Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Efton Chism Charging Towards New England Patriots Roster

Starting point is 00:00:00 F'd in Chisholm continues to make a charge at Pat's OTAs. 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 am 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, a Patriot goes down with an injury and an update on Josh McDaniel's adding some wrinkles to his offense. But first, F'd and Chisholm can't stop stealing the headlines the last couple of weeks. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listen. And for being an everydayer, the Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud partner

Starting point is 00:00:58 of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And a reminder, we're going three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday until we get back to five shows a week on Monday, July 14. Also, the Everything Pats podcast on YouTube, we discuss the Stefan Diggs return to OTAs and Drake Mays best practice in front of the media. So you should check that out. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins.

Starting point is 00:01:30 Efton Chisholm is not slowing down. He is not slowing down. He continues to make his case for a roster spot during these OTA practices. Every time you look online about what Patriots stood out at an OTA practice, we are reading about, we are watching talking heads tell us, we are listening to people, even including this one, talking about how Eftin Chisholm continues to make his case, continues to make a charge at that Patriots roster of 53 by the time we get to early September.

Starting point is 00:02:08 Here's the latest on Efton Chisholm's most recent OTA practice. Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, player of the day, was Chisholm, caught seven passes in team periods, most among all pass catchers took several snaps with May. He worked both in the slot and outside, winning on short routes and occasional deep crosses with Bourne out and Diggs and Polk both limited. Chisholm maximized his opportunity and appears to be gaining momentum heading into minicamp. Now the context, let's not overlook the context. Let's be transparent and let's context. Let's be transparent and let's go back and look at who was not involved with this practice. Born out, Diggs, Polk, limited. Mack Hollins was also not participating in this practice. So you've got four receivers and three of those receivers would seemingly have a significant role within this

Starting point is 00:03:07 offense as we talk right now about this roster. Bourne, Diggs, and Hollins, those three guys not working on the field during these 11 on 11s. So we have to keep that in mind. Callahan continues Chisholm being trusted to play outside was arguably the most notable offensive development Meanwhile Doug Kide wrote this about Chisholm Chisholm was a cheat code for quarterbacks He caught seven passes on seven targets and had receptions from all three QB the number one goal when you are an

Starting point is 00:03:42 Undrafted free agent like Chisholm was the number one goal and this goes for any rookie and really goes for any player, but especially for an undrafted free agent. Your number one goal is to take advantage of every single solitary opportunity that you may have. Take advantage of every single snap that you get. It's not on F'ed and Chisholm that Jalen Polk is returning from a shoulder surgery. It is not on Eftin Chisholm that Diggs is still working his

Starting point is 00:04:12 way back from an ACL. It's not on him that Kendrick Bourne was not there and Matt Collins was not participating. It is on Chisholm for what he does, given the opportunities that he was given during this practice and he continues to take advantage of said opportunities. He is earning trust. He's earning trust from the quarterbacks. He's earning trust from his teammates and he's earning trust from the coaching staff. We know he had tons of production in college, but this is a rather big leap for Chisholm. And all he's done with the opportunities he's been given is steal the freaking show.

Starting point is 00:04:56 All he's done. Now we also have to be honest with each other. We've got to be, again, transparent. We have to look at things realistically on this show, or at least I try to. And we have to acknowledge, we have to appreciate the difference between OTA practices and the types of practices we will see going forward. There is a different level of practice going from OTAs to mandatory mini camp. There is a different level of practice when it goes from mandatory mini camp to training camp.

Starting point is 00:05:29 There's a different level of practice when it goes from training camp to joint practices. There are levels to this. And so we can give Afton Chisholm all the credit in the world because he has deserved all that credit, taking advantage of the opportunities that he has received, no pun intended, during these OTA practices. But we have to, we have to be honest and understand that the pads are going to come on one day.

