Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - George Pickens TRADED: New England Patriots Missed Opportunity?

Episode Date: May 8, 2025

George Pickens has been traded to the Dallas Cowboys. Did the New England Patriots miss out on a golden opportunity to acquire the former Pittsburgh Steelers WR?Also, is Jabrill Peppers truly on the Patriots hot seat? We discuss Peppers and others on the defensive side. Of course, it’s only fair to also discuss three Patriots offensive players who could also be on the hot seat. We do just that on today’s episode!Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPatriots?sid=YouTubeLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL#patriots #newenglandpatriotsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!UpworkVisit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free to connect with top talent and grow your business today!Skylight CalendarRight now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to Skylightcal.com/NFL.Amazon Fire TV Stick 4kDid you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

An interesting opportunity turned down by Mike Vrabel and the Patriots. 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? in New England, your New Pats podcast, co host of sports talk show host vet

both on the offensive and and defensive side of the Patriots decided to pass player. We appreciate you making us your first lis day or the lockdown Patri proud partner of the lock Your team every day. And brought to you by game ti

game time app, create an code locked onFL for $20 off your first purchase. The Patriots seemingly had an opportunity to add George Pickens to trade for the now former Steelers wide receiver Pickens. Now, of course, we know the Patriots decided to draft Ty Kwan Thorne a couple of years ago instead of Pickens. And that became an issue know the Patriots decided to draft Ty Kwan Thorne a couple of years ago instead of Pickens,

and that became an issue for many Patriots fans, a sore subject. Pickens was available. He has been reportedly available throughout this entire off season. And finally, he has been traded. And it's interesting because the Patriots, again, seemingly had the opportunity to add Pickens, which

would represent a need. The Patriots have needed an X-wide receiver, seemingly had the opportunity to add Pickens, which would represent a need. The Patriots have needed an X wide receiver, a bigger or longer X wide receiver who can make contested catches down the field. Now they certainly hope that Kyle Williams will be the guy that can stretch the field vertically and help them out in that area, but George Pickens is through and through an ex receiver. He was available. The Patriots decided to say thanks, but no thanks. The question is, did they make a mistake? Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported the details of this Pickens

trade. He ends up going to the Cowboys. The Cowboys get Pickens in a 2027 sixth round pick. Meanwhile, the Steelers get a third round pick and a 2027 fifth rounder. So it cost the Cowboys a third round pick and a 2027 fifth round pick. Now, it's likely, I want to add this, it's likely that the Steelers wanted a third round pick during this year's draft. Steelers wanted a third round pick during this year's draft They likely wanted a third round pick during this year's draft

Would that be too much because if you trade a third round pick in next year's draft? it's not the same value a Third round pick in next year's draft is not the same value as the third round pick in this year's draft because you know Exactly who's going to be there in the third round. You have all of your board finished. You have an understanding of this class. You've done all the homework. We don't really know how the 2026 class is going to stack up. So I don't want to make this sound like the Patriots or any other team.

Could have given a fourth round pick or a fifth round pick this year in this draft. You could argue that maybe they would want a second round pick. I doubt it. A third round pick in this year's draft would have gotten this deal done, you have to believe. And so the Patriots decided to draft Kyle Williams at number 69 instead of maybe trading that pick for George Pickens or waiting and seeing if you could trade a fourth round pick next year or third round pick next year in the draft for Pickens.

The Patriots made a decision that Kyle Williams was their guy. And the question is, was that the right decision that they made? I think it was. I think sticking and picking at 69 and drafting Kyle Williams instead of going after George Pickens and putting that pick on the table to the Steelers for Pickens, I think that's the right move the Pats made. I would say Kyle Williams over George Pickens in a vacuum in this moment. I wanna look at Pickens and begin with the culture question. Mike Vrabel, this Patriot staff, this Patriot's front office,

they have made a significant effort towards making sure of getting the culture right. Did they get the right culture fit? Did they get the right players, the right pieces? We talk about layers of leadership. And so when you look at Pickens, a lot of questions when it comes to culture, a lot of questions about the multiple incidents he's had on the field, a lot of questions about the multiple infractions on the field, whatever you want to call them. And he has been plenty of times

throughout his early NFL career here, he has been a distraction, he has been a problem, an issue, whatever adjective you want to apply to Pickens. That really just means he's been a pain in the tuk tuk, the tukus too many times. He's been that. And it should tell us an awful lot that the Steelers decided to trade for DK Metcalf, give DK Metcalf the contract that they gave him instead of giving George Pickens some of that money and deciding to bring in another wide receiver

