Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - GOAT Herding? Gronk joins Tom in Tampa, Patriots Draft Plans - 4/22/2020

Episode Date: April 22, 2020

Rob Gronkowski is back in the NFL...but not in New England. The Patriots have traded Gronk to Tampa Bay to join Tom Brady in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. What does this mean for the Patriots? Mark Schofield of TouchdownWire joins host Mike D’Abate to discuss the impact of this trade for Rob, Tom Brady, as well as the Patriots Draft plans. 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 your not another goat-heading South Wednesday episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast, which is still here and still 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 folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, and your feedback are always welcomed and greatly appreciated. And you can feel free to share that feedback by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC.

And while you're safely practicing your social distancing, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well while you're traveling through the Twitterverse at LO underscore Patriots. Et tu, Gronkowski? Yes, Patriots fans, that is likely the question that you have all been asking yourself since late Tuesday afternoon. That's when we all learned that former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was coming out of retirement and planning to play in the NFL in the 2020 season. But unfortunately for all of us in Pats Nation, it will not be in New England.

Gronk will be heading to Tampa Bay to join forces with Tom Brady, as yesterday afternoon, your New England Patriots agreed to send Gronk and a 7th round draft pick in the upcoming 2020 NFL draft to Tampa in exchange for a 2024th rounder. Now this move sent shockwaves through NFL Twitter, Patriots Twitter, Buccaneers Twitter, and really all over the sports world. Rob Gronkowski is one of those athletes that transcends the world of professional sports. He's not just an NFL superstar, he's a celebrity as well. And for the nine seasons that he played here in New England, he was one of the most beloved athletes and the most beloved celebrities anywhere in the region.

And folks, it would be an understatement for me to say that his retirement in 2019 disappointed a lot of members of Patriots Nation. But it would also be a bigger understatement to say that all Patriots fans continued to hold out hope that Rob would one day come back. We just hoped he would do it in New England, not in another uniform. But if we're being honest, that new uniform makes perfect sense. Not only is he joining an offense that already boasts a lot of star power when it comes to the offensive skill positions, but he's being reunited with not only his good friend, but also the only quarterback with whom he's ever played. And it's no surprise to any Patriots fan that Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady are about as potent as an offensive duo that has ever existed

in the NFL. And make no mistake about it, Patriots Nation, down in Tampa Bay, they are rejoicing. They've had a hell of an offseason. They haven't only scored the greatest quarterback in NFL history, now they've scored perhaps the greatest tight end in NFL history. Why wouldn't you be excited? But here in New England, but here in New England, it's pretty much the opposite. There's a lot of hurt, there's a lot of anger. Now some are directing that hurt and anger toward Bill Belichick in the Patriots front office,

wondering how they could possibly let both Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski walk out the door and only bring back a fourth round pick as compensation for both. Well, folks, a narrative like that may make a nice story. It may get you some clicks. It may win you some kudos with the snark police on social media. But it far from tells the whole story. And I'll get back to that in a minute. But there is some saltiness and even a little resentment toward Rob in this situation.

I know as Patriots fans that none of you forgot that last year, a few times, we were coaxed into believing that Rob may come back out of retirement. Well, it never happened, and I've heard some of you express that you feel that you were played for a full last season. I always like to use this quote from Aristotle, and that is, virtue lies in the middle. This was a business decision. In fact, to steal a quote from Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston, which, Tom, if I'm being honest, you did kind of steal it from Michael Corleone from The Godfather, but I give you kudos for the reference anyway, and that is, it wasn't personal, it was strictly

business. At the end of the day, folks, I truly believe that that's what this situation is going to yield. A business decision by both Rob and the Patriots to part ways in the most benign manner possible. As someone who covered Rob Gronkowski for the past three seasons in New England, and seeing the wear and tear that football put on his body, I fully believe that injuries were a big part of him walking away. It wasn't really about him sticking it to Bill Belichick. I don't even believe it was so much about him being fed up with Bill's tyrannical ways. I think that Rob had simply had enough of the game and decided to walk away. Now, is it possible, folks, that we may find out down the line that personal feelings had a much bigger stake in this than I'm alluding to right now?

Certainly possible. I'm not refuting that. But for those of you thinking that Rob was sitting there all of last season, playing games with the emotions of the fans simply because he just wanted to stick it to Bill Belichick is very much out of character for Rob, who really, for all intents and purposes, has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen in professional sports. This guy absolutely loves his fans. He's loved the region of New England. All you have to do is simply look at all of the time and energy

that Rob has dedicated to so many charitable causes here in New England. Most of all, the children's hospitals throughout the region. And you'll know that this is not a guy that plays with anyone's emotion. Seeing that Tom was going to be down in Tampa made his decision a little bit easier. He had the itch to play. He only wanted to play football with Tom Brady. And Tampa was the place where he was able to do it. So based on that, folks, I really don't understand the seething anger that a lot of people are

throwing Rob's way today. But maybe the only thing that I don't understand more is the seething anger being directed at the New England Patriots in this situation. How could you let Rob Gronkowski go for only a fourth round pick? I've been hearing it since last night. I've been hearing it all day today. Here's the simple answer, folks. The Patriots didn't have much of a choice.

