Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Evan’s Expertise: Patriots Draft Analysis with Evan Lazar - 4/10/2020

Episode Date: April 10, 2020

With the 2020 NFL Draft less than two weeks away, host Mike D’Abate is joined by Evan Lazar of CLNS Media to discuss the New England Patriots’ plans for the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. The duo discuss the primary options for the Pats on both offense and defense. Evan also provides his insight on some “diamonds in the rough” for New England in the mid-to-late rounds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, you are now locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. I'm going to show you how to make a beautiful and beautiful flower. I'm going to use a small flower pot. I'm going to use a small pot Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and welcome to Expert Friday here on Lockdown Patriots, your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a

proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And of course, folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, and your feedback. Always welcomed and appreciated, and you can feel free to share that feedback simply by reaching out to me and following me on twitter at mdabatefpc and while you're out there safely responsibly and distantly traveling throughout that twitterverse please feel free to follow the locked on patriots account as well at lo underscore patriots folks another week has come and gone here on the locked on patriots podcast with each passing day we get one day closer to April 23rd, the 2020 NFL Draft.

Your New England Patriots have plenty of needs, folks, and we've discussed several of them here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And in addition to your great submissions for the Mocks of March exercise, yours truly and my guest panel of experts such as Thomas Murphy, Steve Balistrieri, Robert Marcello, and others have all sat down to share the microphone with me and give our prognostications as to what the Patriots might do in this upcoming draft. And today, folks, we continue that tradition and then some, because here on Expert Friday, I am beyond thrilled to say

that the expertise of one Evan Lazar of CLNS Media will be joining me today. And anyone that follows Evan on Twitter or follows his great work for CLNS knows that he is one of the best draft analysts in the country. His ability to scout, break down plays, and identify potential fits is second to none in sports media, and it's my honor to have him join me here today on Locked On, Patriots. For those of you working on mock drafts, whether it be your first or your tenth submission, I have no doubt that you will have a sharp eye and two sharp ears on everything Evan has to say. And as this episode takes you into the weekend, don't forget that we have yet to even scratch

the surface when it comes to draft content here on Locked On Patriots and across the Locked On NFL landscape. Because starting today, Friday, April 10th, and running all of next week, the Locked On NFL Mock Draft Special is being featured week, the Locked On NFL Mock Draft Special is being featured here across the Locked On Podcast Network. Now, this project is something that we are very proud of here at Locked On. It's the culmination of every host on the Locked On Podcast Network's NFL channel and many hosts of the college channel as well.

Not only is it a mock draft in podcast form for all of your favorite NFL teams, but it also includes insight from the Draft Network and from the hosts of Locked On NFL Draft and the Draft Dudes. I, for one, had a blast participating in this event. It's a great opportunity to get to know a little bit about all of the great hosts that we have throughout the Locked On NFL channel. And the thing that I love most about this, folks, is that it wasn't a predictive draft. All of the hosts, including myself, are not picking who we believe our respective team will pick come April 23rd.

We're selecting the player who we want our teams to select on draft day. That's right. This time around, I get to play the GM. Expect trades. Expect surprises. And the best part of it is all 32 NFL teams are featured, even the teams without a first round selection. So the mock draft special, once again, folks, starts today, Friday, April 10th, and is airing all the way through Friday, April 17th. Be sure to subscribe to Locked On NFL on Apple

Podcasts, follow on Spotify, make sure you don't miss a show. And if you're already subscribed to Locked On NFL, just go back into the archive and you will find each show in sequential order. So the question beckons, folks, who do I have in store for our New England Patriots when the 23rd pick comes around in the 2020 NFL Draft? Well, I'm not going to give that away just yet, folks. I, as pseudo-GM of the New England Patriots, will be making my selection for the Pats next week. And I'm not saying that there is for sure, folks, but there is a chance that my selection might just be a player that we've talked about here on Locked On Patriots.