Believing that Pickens was their number one It's clear the Steelers did not want to be in the George Pickens business anymore And they were willing to give up what they gave up for Metcalf assets and money To make it easier to alleviate their Pickens problem Which really should tell you something because Mike Tomlin has a track record. And if I'm the Patriots, I'm trusting Mike Tomlin.

You can go through a number of wide receivers that have played for the Steelers, for Tomlin, and Tomlin has done a great job at times making sure those receivers didn't get in the way. And when they started to be a little bit too much, the Steelers and Tomlin move on. Of course, the most famous case is Antonio Brown. Not many people knew Antonio Brown's issues ran as deep as they ran when he was playing for the Steelers the vast majority of that time. Towards the tail end, you started to get a little bit of word. There were some videos in the locker room.

But nobody, nobody really understood the depth of the issue that Antonio Brown could be for a football team until he went out to go play for the Raiders. And then everything went bananas. Mike Tomlin, he was able to handle the Antonio Brown situation for quite a while before it got to be too much.

Deontay Johnson is another name that you could bring up. A receiver that's talented, believe he's made a Pro Bowl, at least one of them, and somebody who was seen as part of the future of the Steelers. Tomlin handled Johnson for as long as he could, finally had too much of Deontay and said, we're going to move on from you. And now you see what happened since Deontay Johnson has played for how many teams since then, he can't stay on a roster. So if I'm going to trust any head coach, when it comes to handling players that could be

a culture issue, It's Tomlin. And if Mike Tomlin has had enough, I certainly would have had enough of the player. So I trust Tomlin. He's got a finger on the pulse of his locker room. He has a finger on the pulse of every player that is in that locker room, whether or not they're willing to get back on the rails, whether they're completely off the rails, whether they're about to go completely off the rails, he gets it, he understands. And if Mike Tomlin's ready to move on from George Pickens, I am certainly not willing to pick up the headache.

And the other part of this, because you not only look at the Pickens stuff on the field, the incidents, the infractions, the distractions, all that we've discussed, you also look at the picket stuff on the field, the incidents, the infractions, the distractions, all that we've discussed. You also look at the financial commitment that you would be willing to make for Pickens. The Cowboys reportedly are not going to give him a contract extension.

Pickens wants a contract extension. This is the final year of his rookie contract. He wants an extension. But the Cowboys reportedly are not willing to give him that extension. They want him to play out the season. That could end up working out perfectly for them, or it could be a disaster, a catastrophe. Because Pickens, with those infractions and those incidents in some of the immaturity

that we have seen from him, this thing could get even more derailed. Last year of his deal, wants a new contract, the volatility needs to be questioned. Is Pickens going to be on the up and up? Or is he gonna be unnerved by the fact that he did not get a contract? And do you wanna deal with that if you're the Patriots? Of course you don't. You don't want that to be at the heart of 2025.

You wanna focus on football, want to focus on football. You want to focus on leadership. You don't want to have to worry about George Pickens yelling about his contract, going to social media. And I'm not saying he's definitely going to do that, but certainly judging from his early NFL career, that's on the table. The volatility is there. And would you be willing to commit money to Pickens long-term security to Pickens?

I wouldn't. So you're not only giving up that third round pick and swapping late round picks. You're also having to commit to him. If you want to make sure you have him for the long term. Now, of course you could franchise tag him in 2026, but I would ask again, do you think he'd be down with that? So I'm good. I'm good.

I really like Kyle Williams. I would not have made the deal. I would not have committed to Pickens. I'm all set. All right. We have three names on the defensive side that are on the hot seat. 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.

