Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - ESPN Analyst Trashes Patriots' Offensive Weapons | Is There Any Hope?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Even though one NFL analyst paints a grim picture for the past skill position players in 2025. I have hope that's what 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 Network, your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I am your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, also host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Medard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles and a sports talk show host veteran. On today's episode, a surprise candidate to start at left guard, maybe, and we tell you why patients might just pay off with one of the team's biggest needs. But first, more national shade for the local franchise. We appreciate you

Starting point is 00:00:55 joining the show, making us your first listen and for being an everyday or the lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. And of course, this week, we're going all five days moving forward. We're going all five days, Monday through Friday, your daily Patriots podcast, right here, lock it in with lockdown. And today's episode is brought to you by Fandool. Right now,

Starting point is 00:01:21 new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. There is tangible optimism about this football team. There's also optimism about this offense, but there's one analyst that I want to talk about today who is pumping the brakes on this Patriots offense and their skilled position players. And that one analyst is highly respected, very analytical, works for ESPN. His name is Bill Barnwell. Barnwell ranked all 32 teams when it comes to skill position groups. And the Patriots were ranked 30th in the NFL by Barnwell.

Starting point is 00:02:05 Last time I checked, there are 32 teams in the league. So Bill Barnwell tells us that the Patriots have the third worst skill position groups, groupings in the NFL. When you look back at 2024, the Patriots ranked 31st. So as bad as last year was, Barnwell says the Patriots have only improved by one spot. You go back to 2023, the Pats were ranked 26th. So it's been bad.

Starting point is 00:02:35 It's been bad from 23 to 24 to now, according to Barnwell, 25. And here's what Bill Barnwell wrote in his column about the Patriots. There isn't really a plan B for the lead receiver without Stefan Diggs in the mix. Mack Hollins and Pop Douglas are complementary players. Rookie third rounder Kyle Williams is not entering the league as a complete receiver who can win at all levels. Jalen Polk had an unbelievably bad rookie season. So wide receivers, Barnwell, not high on them. How about running backs? Ramon Drey Stevenson has struggled with efficiency in a

Starting point is 00:03:13 lead role over the past two seasons. He also fumbled a whopping seven times on 240 touches last season. rookie second rounder Trevion Henderson might not have the size to absorb a full time workload. I'm not going to sit here and tell last season, rookie second rounder Trevion Henderson might not have the size to absorb a full time workload. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it is totally unfair for Barnwell to rank the Patriots skill position groups towards the bottom of the league. I actually think it's not 100% unfair.

Starting point is 00:03:39 There is some reason behind this. The Patriots need a big impact. This rookie class, they need Will Campbell to prove he's a starting left tackle, and not only a starting left tackle, but at least an average starting left tackle. They need Henderson to prove that he can have consistent impact week in and week out at the NFL level and stay healthy. They need Kyle Williams to show the world and prove that he could be a legitimate NFL wide receiver and he can help where this team needs to help, which is verticality going downfield being that X receiver.

Starting point is 00:04:17 This rookie class there's so much pressure on them to justify being picked and to help this offense, not in three months, not in four months, but at least by the end of month number one. So when you're banking on a rookie class, as much as the Patriots need to bank on this rookie class to help their offense, it's okay to ask the questions. It's reasonable to wonder if the Patriots have enough. Then you look at wide receiver, we've gone through this, but digs in his 30s, coming back from an ACL, Kendrick Bourne coming back from the ACL last year. Now says he's ready, he's physically able, but will he be assignment right? He has struggled at times

Starting point is 00:05:06 being at the right place the right time. Pop Douglas, his size, his frame, can he give you as many snaps as you want him to? If you push him to the outside, can he survive out there from time to time? Kyle Williams, we went through that. Polk, Baker, are they even on this team by week one? Kayshon Booty, not consistent downfield, was in the trade rumors leading up to the draft. So wide receiver, lots of questions. I like the running back room. I think Ramon J. Stevenson is better than he's given credit for.