And if I've had my eye on this player, whomever he may be, it is a foregone conclusion that Evan Lazar of CLNS Media has had his eye on him too, and probably has an extensive and complete scouting report ready to go. And as always folks, please be sure to remain locked in to the conclusion of today's show for some special instructions on how to submit your mock drafts for yet another Mock Draft Monday here on Locked On Patriots. But before we get to Monday, let's live in the moment here for Friday and the expertise of Evan Lazar of CLNS Media

when the Locked on Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, the NFL draft begins in less than two weeks, and who the Pats will select is always anyone's guess. But when you need insight and intuition, even the best of us need to seek the wisdom of the source that is the best at answering those burning questions. And luckily for us here on Locked On Patriots, my guest today has those answers.

And he is one of the very best in the business when it comes to film breakdown, play-by-play analysis, and comprehensive team coverage overall. He is second to none. He is the Patriots beat writer for the CLNS media. He is also the co-host of such great shows as Patriots Press Pass and the Patriots All-22 podcast. It's my honor to welcome Evan Lazar here today.

Evan, thank you for joining me, and welcome back to the Locked On Patriots podcast. I always love coming on. Thanks for having me. Anytime and the pleasure is always all mine and all ours as well as you enrich our listeners here at Lockdown Patriots with such an amazing amount of knowledge and

the draft is one of your specialties, my friend. You're one of the best in the business of being able to break it down. So, Evan, I don't think I'm overstepping my boundaries when I said it's been an interesting offseason so far in New England. And, you know, in typical Patriots fashion, there's some key re-signings, some key departures, one of which I know hurt us all to our core, but we're going to try to keep this time free if we can, and some low-key arrivals for the Patriots. But the

attention of Patriots Nation is squarely on the upcoming NFL draft. And our listeners here on Locked On Patriots have had their eyes focused on the usual suspects when it comes to positions of need. And let's start right in with the obvious, and that's quarterback. Since Tom Brady announced his departure from New England, there's been endless speculation among the fan base as to who will be his successor. Now here on Locked On Patriots, we've spoken about Jared Stidham a lot, and there is a ground swelling that he will be the guy. But you and I know better than anyone that we should always expect the unexpected in

Foxborough. And for the past few weeks, I've profiled draft options such as Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts, James Morgan, Jake Fromm, Jacob Eason, Anthony Gordon, Cole McDonald, and we've even scratched the surface on whether the Patriots might use some of their draft capital to draft Tua. I know, it's a mouthful, my friend. It really is. But my assessment is that the Patriots will address the quarterback situation through the draft somehow. Because you're as dialed into the workings of this organization as anyone, in your opinion, are the Patriots more likely to address the position early rather than late? And if they do, who might be their preferred target from what you're hearing?

Well, I actually think that, you know, when I look at it and I see, OK, at the end of the third round, they got those three picks kind of back to back to back. And if Jake Frum from Georgia is still sitting on the board after the Patriots make all three of those picks I'm going to be absolutely floored I just don't see how just based off of their track record at the position the things that they look for when it comes to accuracy mechanics decision making those are all things that Fromm checks all of those boxes and yeah he doesn't have the biggest arm in the world. He doesn't have all that kind of ability to create off script and outside the structure of the scheme, you know, to go out there and really become a playmaker all on his own. But at the same time, he has that facilitation kind of gene in him, where all he's going to do is just distribute

the ball to the guy it's supposed to go to when it's supposed to be there and put the ball in a good spot and keep the offense on time and also keep the ball out of the defense's hands. So all those things always point Patriots to me. So if the Patriots pass on Fromm completely in this draft and he's still there in spots like the end of the third round, I'd be really shocked. But at the same time, if the mantra is in the building, let's go with Jared Stidham for one year and let's see what we get out of him. And if we think with him, then at least we'll be at the top of the draft next year in order to get another quarterback like a Justin Fields or a Trevor Lawrence or whoever it might be. Then somebody like an Anthony Gordon on day three from Washington State, someone that I really am interested in. I know they're

very high on James Morgan, it sounds like. Morgan's an interesting prospect, but at the same time, he's the type of guy that just has a cannon, and he knows one thing and one thing only, and that is to throw the fastball, right? He has no touch on his throw. He has very little accuracy down the field. He is just making big time throws down the field with that hose of an arm of his. Whereas with Anthony Gordon, there's a little bit more cerebralness to the position, I think, with him. He has the ability to throw between the numbers, throw with anticipation. He's very good at the quick game and passes that he gets out at under two and a half seconds. He has an 80% completion rate on those throws. So he's the type of guy that at Washington State they put a