Starting point is 00:05:56 The pads will be on. The physicality will be ramped up. And that will lead to some questions for Chisholm. Here's more from Andrew Callahan. The 5'10 spark plug has superb quickness, an asset in the slot, but terrible long speed judging by his 40-yard dash time pre-draft. That for now hasn't been a major issue. Now this doesn't mean that Chisholm's going to be incapable of doing

Starting point is 00:06:26 what he's done at OTAs during mandatory minicamp, during training camp, maybe even during some of those joint practices against Minnesota and Washington. It doesn't mean that. You just need to see it consistently before you start to believe that Chisholm is going to make this roster, that he is going to be somebody who can produce early in the season, get a shot at least running a couple of routes during a game that matters, a game that counts. We have to see Chisholm with the pads on. We have to see Chisholm against physicality. He's not an overly big guy at 5'10". And again, that 40-yard dash time,

Starting point is 00:07:07 4'7", 1", with the pads on, breaking news, pads tend to slow you down. So there is a clear difference between what Chisholm's being asked to do right now and what he's going to be asked to do on June 9th when mandatory mini camp begins, and late July when training camp begins, and then in August with those joint practices. Here's the biggest issue that I see. I can absolutely imagine Chisholm making the roster. I can absolutely imagine that the 471 speed is not as big of an obstacle as some might have believed

Starting point is 00:07:42 it was going to be going back a month ago. I can believe those things, but it's going to be going back a month ago. I can believe those things But it's going to be a challenge for Chisholm It's going to be a challenge for Chisholm to make this roster because if he can't play outside Then where does that leave him it leaves him inside if he can't play outside and he's not giving this offense that element on the outside and and he's not giving this offense that element on the outside and at 4-7-1 it's going to be incredibly difficult to play on the outside. With his size it's going to be difficult to play on the outside.

Starting point is 00:08:13 So if he's left to be a slot receiver, what does that mean? Well that means it's going to be inevitably Efton Chisholm versus Pop Douglas. Which one of those two receivers are you going to give the nod to? If Chisholm does not bring the versatility of playing inside and out, and he's going to be your slot receiver, that means you're saying goodbye to Pop. And which one of those two receivers

Starting point is 00:08:39 would you take right now? I would take Pop. Now Chisholm, it's not to say Chisholm can't beat pop out as we progress through this camp season. He absolutely can. But right now in early June, I'm taking pop Douglas. We've seen pop Douglas be effective in the NFL. We've seen him do it. We've seen him impact the offense. And so Chisholm, I think, is going to have to leapfrog Pop Douglas to make this team. Now, maybe digs doesn't start week one. Maybe poke doesn't start week one, but off pops history. Right now, you've got

Starting point is 00:09:17 to say that Pop Douglas has the better chance to make an impact in 2025 than Chisholm does. But Chisholm has earned the right to keep an eye on. And I absolutely believe that he is in this race and he is charging to win that race. And what a story that would be. The very latest on a serious injury at OTAs and how it could impact the depth chart. 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. The NBA playoffs are in full swing and every night delivers highlight worthy

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Starting point is 00:10:58 Jelani Tavae went down at OTA practice in front of the media and it did not appear to be good. And I understand that there are fans frustrated with Tavai's 2024. He wasn't great on the field. What he said off the field irritated many of us, including me. So I understand that Tavai, he's not going to win any popularity contests to start 2025. But he is a player that has had a role during these practices, which should tell us he's got a chance and maybe a better chance than many of us thought to make this roster. We'll get into that a little bit later. But let's first go over what happened to Tavay at practice. This was what was posted by Doug Kyd of the Herald. Tavai stayed down

Starting point is 00:11:47 on the turf for a few minutes and had to be helped off by Jabril Peppers. Teammates were kneeled down around Tavai while he was down. Now, usually when you see players kneel down, it's not good. It's a significant injury. It's a long-term injury. Most of the time, surgery is involved. So when I read that and when I heard the personal accounts from the media that were there at the OTA practice of what this looked like and felt like when Tavae went down, I was thinking Tavae's done. Season ending injury. He's not coming back.