Starting point is 00:05:39 I think Henderson is going to be good. I think Antonio Gibson is good. Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper solid, not great solid veterans that are yes, long the tooth, but they've been productive. They were productive last year so, but there is some reason to ask questions and there is some reason

Starting point is 00:05:58 for hesitation as far as how good this offense can be, but I have hope. and I will tell you why I have hope. I don't believe that all of these skilled position issues the last couple of years have been on the skilled position players. I think there's been other forces at work. The offensive line has been dreadful. And I don't know how many skilled position groups

Starting point is 00:06:24 could produce consistent football With as bad as the offensive line has been for the Patriots both in 23 and 24 The offensive line should be better this season might not be great should be better About quarterback play. Do you think quarterback play impacts the wide receivers the tight ends and the running backs apps are freaking loosely impacts the wide receivers, the tight ends and the running backs, apps are freaking lootly. Mac Jones was dreadful in 23. Bailey Zappi wasn't much better. Then last year you started with Jacoby Brissett who wasn't good and then you had a rookie quarterback and Drake May trying to figure out what he could do at the NFL level. And then you have the coaching questions. Alex van Pelz, the OC last year, plenty of questions about him. You had just a number of different wide receiver

Starting point is 00:07:11 coaches over the past couple of years that we have questioned from the wide receivers coach to the assistant wide receiver coaches, whether it was Troy Brown or was it Tyler Hughes, who never coached a position in the NFL before last season? The offensive line coaching? Adrian Clem and some of the other questions we've had over the past few years. So there have been legitimate questions about the coaching, the O-line, and the quarterback play that directly impacts how good your skill position groups can be.

Starting point is 00:07:43 And so it stands to reason, if you got better at OC, and I think you did, I think you got much better. If you got better on the online, which I think you did, and your quarterback is getting ready for year two after showing flashes and shows future franchise quarterback potential, it stands to reason that that should positively impact the rest of the skill position groups.

Starting point is 00:08:04 And I think that's precisely what's going to happen. So I have hope that the surroundings for these skill position players is better in twenty five than it was in twenty three and twenty four. And because of that, the twenty five positions, skill groups will be will be better than they were the prior two years. I also think because you have so many young players you're going to develop throughout the season. As the season goes on I expect Henderson to get better. As the season goes on I expect Williams to have a bigger role in this

Starting point is 00:08:39 offense. As the season goes on I expect Will Campbell to be better. I expect Jared Wilson to eventually be your starting center. And yes, I expect Drake May to elevate his game. I think he will be better in year two, and I think he will do a better job of elevating the talent around him in year two, because he'll have a better offensive line and he'll have a much, much better offensive coordinator.

Starting point is 00:09:02 You will see this offense improve. You will see these skilled position groups improve over time. And by the end of the year, this offensive line sprinkled in with some young guys will be as good as it's been since going back to 2022. So Bill Barnwell, I think you have good reason. I understand why you would doubt the skilled position groups. I've had to watch this team. I understand watching it week to week, how bad it has been. And I get the questions that you have

Starting point is 00:09:36 about the wide receiver room. I truly understand it. However, I've got hope. And I think a lot of Patriots fans have hope that 2025 is going to start turning the corner offensively for this operation. A local writer has a surprise name that could play a huge role at left guard this season. Find out who it is next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Summer sports are in full swing and whether you're

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Starting point is 00:11:21 And if it's even more wide open now, since West Schweitzer decided to retire, which leads us to this question. Could a surprise name fill a big hole on the offensive line at left guard? I asked this question because Evan Lazar at Patriots.com wrote recently about the left guard competition. And here's what he wrote. It's far from over and we wouldn't rule out Kaden Wallace winning the job. Wallace was waived by many or viewed, he was viewed, he wasn't waived. Wallace was viewed by many as a possible college tackle to guard convert in last

Starting point is 00:11:59 year's draft. Now, this is interesting. Kaden Wallace, possibly filling that left guard hole. We went through a bunch of names before OTA's and mandatory mini camp wondering who could win the job. One of the names that we did not mention was Wallace because Wallace was expected to be tackled whether it was right tackle, left tackle, swing tackle, that was going to be his position. That's what we were focused on. Can Wallace be a suitable backup to Morgan Moses? If something happens with Will Campbell, is there any shot of Wallace moving to the left? Or if you just need some

Starting point is 00:12:35 insurance, could he play both positions on the right and left side there and be that swing tackle that is very valuable in the NFL. But now after OTAs, after mandatory minicamp, we are asking the question whether or not Wallace could be your answer at left guard, and that's because Wallace did get some snaps. He got some reps at left guard. Now we begin with Wallace's size. He is a monstrous human being, which means he can move people in the run game. And if you have questions of whether or not your offensive line is going to be able to create those running lanes, theoretically speaking, Wallace should help you do that. Just with his size and his movement, he should be able to get guys out of the way and pave the way for Stevenson and Henderson and Gibson. And it's not just overall height and weight.