ton on his plate they ask him to throw the ball 60 70 times a game sometimes and he's going through full field progression you know he's working through three or four different reads on one given play which I don't think you can say for a lot of these college guys so from Gordon I think that those two guys are at the top of my list for the Patriots, but nothing would completely surprise me with them at that position. Yeah, and I'm glad that you mentioned Fromm. Our good mutual friend Thomas Murphy joined me here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast on Wednesday, and we talked a lot about Fromm, and you know he's been a big proponent of his since the beginning. And he's kind of made me a believer for a lot of the reasons that you have articulated today. His ability to process, his high football IQ, his ability to scan and read the team and read the defenses.

That's something that I've noticed a lot of with Gordon. And I want to give you a lot of credit for turning me on to Gordon as a potential option for the Patriots as well. In some of the analysis that I've done on him, I see that he has got good touch on the football, particularly over the middle of the field. And I think that allows him to test man coverage, give his targets chances to make plays on the football. He's very good at processing. And I think that's something that might endear him to the Patriots brass. Morgan is someone we discussed as well.

A lot of upside there and more of a developmental project. But it'll be interesting to see if they choose to go that direction in the draft. again if these guys are still on the board maybe more so like a from or a morgan and they choose not to address the position in that fashion i think that's probably the stamp of approval that fans are looking for when it comes to the patriots moving forward with jared stidham as their guy at least for the time. Evan, staying on the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots do have a need for help at the offensive skill positions, primarily the tight end, where the depth chart right now is a bit barren at the moment. And the last time we spoke here on Locked on Patriots,

we talked about options on both the wide receiver and tight end. And I know the two names that a lot of fans are clamoring for right now are Justin Jefferson out of LSU at wide receiver and Adam Trotman out of Dayton at tight end. And I know the two names that a lot of fans are clamoring for right now are Justin Jefferson out of LSU at wide receiver and Adam Trotman out of Dayton at tight end. But the Patriots almost always place a premium on offensive line help as well. And there are some intriguing options out there. Cesar Ruiz is a guy we've talked about offline and even here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast out of Michigan. Josh Jones has been a name from Houston that's emerged a little bit recently. Because the Patriots have a new starting quarterback this year, whomever that may be, what offensive position do you believe would benefit most from an infusion of youth

and thus provide the Patriots with the best immediate impact on this team in 2020 when it comes to the draft? Well, I think the tight end position is a spot that I would like them to address, but I just am not crazy about any of the prospects in this tight end class. So that's a big problem, I think, when you look at this in terms of value. You know, this year, Cole Komet or Adam Trotman is going to be the number one tight end on the board. In other years, they might be the fourth or the fifth best tight end in the draft class. So you have to look at it in respect of just what they're going to see next year or what they might see two years from now and where the value kind of works out at that position. With that being said, this wide receiver class is absolutely stacked and it's

a really good offensive line class as well. I mean, there are four or five great tackles in the first round, four of them. The Patriots aren't going to have a chance at. They might have a chance at Josh Jones, who you mentioned from Houston, who is a freak. He is a big dude that can really move and does a lot of things really, really well already in terms of technique. So he's a player that I'm really interested in. I really love Jonah Jackson from Ohio State, also on the interior offensive line, a guy that can play three different spots on the interior center, both guard spots.

So that's really an intriguing kind of option for them. Damian Lewis out of LSU, another interior guy that I'm pretty high on as well. Just a right guard prospect, but when you watch him play, his pass protection skill and his ability to anchor against the interior rushers is really impressive. I mean, there's plays where he just doesn't even move off his base, and his anchor is just completely, you know, just thrown down there right on the spot. So those are some guys on the offensive line I would look at. But really at the receiver position, the Patriots, to me, need to upgrade just their offensive firepower. Like you said, they just need to get more playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. And in this draft, it's truly going to be the receivers that are going to be the difference makers, in my opinion, and not the tight end. So as much as I would love