Starting point is 00:12:23 But the Patriots actually got some positive news Adam Schefter posted Savi suffered a calf injury that is now expected to sideline him until training camp per sources now. We don't know When he will be back when you say it'll keep him sidelined until training camp is that the beginning of training camp is that the middle of training camp? Is that towards the end of training camp? Training camp is a good six or seven weeks away So can he get back on the field if this calf injury is a significant one? But in a vacuum reading Adam Schefter's post this is good news

Starting point is 00:13:04 It's good news for to vie and it's good news for the Patriots you want your full complement of linebackers as you go through camp and As much as to buy might frustrate you and as much as you might believe that to buy is not going to make this team It is still in the best interest of the Patriots to have everybody out there practicing, to have as many bodies as possible. You want all of your linebackers out there and you want a serious, legitimate competition. We talked about Marte Mapu on the prior episode. He's been playing linebacker at practice.

Starting point is 00:13:42 Seems like he's made that move to a full-time linebacker. Well, you want to test Marte Mapu. You want Mapu to have to beat Jelani Tavai out to be that third or fourth linebacker on your roster. You want competition. Competition matters. When you're trying to reset the culture, and we've talked about it, Mike Vrabel trying to draw lines in the sand with every single one of these players so they know what he expects from them and what he wants from them. And the best way you keep those guys accountable during this time of year is by having some level of competition, forcing them to feel like they've got to be better than that guy that is playing in that same spot.

Starting point is 00:14:26 Competition is what's best for all. The players, the coaches, the fans, everybody. Now Tavai's role, I stuck a pin in that a couple of minutes ago. Let's get back to it right now. Tavai's role might be more involved than we thought it was going to be. Andrew Callahan posted that Tevi has been a central piece, a central piece of the top defensive units so far in OTAs. Mike Reese posted Tevi has been right in the mix at Inside Linebacker with newly signed Robert Spillane leading the charge at the position. We all know Spillane's going to start. He's the guy. He's the the charge at the position. We all know Spillane's going to start. He's the guy.

Starting point is 00:15:05 He's the QB of the D. But to Vi, being a quote unquote central piece to the top defensive units, that's according to Andrew Callahan, who's really good at what he does. That tells us to Vi, at least in the eyes of the coaching staff right now, this might change. Everything is fluid right now. This might change. Everything is fluid right now, but right now, as of today, as I record this podcast for all of you, it is clear that Tavai is in the mix. The coaching staff believes that he can help this defense. The coaching staff is at least giving him a chance to prove that he can help this defense. And there is one specific aspect of what Tavai brings to the table that can help this defense and that is Tavai's versatility. Tavai's versatility could help this defense because not only can he play inside line backer, he also can play the edge. And so if you're in a tough spot, if you need somebody to play 15, 20, 30 snaps on the edge, you can plug Tevi in that spot.

Starting point is 00:16:15 Now of course in a perfect world, we all want Keon White and Anthony Jennings to be perfectly healthy throughout the year, not go through any issues. But it's football, it's physical, there's contact, injuries happen. And Tavai is an extra level of security for that defensive end position. If you need somebody to throw out there and say, hey, look, we just need to get through this game or the next couple of games. He can help you do that. And I'm not so sure the other guys can that are at his position that are behind him because

Starting point is 00:16:53 you're not going to ask Robert Spillane to play defensive end. You're not going to ask Jack Gibbons to play defensive end. I don't think there's a chance a shot in the dark that you're going to ask Mapu to play defensive end. So that versatility from to Vi can help and what this does it and we mentioned it about Mapu and an opportunity finding an opportunity and this to Vi injury opens the door. It opens the door wide for somebody like Marte Mapu to run through the door. You now have your chance to put your stamp on this camp. Wow, that was a lot of rhyming.