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roster. Will a certain player be cut? Will that certain player be cut before camp, during camp? And so I want to focus on three defensive players who I consider to be on the hot seat. And of course, it's, it's, you know, early May, a lot can change. But let's look at three defensive players that I think should be concerned about their job security here with the Patriots for 2025. I want to start with Jelani Tavae. And I know a lot of people will pay attention to the comments he made last year, trying to tell fans how they should fan, which was a major mistake by Tavae, put his foot in his mouth. It

was unprofessional. It was absolutely ridiculous. He should have been criticized and he was criticized for those silly comments. But I first want to focus on the football. I want to focus on Jelani Tevye's fit within a Mike Vrabel, Terrell Williams defense. And I wonder is to vie a fit because when you look at players like Robert Spillane, Gibbons and Ellis, the other linebackers on this roster,

what you see are linebackers that can play with some speed. They don't have to be super athletes. They don't have to run a four, 440, but they play with speed. They play with decisiveness, speed, sideline to sideline, and they actually show at least some skill to cover and create impact plays. And when you think about to Vi, to Vi to me has been more productive, you know, on the edge, close to the box, doing different things near the line of scrimmage. I don't think he is that versatile, athletic, again, when you talk about play speed type of linebacker that Mike Vrabel and Williams tend to utilize within their defense. So I don't think Tavai is a great football fit.

And then you also wrap up the comments. Now, my friend, Greg Bedard has mentioned there's a difference between making comments to the media and the stuff that Tavai did and being a bad quote unquote culture guy, Tavai is not going to get in the way of a locker room. He's not going to be a problem in the room. But you have to ask the question if things don't start off well in 2025, is Tavai going to buy in the program or is he going to be talking to the media? Is he going to self serve with these comments and, and comments and tell you what he believes should be happening?

You don't want that because then that can create a culture problem if other guys start to jump on that wagon. So Tavai with Spillane and Ellis and Gibbons and Monte Rice also still on the roster. I would say Tavai is on the hot seat. I'm not guaranteeing that he's gone, but I would certainly say his tuchus is getting warm. It's the second tuchus today. It'll be the last one. The next guy that I absolutely believe is on the hot seat is Jabril Peppers. Now he's interesting because you can make the argument that Peppers plays with that violence, that physicality, that Vrabel and Williams love to see. But when you look at the numbers at safety,

a lot of guys, a lot of guys vying for a few spots. I don't think Kyle Duggar is going anywhere. With his contract, it's a big, big dead cap number if you cut him. I believe this coaching staff looks at last year and says that that was an aberration as far as how bad Duggar was due to his high ankle sprain. He had surgery on it. Andrew Callahan wrote all about it after the season was over. I don't think Duggar is going anywhere. I think he's going to be here this season. Jalen Hawkins is somebody who signed a one-year deal last year. Wasn't necessarily great, but for whatever reason, the Patriots felt the need to bring him back on a one-year deal. Little money doesn't guarantee him a spot, but it is interesting. Is he an Elliott Wolf guy? If he's an Elliott Wolf guy, does he have a better chance of making the roster than we might think? So they brought Hawkins back. They go out and they sign Marcus Epps, another safety, somebody who's been in the league for a few years. He has had flashes of good play. So Epps is on this roster. Then you've got Pettis,

and Pettis is somebody who, you know, as an undrafted free agent last year, did enough to play a decent amount considering, relatively speaking, what could have been expected of him before the season kicked off. And he showed up at camp, and a lot of people, including myself, who were at camp, he stood out. And so Del Pettis is back. And then, of course, the Pats used a pick in the fourth round on Craig Woodson from Cal. So you have Dugger, Hawkins, Epps, Pettis, Woodson.

Woodson's making this team. They're not cutting a fourth round pick. It's not happening. So Woodson's on the team. I think Dugger's on the team. They signed Epps, they sign Hawkins. Would you lean towards one of those guys staying on the team since they just signed them in the off season?

And then Pettis is, I would imagine, a favorite of somebody in the scouting department or maybe Elliott Wolf himself. So you've got the numbers game at safety that's going to play a role. You also have the off the field stuff with peppers. I'm not talking about the domestic violence allegations. Obviously those were thrown out of court. So that doesn't matter to me. It really doesn't.

You're found innocent. You're found innocent. You're innocent. However, the cocaine does mean something and And Peppers pleaded to the cocaine. It was his Coke. So how does the new regime feel about that? Is this kind of a wait and see? Is this a test drive of Drabill peppers for for variable? It's it's fascinating stuff.