Starting point is 00:13:30 It is also the length of Kayden Wallace. When you look at it, and I know we talked a lot about arm length with the Will Campbell, whether or not he could survive in the NFL with the arm length he has and the wingspan that he has. But Campbell's not the only one that has some questions when it comes to wingspan. Garrett Bradbury, who right now is your projected starting center, also has questions about his length and his wingspan. And this is something that Evan Lazar brought up, which I thought was a great point in his

Starting point is 00:14:03 article at Patriots.com. Campbell 77 and 3 8 swing span and Bradbury 76 and a half inch wing span are both narrower body types at their respective positions. Thus having a larger left guard who takes up more space such as Wallace could make sense. And I do think that makes sense. If you've got smaller framed left tackle, smaller framed center, put a bigger framed left guard in the middle of those two guys, the meat and the sandwich. Right.

Starting point is 00:14:38 Put that guy in the middle and it helps at least a little bit correct the shortcomings, no pun intended of Bradbury and of Campbell. If you're wondering about Caden Wallace's wingspan, it is 82 and 5 eighths inches. Again, so Will Campbell, his wingspan is 77 and 3 eighths, Bradbury 76 and a half, Wallace 82 and 5 8s. He is a monstrous individual as I mentioned earlier not only height, not only weight, but also length, and that could absolutely help Campbell and absolutely help Bradbury, but the $1 million question is whether or not Wallace is capable of playing left guard. Specifically, is he capable of protecting Drake May from the left guard spot? That's my biggest concern as we get ready for this season. Is Will Campbell going to be able to hold his water

Starting point is 00:15:37 at left tackle and pass pro? Brad Berry was god-awful in pass protection last year with Minnesota. So if you put Wallace there at left guard, that's fine in theory, but can he actually do the job? Can he actually pass protect from that position? Wallace last year at tackle, if you look at pro football focus,

Starting point is 00:15:59 Wallace ranked 101st out of 140 offensive tackles in past block grade. So he wasn't good last year. Could he be better? Could moving to guard make him better? I look this up, Dan Bruegler of the athletic, he does the beast every year, one of the best draft pundits in the country. And I look back at his beast as he calls it, which is, you know, was run down of all the prospects that he goes through and evaluates, he puts out the beast right before the draft. I look back at 2024 is beast from Bruegler and I wanted to see what Bruegler wrote about Wallace.

Starting point is 00:16:46 about Wallace and here's what he wrote. Doesn't have elite range in his lateral movements creating a small margin for error versus edge speed. Now why does that matter? Because if we're theoretically going to move Wallace to left guard we're moving him in in right on the O line he's gonna move to the inside which means that if his biggest issue in college at Penn State was against edge speed. You are combating that now you are you are trying to take away that weakness because you don't have to worry about edge speed. When you're playing left guard as much as if you're playing tackle. You're not allowing the guys to bend the corner around you. You're not allowing the guys to bend the corner around you because you're no longer playing tackle.

Starting point is 00:17:26 So if Wallace, if you could mitigate that weakness of his in pass protection by moving him into the inside, then maybe just maybe he ends up being a much better pass blocker at guard than he was at tackle in his rookie season. Now we also have to be fair to Wallace, he was hurt. He was hurt for most of the year. Was he ever 100%? Probably not. Missed a huge chunk of the season,

Starting point is 00:17:54 parachuted back in, was dinged up again. So when we look at his past blocking grades, run blocking grades, when we look at his evaluations of his rookie season, we have to remember, keep it in the back of your head that this guy wasn't healthy for, you know, two, three months. That's obviously a problem. And it's obviously a problem for a guy who was as big as him playing on the offensive line. But Dan Bruegler actually

Starting point is 00:18:21 liked them. He actually liked them. Looking at what Dan Bruegler had to say back in 2024 in the Beast, Dan wrote, overall, Wallace needs to continue developing his consistency, but as a smooth athlete with a wide base, punch ready hands and improved physicality to finish. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him starting as an NFL rookie at right tackle or potentially inside at guard. So, Bruegler had Wallace ranked as a fourth rounder. He had him graded as a fourth round pick in the 2024 draft.