Starting point is 00:17:37 But this is, this is the opportunity that Mapu needs. And if he can grasp on, we about FD and Chisholm taking advantage of the opportunities He's given to vise off the field now for several weeks. He might be out for two months. Who knows Somebody's got to step up Who is going to step up? Is it Mapu? Is it Mapu who's going to prove to this coaching staff that I can do what you think I can do? You moved me to linebacker and now I'm going to prove that I can do that. I'm going to prove that I am more than capable of playing this position in the NFL. And all I needed was that Jelani Tavae injury to get all the opportunity that

Starting point is 00:18:22 I could get to prove it to you because in my limited opportunities I was showing you something but now with more opportunities I'm gonna show everything to you everything that I've got with every fiber of my being I am going to give to you I'm going to prove to you that I can do this that I deserve to be a member of the 53 and if it's not Marti Mappu, maybe it's Monty Rice Don't overlook Monty Rice. Monty Rice was a third round pick for the Tennessee Titans in 2021. Ryan Cowden, Mike Vrabel, Terrell Williams. Those three guys were in Tennessee in 2021. And Rice was a third round pick. And you don't just scoff at third round picks.

Starting point is 00:19:11 You expect those guys, you hope that those guys can contribute for you. So don't overlook Monte Rice. He was a top 100 pick coming out of a program like Georgia. So this is opportunity. Mapu Rice, can they take advantage of it? We'll see. Josh McDaniels has started to add wrinkles to the Patriots offense. That and more coming up next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Josh McDaniels, every offensive coordinator, frankly, during this time of camp is constantly

Starting point is 00:19:59 working to refine what the offense is going to be. It's not a finished product. And as a matter of fact, it's never really a finished product because you continue to understand what you do well, what you don't do well, even as you go through the season. And ultimately, you wanna be your best football team, your best offense later in the year. So there's going to be constant, constant refinement

Starting point is 00:20:24 from McDaniels and this offensive staff, but we've got wrinkles. We've got some wrinkles from Josh McDaniels. And he talked to the media before the third and final OTA practice that was in front of the writers and talking heads. And this is from Taylor Kyle's of CLNS. McDaniels with a lot of praise for his coaching staff who he says are even helping him install plays he isn't familiar with. Callahan posted, McDaniels says there's a quote unquote,

Starting point is 00:20:57 good chunk of new plays and concepts in the offensive playbook from assistants with different scheme backgrounds. The plan is to practice some of them today and that was the day of Monday that OTA practice. The willingness from Josh McDaniels matters. The willingness of this veteran offensive coordinator, somebody who is considered one of the best offensive coordinators in football, the fact that he is willing to be open-minded and talk to his coaching staff and try to add to this offense, add these wrinkles.

Starting point is 00:21:32 Now, reportedly, you're not going to get a ton of specifics because they just, you know, you can't post. If you're part of the media, you can't post or say certain things during this time of year. So you can't have the level of specificity that you want, but there have been reportedly some changes to the run game, some different looks within the run game. There has been some passing concepts, according to reports that look maybe like some Thomas Brown passing concepts. And so right now we're dealing with generalities,

Starting point is 00:22:11 but there are wrinkles being added by McDaniels. And I think that should give us all optimism that he's willing to do this, that he's working on doing this, that he is involving his coaching staff. Now, you could be optimistic, to do this, that he's working on doing this, that he is involving his coaching staff. Now, you could be optimistic, but also be realistic. The fact that these wrinkles are being installed during OTAs does not necessarily mean that

Starting point is 00:22:39 these wrinkles are going to be a part of the final playbook as you get out there in week one. You can work on wrinkles, but inevitably the wrinkles have to work. If the wrinkles you're working on aren't working, then those wrinkles are going to be tossed in the garbage. So as they work on the wrinkles and I get excited about thinking of some changes and some of the tweaks that McDaniels can make, we can get excited about that right now, but we have to understand from 30,000 feet, those wrinkles have to make their way into the playbook for them to matter. And McDaniels might look at it and say, you know what, it's just not working.

