons to Ted Hurst? Well, number one, small program, right? Georgia State. It's not like he's playing in the SEC or the Big Ten. And that level of competition, it's going to be a bigger jump for Hurst than other

Starting point is 00:25:44 receivers when they get to the NFL. So the smaller program, Ted Hurst also needs to improve against press coverage, man press coverage on the outside. He's going to have some issues with that. He doesn't have great play strength, so to speak. So he's got to get better against press coverage. He's also had some trouble with drops. He's dropped the football from time to time, which is obviously not idea when you are a receiver.

Starting point is 00:26:09 And he has not been asked to run a ton of different routes. kind of is what it is with Ted Hurst. Now, does that mean he can't run those other routes? No, it just means he wasn't asked to do that at Georgia State. With the AJ Brown deal up in the air, if you're drafting, and you're not sure you're going to land AJ Brown from Philly, even though I think it's more likely than not, given the reporting and given the fact that the Eagles continue to add receivers

Starting point is 00:26:35 this offseason. But with the AJ Brown deal up in the air, you know, I am, I'm less desperate for a wide receiver as you develop Ted Hurst to take over in 2027. So with that deal up in the air, you draft a guy, you can roll out Matt Collins and Romeo Dobbs and Kishon Booty and maybe even some Kyle Williams on the outside for 2026. You give Ted Hurst some time to develop and then maybe by the middle of this year towards the end of the year, he's starting to make some plays. And then now you're ready for 2027, Kayshaun Booty walking into the final year of his contract, Mack Hollins walking into the final year of his contract,

Starting point is 00:27:16 maybe you've got your answer in Ted Hurst in 2027 as that, you know, bigger-bodied X boundary guy, 64206 with a 9.9 relative athletic school. And when you look at this draft overall, again, pick number one was T.J. Parker, defensive end from Clemson. Pick number two was Max Claire, tight end from Ohio State. and my third pick was Ted Hurst from Georgia State.

Starting point is 00:27:41 I don't necessarily love this draft because I have not addressed tackle or guard, which feels like the Patriots want to address both of those spots relatively early in this draft if you try to read the tea leaves of who they've been talking to and who they've had visits with. T.J. Parker also, look, he might be limited. He might be limited in his pass rush at the NFL. Can he be the guy from 24, not the guy from 25? there's still some question. And Max Claire felt more like a pick that was out of necessity instead of drafting the best player

Starting point is 00:28:15 that I could have drafted in that spot at 63. But this is why we have these exercises. This is why you say if you're going to be, you know, totally sold on edge at 31, that's the pick you want to make. That's the priority. And you have somebody who is worth picking at 31 like T.J. Parker, how does that impact the rest of your draft? Well, we saw some of it in this mock draft.

Starting point is 00:28:37 And so it's very difficult. Tackle. If you don't get them at 31, you might be left not getting one until, you know, fourth round, fifth round. So all of this information is worthwhile as we get ready for the draft coming up next week. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen for being an every day. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio.

Starting point is 00:29:02 And 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, add free, plus members-only Discord access and more at the Lockdown Patriots. com or check the link in the show notes to learn even more. Have a great day, and we will see you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Edge Focus: Patriots Mock Draft Features Prioritizing Edge | Day 2 Swing!

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