to say, you know, go and draft Komet, go and draft Trotman, I really think that you're going to move the needle more in your passing game by drafting a guy like a Justin Jefferson or a Denzel Mims, or maybe waiting a little bit longer for like a Van Jefferson or a Denzel Mims or maybe waiting a little bit longer for like a Van Jefferson or a KJ Hill those guys to me are going to make more of an impact in the passing game than the tight ends are but that doesn't rule out tight end completely I would just wait maybe a little bit on tight end maybe and that's a great story and maybe that's all it is but Thad Moss is a guy that I really like i also really like devin asiasi from ucla who runs some really great routes and he's a guy that's got a lot more juice in his route

running than some of these other guys do in this tight end class he's someone that nfl teams are really really high on but the media might not be quite as high on so look for him at like a third or a fourth round draft choice, something along that line. I just feel like when you look at this team, it's basically the same cast of characters at the pass catcher positions as it was last year. And the greatest quarterback of all time struggled to move the offense with those pass catchers. So how is Jared Stidham going to do any better than Brady did last year? Unless we're assuming that a guy like a Nikhil Harry has a huge breakout in year two, which I think we can say that Nikhil is going to be better, but I don't know if we're going to sit here and say he's going to go off for a thousand yards

next year. So I think the biggest thing is, is adding firepower to the offense to just give Stidham a chance. I don't think that what they have right now is really giving him a whole lot of a chance to really blossom and be the guy that he can be. So I would add one of those wide receivers. I would look at some of the tight ends as well. But that's where I would start right now for this draft. Folks, you are absorbing the amazing elite wisdom and counsel of Evan Lazar of CLNS Media. And we've spoken about the Patriots offense in depth, primarily what he just had to say

about the offensive skill positions. Names at the wide receiver and tight end positions that you'll only hear from Evan because he puts in the work each and every day to do that. But what about the top-ranked defense? As we've talked about many times here on the pod, they've had some key members depart. Will the Patriots look to the draft to fill those voids?

I'll ask Evan that very question, and I'll also put my friend on the hot seat they've had some key members depart. Will the Patriots look to the draft to fill those voids? I'll ask Evan that very question, and I'll also put my friend on the hot seat to identify some of his mid-to-late round diamonds in the rough when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Once again, Patriots fans, I am joined by Evan Lazar. And Evan, the Patriots have had a great amount of success on defense last year. That's due to being solid in all three components, a dominant secondary, stout front line, and a versatile linebacking core. But particularly at linebacker this year, my friend, the Patriots have lost some pieces there.

Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Alandon Roberts are definitely the big names. That weakened their pass rush a bit. And for that reason, the Patriots have been rumored to be dipping into the draft to look at a number of options at both positions, both edge rush and linebacker. Patrick Queen, A.J. Epineza, Zach Bond, Terrell Lewis. Those are just a few of the names that I have discussed here on the podcast. But again, the Patriots go against the grain. And defensive backfield help in the draft always seems to be a passion for Bill Belichick. Who should we be watching a bit closer, Evan, maybe a bit closer than others, on the defensive

side of the ball when it comes to the Patriots' strategy upcoming for 2020? Well, the one guy that I think on the defensive line that isn't getting enough buzz for them is Yatir Grosmatos from Penn State. When you look at Grosmatos, you see a guy that's got really great two-year production at Penn State at 34 sacks, and I think it's about over 30 tackles for losses over the last two seasons. 17 sacks, 34 tackles for loss. That was a stat. So those two numbers right there tell you he's got some real production and a big conference, right, with Penn State and those other teams in there he's the type of guy that when I watch him on tape reminds me a lot of Chandler Jones out of Syracuse just a really raw prospect right now with his hands

his punch timing and some of the things that he's going to have to do with his hand technique will have to improve at the NFL level but at the same time when you watch him play the short area burst the first step quickness the ability to play, the short area burst, the first step quickness, the ability to get off the ball, get into tackles frames and stuff like that, and also the ability to move inside and rush on a guard or rush on a center or rush more in the interior of the defensive line. He's got that kind of versatility. There are some red flags with him off the field. He's been involved with a hazing scandal at Penn state that he's been named in a lawsuit about. So they'll have to clear him in that regard.