Starting point is 00:18:58 And not only did Bruegler have him as a fourth rounder, you could see, you could hear by what I just read to you he thought that Wallace had more than enough talent to be a starting offensive lineman during his rookie season whether that was at right tackle or moving inside the guard and Dane Bruegler is one of the best. He's one of the best. But my other question is do you trust Caden Wallace? Can you trust Caden Wallace? He hasn't had a very good camp. And as Greg Bedard wrote, the people that he

Starting point is 00:19:38 speaks with in the NFL, they think that Wallace has the talent, but that there is quote-unquote something missing. Can Wallace find that during training camp and can this team trust him to start on the offensive line? I have to see it before I believe it. And if they can, if he ends up being a starting left guard for you, in the big picture that has significant impact, I would rather have a starting left guard than a depth offensive tackle.

Starting point is 00:20:06 And you also look at it aside from Drake May, the 2024 draft looks like it might go down as one of the worst that the Patriots have had. And if you can get Wallace out there starting on the offensive line, now you have May and you have Wallace starting it doesn't make that draft look as bad as it looks right now and if you could go into 2026 saying Will Campbell's the guy left tackle Wallace is the guy left guard Jared Wilson is your starting center well Wenu is still young enough at least four of your five offensive linemen under 30 years old and three of those four guys really young in either their second or third years and that gives you some optimism about the offensive line moving forward. A little more patience might be wise for the Pats to fill one of this team's biggest needs.

Starting point is 00:21:02 We'll tell you why next. This is Locked On Patri Patriots part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day Blue chip pass rusher is a top three need for this team when I when I look into the future and I say if you want to be a contending team year in and year out a blue chip pass rushing edge is something that right now as far as we know is missing now arguably Keon White could end up being that guy. Maybe Kayla von Chesson continues to build momentum from last year in his late run with the Raiders and ends up looking like that first round talent when he was drafted years ago by Jacksonville. Maybe those things work out, but I'm not going to take either of those for granted. So when you look on paper right now, the Pats really don't have a

Starting point is 00:21:56 blue chip pass rushing edge. Harold Landry, 29 years old, coming off of arguably his worst pass rush season. So I don't think you could bank on him for the next three or four years. And for any Jennings doesn't really have a pass rushing pop to his game. So a legitimate, a legitimate pass rush prospect. Now maybe Braden Swinson ends up being that guy, but we've got to see him play at the NFL level before we start writing that down, whether it's in pencil or in sharpie but here's the big news the big news is that next offseason you're going to have some opportunity so in case keon white doesn't hit and is not that consistent guy getting after the quarterback

Starting point is 00:22:46 and is not that consistent guy getting after the quarterback. In case Chason ends up sliding back, looking like the younger Chason rather than the Chason that was in Vegas this past season. Landry continues to look older and eventually ages out of the league sooner rather than later. If that stuff happens, Braden Swenson doesn't end up popping for you as a sub pass rusher, showing that potential that many believe that he has, including myself. If almost everything goes wrong at edge and you're wondering what does the future hold, this team is in desperate, is in desperation mode to find that young blue chip pass rushing prospect here's the good news i'm going to sound like dane brugler's pr agent but again he's one of the best in the business and he recently wrote about the pass rushing edge prospects for next year's draft.

Starting point is 00:23:45 He's previewing the 2025 college season. And so he's getting everybody ready for the 2026 draft. This is what they do. This is what he does. Here's what he wrote. And of course, this is July. All of these things can change during the college football season.

Starting point is 00:24:03 We're talking about how we feel right now. Here's what Bruegler wrote about this season's college football pass rushing prospect class. While I feel great about the seven edge prospects profiled, numerous other candidates belong in the conversation. Can Miami's Ruben Bain Jr. return to his freshman year impact? Is Kenyatta Jackson Jr. the next top 50 pass rush prospect from Ohio State? The list goes on and on. We're talking depth, baby. The list goes on and on, looking at defensive and pass rush prospects in next year's draft. Bruegler continues, which speaks to the high end talent and overall depth of this group.