Starting point is 00:23:24 The ultimate question is whether or not your quarterback is comfortable with these wrinkles If you try to do something new and Drake may doesn't do well doing that something new then you're gonna toss it You're gonna toss it to the side because this is all about May's comfort You've got to run what he's comfortable running. When the games start to matter, he's got to be comfortable with everything in that playbook. So I love the idea of wrinkles and I love the idea of McDaniel's being open-minded and trying different things because you don't know if something is going to work out or not unless you try it. So at least there's the effort, there's the attempt to add some new things, to add some new elements. But if those elements are alien to May and

Starting point is 00:24:13 it doesn't work out, then you've got to move on to what does work. So we'll see if these wrinkles are there when we get to training camp. We'll see if these wrinkles are there when we get to joint practices. We'll see if these wrinkles are there when we get to joint practices. We'll see if we see some of them during preseason games. All right, we got the latest on the offensive line. Back to Andrew Callahan, very famous during this episode. Left guard competition continues featuring Col Cole Strange and Wes Schweitzer. Now we have discussed Tyrese Robinson.

Starting point is 00:24:52 Last week Robinson caught the eye of multiple reporters at the second OTA practice that was open to the media. Well Robinson was out. He was out at this particular practice. So we don't know. We don't know if the Tyrese Robinson experiment was a one week flash, a one practice flash in front of the media, or if that is part of a plan. And the coaching staff has been impressed by Robinson and he was banged up or whatever happened and he ended up missing this particular practice. Maybe when we get to mandatory minicamp next week, he's back out there and he is firmly in the mix at left guard or maybe

Starting point is 00:25:37 it was one and done. So we'll see what happens with Tyrese Robinson. Strange in Schweitzer, what's interesting is that both of these guys can bring versatility. And, you know, Mike Raible talked about Cole Strange and how his versatility is going to be critical to the operation. Schweitzer has played for all three interior offensive line positions in the NFL. So he has, he has shown that versatility. And I wonder, is the versatility of Strange and Schweitzer, is that going to bring more value to this particular Patriots team than if one of those guys actually started at left

Starting point is 00:26:18 guard? It means a lot to have pieces that can be plopped in at different spots along that offensive line. And those guys that you plop in are guys that you trust. So you've got to weigh the versatility in what that guy brings versus his ceiling in what he brings to left guard because it feels like strange and Schweitzer are the leaders in the clubhouse to end up at left guard. Meanwhile we got a Mike Owenu update. Owenu said this about how he feels,

Starting point is 00:26:53 I feel great, I feel strong, I feel fast, I'm ready to ball. And I know even my friend Greg Bedard has mentioned Owenu hasn't looked as in shape. He didn't look as in shape last year. He looks pretty much the same, if not maybe slightly worse during this OTA season. But he does not need to be in season shape in May. He can get there. The question is, can he get there by July? Now, of course, you would love for every guy to show up in pristine shape. You would love Michael Wenu to look as great as he's looked walking out of that field day

Starting point is 00:27:30 one throughout his NFL career. But these guys understand the calendar. They understand that they can work themselves into shape, even though it's not the most ideal situation. If Michael Wenu is in shape in July, nobody's going to care what he looked like in May. Phil Perry posted Awenu said, quote, I'm getting back to an offense I'm familiar with. And that's important. Two things about Mike Awenu as we get ready for 2025 season. Offensive fit is there. It was not necessarily a fit last year for Awenu with what Alex van Pelt was trying to do and Awenu is going to be at his natural

Starting point is 00:28:10 position and stay at his natural position because of those two things if Awenu can stay healthy I expect him to be better this year and more consistent this year. One final note from OTAs Marcus Jones was out. Alex Austin, Marcellus dial both played in the slot. Now I'm going to continue to lean towards Alex Austin being the third best cornerback on this team. Gonzalez Carlton Davis. And then I lean towards Alex Austin.

Starting point is 00:28:43 And I think he's going to have a role. I think he's going to have possibly a significant role for this defense unless he just absolutely falls off as we get closer to the season. I think he is absolutely in the mix. And this is also interesting because, you know, Craig Woodson, this would tell us he's going to play mostly at safety. He might be sprinkled in a little bit at Nickelback, but Woodson seems to be a safety. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots.

Starting point is 00:29:14 Let me know your thoughts on today's topics. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio and don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL Scouting. Hosts Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason. Find Lockdown NFL Scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day and we will see you on Friday.

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Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Efton Chism Charging Towards New England Patriots Roster

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