But just in terms of what he is as a prospect and what he is, the multiple piece of clay, he reminds me a ton of Chandler Jones and he's a little bit more fluid and more athletic, certainly than a guy like FNNZ, for example, who's more stiffer and rigid on the outside, on the defensive line position. So that's the guy that I really like at D-line. At linebacker, Patrick Queen is awesome.

You know, his tape is freaking incredible. But the problem with him is that he's 230 pounds, right? And I just don't know. I'm not convinced yet that Bill Belichick is going to go and draft a guy, a linebacker that's 230 pounds, when he also has Dante Hightower, who's 260, and Jawan Bentley, who's 260. And that's usually typically their bread and butter is those big, thicker, thumping, old school linebackers. So it'd be a pretty big difference in approach. Now, Kenneth Murray from Oklahoma is a little bit bigger.

He's a little bit slower to process things, and he's got some kind of mental aspects of the game that he's got to pick up on quickly here in the NFL, but he fits their mold a little bit more. But the guy that I would look for a little bit later in the draft is Logan Wilson out of Wyoming. This guy, if he was playing at Alabama or LSU or Oklahoma, he would be a first-round pick. You know, he's got the size, he's got the

athleticism, he's got the ability to drop into coverage, but he's also an extremely sure tackler and he's a great run defender. And I think that he's the type of guy that, again, if he was playing at a bigger school, we'd be hearing a lot more about him, but instead he's going to probably be around the third round, maybe towards the end of the third round is actually the sweet spot for him. If I'm looking at the linebacker position, I look at those three guys. Malik Harrison out of Ohio State has to be mentioned in the Patriots conversation because he's just such a Patriot type of linebacker. He's probably going to be closer to a second round pick, but he's an old school something

style player, but he's got a little bit more athleticism than some of those old school guys do. But in terms of the measurables, checking those types of boxes, and the way that he takes on blocks, and he's able to really separate and punch and separate against guys, that's typical Patriots. And he reminds me a lot of some of the linebackers that they've had here in the past. So that's where I would start with linebacker and defensive line. It's a really good linebacker class, in my opinion. The edge guys and the defensive line guys, not so much. It's not that great there.

But at linebacker, I think that there's six or seven guys that the Patriots could take and probably get a decent amount of production out of them. I agree. And I think some great names that you've mentioned. Harrison is a guy that we've chronicled a little bit here on Locked On Patriots, but you went into a little bit more depth on his ability to fit the size of a guy like Kenneth Murray as opposed to

the size of the guy like Patrick Queen, I think is a good insight because it does give a lot of credence to the rumors that if Bill Belichick is looking to move the defense in a different direction, he may look to do it through this draft. If not, I agree with you. I think he's going to be reticent to do that. He's pretty set in his ways, and it's worked pretty well so far. Yadier Grusmanos is a guy that I've looked at a

lot, and I really do like the on-field fit there as well. You mentioned the off-field situation, and I do know that he's working to rehab you know, to rehab that image. We all know, anybody that knows his backstory knows that lost his father at a very, very young age. I believe he was still in infancy or at least getting into a toddler stage when he lost his dad tragically in a boating accident. So we know that there are some, you know, character issues that can be cultivated. Ultimately, New England is a great place to be able to do that and if he were to absorb some wisdom and counsel from a guy like matthew slater for example that might work wonders but the patriots have to be very careful about bringing guys in uh with those types of red flags we'll see if the production on the field outweighs the

off-field concerns last but not least my friend the Patriots have made a pretty good habit of turning some mid to late round, meaning those third through seventh round picks into some pretty good players. And as I said yesterday here on Locked On Patriots, I know a pretty good guy that they selected at number 199 about 20 years ago. That worked out pretty well for them, but I'm not expecting them to find the next Brady in this draft. Who knows, but I'm not expecting it. But in your efforts in putting together mock drafts and all of the research that you've done, who do you see as a potential selection or selections in those mid to late rounds that would be an asset to the Patriots this year that maybe us mere mortals are not seeing right now?