And his contract is not going to cost you nearly as much as Duggar's. If you cut Peppers. He has an out in the contract after this season. So it's not like you're tied to him long term. And he turns 30 in October. So Peppers to me he's on the hot seat. The final guy I'll bring up. And I did not even mention him in the safety talk because I don't know what position he

plays. I don't know what the perfect position would be for Marte Mapu. But I would be surprised if Mapu was on this team in September. The hypothetical, the theory of Marte Mapu overshadows the reality of Mapu. When he first was drafted out of Sacramento State, you felt like, okay, there's an athletic guy with some size. He can get sideline to sideline at linebacker. He can maybe play a little bit of safety.

He's super smart, right? Great IQ on the field. Don't know him personally, but super smart on the field. But all of that stuff, what you're envisioning, it doesn't come to fruition, because he just can't stay healthy. And the old saying, you can't make the club in the tub. And that's how I feel with Mappu,

you can't make the club in the tub. As great as he theoretically could be, or as fun as he theoretically could be, or as fun as he theoretically could be, as versatile as he could be. If he can't stay on the field, you're never gonna know if he could be any of those things. And it's now been two full years since he was drafted. He was hurt coming out of Sacramento State.

So I just, I don't know what his position is. I don't know how Vrabel and Williams would view him, what position they would see him playing. He has a long litany of injuries at this point. The depth chart numbers are working against him. I don't see Marte Mappu making this roster. He is on the hottest seat of these three. With the defense done,

we'll transition to three offensive veterans that could very well be gone by August. 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. Let's talk about scaling your business. Scaling your business requires the right expertise at the right time. And with Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, development, design, and more experts ready to help you take your business to that next

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your business today. More hot seat talk. Let's now go to the offense. More hot seat potential, I think. There's more hot seat potential on that side of the football You have less guys who have left the team During this offseason to this point. I mean you could look at the defense and look at guys like wise and Jonathan Jones the offense less guys have left a lot of Holdovers from last year's offense on the current roster and you're making the change at OC with Josh McDaniels, you're making the change at HC with Mike Vrabel.

So when you look at the amount of change, there was a lot of change on the defensive side. All of that, hey, Mike Vrabel, Williams, you understand a lot of those guys have connections with these defensive coaches so a lot of change there but offensively you still have a number of positions you've got a wide receiver room that is chock full of guys that were here last year even though you brought new players in with Williams and Hollins and Diggs you still have Pop and Poke and Booty and Baker have, Pop and Poke and Booty and Baker and Bourne and Douglas. I already said Pop. You get the point. A lot of wide receivers. So you look at the running back room, you still have Stevenson, you still have Gibson.

Look at tight end, Henry comes back, Hooper signs a one-year deal to come back. Jaheem Bell is still here. You get the point. So I think there's more potential for veterans to be cut on the offensive side because there's so many holdovers from last year. A lot of these guys are not quote unquote, variable guys. A lot of these guys are not McDaniel's guys. So who's on the hot seat offensively? I want to name three guys for you. Let's start offensive line and let's begin with Colestrange. Colestrange to me is on the hot seat. Now he's not their guy. Nobody, obviously Elliot Wolf was here when

Colestrange was drafted as was Matt Groh, but there's no coach here that has a strong connection to Colestrange. And Elliot Wolf, We have no idea if Wolf drafted strange or at least fought for the idea to draft strange. Bella check clearly was the decision maker at the time. And you would imagine that Bella check pulled the trigger on all those draft picks made that final decision. And so Cole strange, I would say would be much more of a Belichick guy than a Wolf guy doesn't mean Wolf doesn't like him But that was not an Elliott Wolf call. It's not a decision by Elliott Wolf. He's not telling Belichick They're drafting strange in the first round. That's not happening. So strange is is not the current regimes guy Which makes you wonder of his standing?