Starting point is 00:24:54 That should be music to the ears of every single Patriots fan watching and or listening to this episode. Bruegler says that the 2026 draft class, the 26 draft class has high end talent and overall depth at a huge position of need for the Patriots right now on paper. So if you have to try to find ways to make it work this year and you don't have that outstanding pass rusher who stands out, that defenses have to game plan for. And again, hopefully that's key on white.

Starting point is 00:25:33 But if it doesn't end up being white, and it doesn't end up being chase on or Swinson, if you could just find ways this year, creative ways, simulated pressure, sending linebackersers all those different things if you can just get through this season and you can you can build this football team the right way as you're getting to december you're playing better football and there's a reason why patriots fans are excited for 2026 you can go into next off season feeling pretty comfortable with the idea.

Starting point is 00:26:06 If you're projecting this out, feeling pretty comfortable about the idea of finally finding that young pass rusher. The guys that brugler profile. Number one, Eldrick Falk from Auburn. Number two, TJ Parker from Clemson. Number three, LT Overton from Alabama. Number four Matteo Uiangalele. Did I say that right? Uiangalele? Uiangalele? You know what I'm trying to say. From Oregon, David Bailey from Texas Tech. Zion Young from Missouri Missouri Mason Thomas from Oklahoma and those are just

Starting point is 00:26:45 seven names you can include Bain jr. and Jackson jr. as Bruegler wrote it is a high and very deep class so if we've got to go through another season without that young stud pass rusher there is is hope. There is hope to continue to build this the right way, get into next off season and find that diamond you've been looking for. There's hope. The depth of the expected class means if you go into next year's draft having to find that pass rusher, you don't have to reach if there's seven eight ten guys who can make a difference in their rookie seasons at the NFL level you don't have to reach in the first round to get that guy it doesn't make any sense how many quarterbacks are gonna go on

Starting point is 00:27:38 the top ten that will also play a huge role and And with more of these high-end defensive end prospects in next year's draft, that means more options for you, more options for Vrabel, more options for Elliott Wolf, because you could end up grabbing great value at a premium position in round one. You might be able to grab a starter in round two because there's so many good defensive ends. If you wanna go wide receiver in round one next year,

Starting point is 00:28:14 because you think that's more important, then you don't have to feel like, man, if we don't get the edge in round one, we go wide receiver, we got to wait another year to get that young edge. Not necessarily. You could end up drafting a wide receiver around one and because of the depth of this class next year, you could still find that starting young pass rusher in round two.

Starting point is 00:28:37 You don't want to bank on free agency with wide receivers because you know, Mike Evans might resign Terry McLaurin might resign Debo Samuel ages out George Pickens doesn't do enough in Dallas, maybe Cortland Sutton resigns in Denver, Jacobi Myers is getting older, that's your free agency class folks. So maybe you do have to draft a wide receiver in the 26 draft in the first round. But that doesn't necessarily mean you're giving up on edge. So reading that from Dayne Bruegler made me practically stand up and do cartwheels in my living room. Now I also think 2025, this season is going to have a big impact on on how you feel about this moving forward.

Starting point is 00:29:23 If Stefan Diggs revives his career after ACL surgery and you feel like he could be a number one receiver for you in 2026, then maybe you feel better about drafting an edge there. Does another wide receiver step up? Are you set at left tackle? Does Will Campbell prove himself to be a starting left tackle, a bona fide starting left tackle in the NFL?

Starting point is 00:29:44 Because if he struggles, then I hate to say it you might be reliving the left tackle conversation and next year's draft but if Campbell shows us he's ready he said he's good to go, you don't have to worry about that. Maybe Drake may will need more help. And you'll say we got to spend our top pick on more help for May. But it just gives you options. So if it doesn't work this year, if white doesn't end up being the guy chase on Swinson, maybe a little bit more patience will pay off and we'll finally see that blue chip pass rushing prospect in New England.

Starting point is 00:30:22 That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. Also, hit that like button and subscribe. And by the way, the Lockdown NFL Top 100 is being released this morning, this morning, Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern on Lockdown Sports Today. The NFL Top 100 voted on by the NFL hosts, including yours truly here of Lockdown. Some stunners. You don't want to miss it. Subscribe to Lockdown Sports today on YouTube wherever you get your podcast. Have an awesome day and we'll see you tomorrow.

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Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - ESPN Analyst Trashes Patriots' Offensive Weapons | Is There Any Hope?

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