Yeah, so there's a lot of really good names here. So let's start at wide receiver, where I think Courtney Davis from Texas A&M is the first guy I want to start with because he's going to be drafted probably later in day three, five, around four, five, six, somewhere in that range because of how deep this wide receiver class is. But he runs routes exactly how the Patriots want receivers to run routes very snappy at the top of the route can create separation with quickness he's not going to run away from anybody but he's got great separation quickness on those little kind of you know in cut

type routes or over routes or or just quick kind of sticks and stuff like that he works with the guy is called the footwork king that's his twitter handle and he's got great feet he's got the ability to create separation at the top of the route more of like a day two day three guy probably a day three guy in this deep draft the other guy that i would point out at the wide receiver position is anthony gibson who has played some running back he's played some wide receiver but i think he's probably going to be a full-time wide receiver in the NFL. And he's got some really good skill with him too. And then Lynn Bowden, I think a lot of people have heard about him already from Kentucky.

He's played a little bit of quarterback, running back, slot receiver. He's done a little bit of everything. So he's an interesting prospect for them as well. But the one guy I really, really liked that isn't getting tons of buzz at all is Darnell Mooney from Tulane. He's exactly what Philip Dorsett was for the Patriots, but we're going to get Darnell Mooney somewhere in the fifth or the sixth round,

again, because of the depth of this receiver class. He's getting slept on right now significantly because of how many good receivers there are in this draft. He's the type of guy that can really win down the field, both his speed and his ability to make some spectacular acrobatic catches down the sideline. So I wouldn't sleep on Mooney one bit in this draft either. I think some other spots that you can look for, Javelin Guidry, the cornerback from, I'm trying to think, I think it's BYU it is. He's just an absolute rocket. He's a track star. I'm sure people heard about him in the combine. He runs in the four twos. He's the an absolute rocket. You know, he's a track star. I'm sure people heard about him in the combine.

He runs in the four twos. He's the perfect kind of like comparison to a John Jones or a Keon Crossan or someone like that, who's probably going to be a little bit too raw to play corner instantly in the NFL, but he's going to be an ace special teamer. And you're going to have him make the team as a guy that's going to be a core special teamer for you on four or five different special teams units and eventually I think that he'll have the ability to blossom into a slot corner of some sort in the NFL you know once we get to that point the one guy that I will say in the edge class that's not necessarily a deep deep sleeper but

somebody that resembles Zach Bond a lot that doesn't get the same buzz as Zach Bond is Josh Ucci from Michigan. So whenever you talk about a Michigan prospect, people know who he is. It's not like he's one of these guys that's in the woodwork, but he's the guy that I think can really rush the passer. He's got great first step quickness. He's got ability to turn the corner, a tight turn corner with that bend and that flexibility to come around the edge. He has the ability to drop into coverage and play some inside linebacker off the ball. There's one tape that I showed up there on Twitter of him running down the seam with K.J. Hamler of Penn State. He's one of the fastest receivers in this draft.

And he was running right with him down the field, you know, 40, 50 yards down the field as a 245, 250-pound linebacker. So I think that he's the type of athlete that they might like. He's a little bit shorter, a little bit stubbier than what they typically like at that position. But if you're going to get him at the end of the third round instead of reaching on a bond in the first round, for example, I think that that's an interesting name to really look out for. So I always look with the Patriots for those guys that present a lot of good value, right?

Not necessarily the guy that is the first round top 50 talent in this draft, but who's the guy in the third round that they can get that's 75% or 80% as good as the guy that they could have drafted in the first round. That's typically kind of what they go for a lot of the time with these guys. So those are some of the names that I would start with. And one more safety prospect that I would look for is Luther Clark from the FCS level. He has some great range from the deep safety position. And we know that they just lost to Ron Harmon in free agency, or in a trade, excuse me, with Detroit. They need to add a third safety here that can play center field and that can range over from cover one and be able to cover the entire back end all on his own.

And Kirk is the type of guy that can do that and isn't really getting the same buzz because he is a smaller school guy. So those are a bunch of names I just threw at you, but I think those are some of the ones that I've been looking at over the last couple of weeks. And I assure you, the names that you just threw out are names that are going to be Googled quite often throughout the weekend by our listeners here on Locked on Patriots, because I think you've given some amazing insight, Evan.