Is he seen as a former first round pick who has a ton of potential and he's got fans in that scouting department in front office that are fighting for him? Or is it more, hey look, Belichick guy, been here a couple years, been dealing with a lot of injuries, one significant injury in surgery,

we don't know what he is, Let's throw him into the mix. My gut tells me it's more the latter than the former because of the injury history, because of Belichick not being here. And then when you look at the depth at the guard position, I think it's clear that Strange is not playing center. You signed Garrett Bradbury, you drafted Jared Wilson. So we can get rid of the Colestrange at sensor conversation. So you're looking at guard and you're looking at left guard because nobody's moving Michael Wenu. So you've got Leaden Robinson, City So, Jared Wilson if you feel like you can slide him to guard. And Wolf has said he went on record after the draft that he thinks Wilson could play some guard.

You also have Wes Schweitzer, the veteran that you signed, to a short-term deal. So strange, he's on the hot seat. I have to pick at least one receiver because it would be ridiculous to not include at least one receiver in this conversation given the numbers. I'm going to pick Javon Baker. Jayvon Baker had one catch last year for 12 yards. One catch for 12 yards after telling the football world that he was going to make people jump out of their wheelchairs. He had one catch for a dozen yards. Jayvon Baker played an entire NFL season and had one more catch and 12 more yards receiving

than I had watching those games on my couch. That's a problem. Baker seemingly has trouble with the details on the field when and where to line up. We have the off-field questions. When he was drafted, there were reports, one of them by Greg Bedard saying that there were some red flags regarding Baker. Fact that he would, you know, carry a gun at least at one point, if not multiple times during his college life and college football career. So there were a number of off field questions about Baker and whether or not he had the maturity to play in the NFL. And then last year, you also had some of the off the field stuff, you had some maturity

stuff, some questions there. Is that something that variable is interested in? Probably not. I would imagine it's a very short leash for Jayvon Baker, which is why he's on the hot seat to me. And then you look, you know, last year when you drafted Baker in a perfect world, the thought was, I let's play Jayvon Baker at X. He's the outside guy. He can get downfield. He can make some great catches downfield with acrobatics agility and athleticism. But now you look at it, he failed to get on the field for the most part last season. And now you look at where the Patriots are at X receiver. We talked about it with Pickens. You imagine that Kyle Williams can play X,

he played outside, I think about 75, 76% of the time at Washington State, so you can line him up outside. Mack Hollins is certainly an X receiver with his big body, so you can put him outside. And Stefan Diggs brings versatility where you can play him inside and outside. So you just have more options at J Von Baker's position this year than you had last year. And I think that spells a pretty big problem for J Von Baker.

So hot seat Baker more than poke. I'll wrap up with this guy, Antonio Gibson. I like Antonio Gibson. I really like him. I liked him in Washington. I loved when the Patriots signed him last off season. I think he had a better year than Ramon Drey Stevenson. And I believe that he was also underutilized by Alex van Pelt.

And van Pelt could have and should have gotten more from Gibson last season than he did. So why is Gibson on the hot seat? When you draft a running back at 38 overall, you want to get that guy on the field. And I don't think Trevion Henderson, you know, I've talked about this. I don't think he's a full time three down 25 touch guy. However, if you're splitting 5050 between Henderson and Stephenson, because I don't think Remondre is going anywhere. If you're splitting it 5050 or you go, I don't know, 4545. Do you really keep

Gibson in his contract? Do you keep him around for that 10%? And the one issue with Gibson as we have seen is his pass protection. So you're probably not super comfortable playing him on third down because of his pass protection questions. And you're going to be splitting time between Henderson and Stevenson on some early downs. I would imagine Henderson is going to be your third down back because he's excellent in pass protection. So is there just enough for Gibson? Is there enough work?

And you've got Landlarison, the UDFA, I talked about him on my Everything Pads podcast, you can check that out. But you've got Landlarison who signed a $175,000 guaranteed deal, which is pretty high for UDFA. You've got Terrell Jennings still on this roster. So those are my three guys that I think are on the hot seat offensively. Colestrange, Jayvon Baker, and Antonio Gibson.

There are other players, certainly you could mention, but I gave you a six on this episode. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. 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 locked on Patriots your first listen today for your second listen check out locked on NFL scouting The NFL draft is over but the NFL it keeps on going hosts Kyle crabs and Joe Marino

Will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason find a locked on NFL scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day and we will certainly see you tomorrow.