And again, as only you can do it, my friend, you deliver. And I thank you for that and all of the information that you brought to us today. What can I say? I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to join me here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. I wish you the best when it comes to draft coverage throughout this week and into the following week as we move toward April 23rd. Before I let you go, my friend, please let all of our listeners here on Locked On Patriots know where they can find you on social media and where they can always follow your second-to-none work

when it comes to the NFL draft and all things New England Patriots. Sure, thanks. Yeah, on Twitter, at EZLazar, L-A-Z-A-R, and clmsmedia.com is where you can find all my written work. I have my pinned tweet on Twitter right now is my draft spreadsheet, my Google Sheet that has all of my grades and rankings and scouting reports and threads and all that kind of stuff from a bunch of the guys that we talked about today and even more so on top of that. So I'm hoping to get to around 100 guys,

obviously looking at it through a Patriots prism. So I'm weed out some of the guys at the top of the draft that they're not going to have a chance at, or some of the guys that I don't really think fit their system, and just work and focus on just the Patriot-type players. So hopefully get to as many of those as possible, and at least know the guys that they draft on day one and two. Absolutely. And again, Evan, thank you very much for joining me today. Folks, please, by all means, follow the great work that he does with CLNS Media.

Some of the best in the business work for that company, whether it be Evan, Mike Petraglia, Sierra Goodwill, so many great writers on all four platforms in professional sports when it comes to Boston sports. But the Pats team is one that is very near and dear to my heart. They've been a huge support to me. I can't thank them enough, especially this man on the other side of the microphone. Stay safe, stay well, my friend. And we hope to have you back on here on Locked On Patriots, maybe post-draft to evaluate what the Patriots had in store for everyone.

Absolutely, happy to do it. Thank you, my friend. Have a great weekend. You too. And so, Patriots fans, we put the finishing touches on the week that was here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed today's show and the intricate detail that Evan Lazar is able to bring when it comes to his draft analysis.

Evan is a true professional, one of the great guys in the business, and it's always my honor and my privilege to share the microphone with him each and every time he's a guest here on Locked On Patriots. But on Monday, folks, the expert will be you. Yes, all of you listening out there, because the Mox of March continues here into the profiles of April. And seeing that this coming week,

the Locked On NFL hosts will all be playing GM and making our first round selections for all of our teams, I wanted to put that power back in your hands as well. For this week's exercise, instead of trying to put yourself in Bill Belichick's shoes, make those general manager shoes your own. And assuming that the Patriots are holding on to a pick in the first round, submit the player that you believe will be the best fit in Foxborough. If the player that you

want the Patriots to draft most is at number 23, that's great, because that's the pick that the Patriots have. Tell us all who you want to be a Patriot. You might ask yourself about trades. Strongly encouraged in this situation. If you are the Patriots GM and there's a player in this draft that you simply have to have, give us your trade scenario and tell us why it's imperative that the Patriots trade up to draft this player, or you might also want to trade down in the first round. Don't forget, the Patriots sit at pick number 23. That still leaves nine picks in the first round.

Theoretically, the Patriots could move down a few pegs and still be able to snag that first rounder that you simply have to have. In this exercise, you're the GM and it's your decision to make. So be sure to submit those no later than Sunday night, either to the Locked On Patriots Twitter account, at LO underscore Patriots, or by email and the address is LockedOnPatriots at gmail.com. And the selections that have the most passion behind them

will be the ones that I will share right here on Locked on Patriots on Mock Draft Monday. Because that's when I will be back to bring you the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough. Subscribe to Locked on Patriots via Apple Podcasts and follow on Spotify. And of course, folks, don't forget, you can always listen to Locked on Patriots on your smart device. How do you do so? Very simple. Just simply ask it to you can always listen to Locked On Patriots on your smart device. How do you do so? Very simple. Just simply ask it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. And if you've enjoyed today's podcast, now tell your smart device to play the most recent episode of Locked On NFL so you don't miss an episode of the 2020 Locked On NFL Mock Draft Special.

Once again, I am Mike DeBate. I thank Evan Lazar for his time, his insight, and his appearance today. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Stay safe, stay well, and have a great weekend, everyone.