Honestly, given the situation that they were in, they were pretty lucky that they got anything in return for Rob. And I'll explain why. Once Rob decided that he wanted to come back to the NFL, and once he decided that the only place he wanted to do that was catching passes from Tom in Tampa, he could have filed his reinstatement right then and there. That reinstatement would have become official and saddled the Patriots with a $9.25 million cap hit

that would have hit their books immediately. Now, according to my good friend and cap guru, the Pats cap himself, Miguel Benzon, the Patriots have $1.1 million in cap space available. Down to the dollar, that's $1,101,775. So that $9.25 million hit, folks, yeah, that wasn't happening. That would have meant that the Patriots had to do one of two things. They would have either had to free up $8 million in cap space to get him on their roster, which this close to the draft was certainly not going to be easy, or they just could have cut Rob outright,

and in that case, he would have been free to sign with Tampa Bay for absolutely nothing. In this scenario, the Patriots did the best they could and brought back a fourth rounder in exchange for Rob Gronkowski's services. By the way, folks, let's not forget, these were services that were never going to be provided in New England again. Rob didn't want to play here any longer. And no matter what reason you want to plug in as to why that was, it doesn't change the fact. In the final analysis, Rob Gronkowski wanted to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. He gave the New England Patriots a chance to make that happen and get something in return for him.

And the Patriots did that. They got the best they could in the time frame they had and in my opinion, to come away with a fourth rounder in this situation really was the best that the Pats could do. But you don't just have to take my word for it, folks. Because right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast today, I'm going to be joined

by someone whose wisdom and counsel I hold in the highest regard. That's right, folks joined by someone whose wisdom and counsel I hold in the highest regard. That's right, folks. It is the wisdom and counsel of my predecessor, my mentor, and my good friend. Mark Schofield returns to the Lockdown Patriots podcast today. And of course, we will talk some Rob Gronkowski. But that's not all. NFL Draft is just a little over 24 hours away from starting.

And Mark is among the very best in the business at being able to break down the draft. So we will seek his wisdom and counsel in that area as well. So settle in, folks. A great show for you on tap today. And don't panic. The Patriots have a plan. And Mark Schofield and I will discuss what that plan might entail when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

Patriots fans, our beloved football team in Foxborough might be losing its goats lately. The podcast continues. anyway. Not only is he the host emeritus here at Lockdown Patriots, he is an amazing writer and analyst for platforms such as Inside the Pylon, Big Blue View, Bleeding Green Nation, and Pat's Pulpit. Most recently of Touchdown Wire, some of the greatest draft content you will read anywhere in the civilized world. And that's just to name a few. His podcast, The Scosho, if you haven't listened, do it now, folks, or you will be lost when it comes to the nfl draft that's right today we bless the rains and welcome back my predecessor my mentor my dear friend mark scofield but thank you so much for joining me today welcome back home mike it's great to be back with you um this is your home now i'm just visiting um but i do see

that you have kept the total poster up which obviously always my heart uh it's good to see that but look it's great to be back with you it's always great to come on it's always great to catch up and like we were saying before we hit record man it seems like every time i come on stuff happens and so it makes it easy for us to like have something to talk about because, you know, like everybody else, I was living the lockdown life yesterday and I get some news that suddenly there's a comeback of sorts. There is. And you know whether it be Antonio Brown whether it be albeit this is not a Patriot story but the Miles Garrett Mason Rudolph fiasco to Tom Brady bidding farewell to Foxborough and you know this time we figured well okay draft focused ready singular in purpose as you said that did not happen because the comeback of sorts that you're

alluding to as we all know folks Tom Brady isn't the only one opting for the Florida Sun. Gronk is heading south. And, Mark, we heard the news yesterday, as you said. The first narrative seemed to be that Tom and Rob were ganging up on Bill. And that might be refuted a little bit this morning, but the narrative still remains. And at the end of the day, I think it's going to be a long time, if ever, that we find out just how much personal feelings factored into this. And as much as fans and even some of our colleagues in the media want to jump to conclusions, I think that the jury might be out on that for a little while, I think is the best

way for me to put it. But as I said to open the show today, from a logistical standpoint, once Rob decided to come back, it was a near certainty that the Pats had to make the move that they did. And that $9.25 million immediate hit to the cap was just too much for them to carry. Mark, you always have a level head on these matters. Am I off base for thinking that the Patriots getting a fourth rounder here, even though it wasn't necessarily ideal, was kind of the best they could do under these circumstances. I mean, let's think about it this way. The money issue is a big part of this, right?

We're talking about a team that has the 31st amount of cap space available. Only the Kansas City Chiefs that have enough to basically cover a grocery bill have less. So that $9.2 million was going to be a large factor in how they had to handle the situation. So that's one part of it. The other part of it is, look, what's the old Bill Parcells line about a player that's retiring or thinking about retiring? If he's got one foot out the door, he's already done. Like Rob Gronkowski is coming back from retirement.

He's probably a one to two year rental at most for Tampa Bay. And when we saw him in 2018, he wasn't the Gronk of old. Like, yes, our last image of him was catching a seam road in the Super Bowl and dive in amongst three defenders to do that. And yes, those of us who are romantics at heart like myself really wish that that was how Brady and Gronk rode off into the sunset with that play as sort of their enduring memory in our minds. But it wasn't that way. But that play was just one instance and one flash of a season in which he was battling injuries, in which in the divisional round game against the Chargers, he was basically a sixth offensive lineman. And so when you look at the money, when you look at the fact he's a short-term rental,

when you look at the fact that you're not getting 2013 Gronk or 2014 Gronk, you're getting the guy he is right now, getting a fourth-round pick in exchange for giving up a seventh is probably as good as they were going to do. I know we'd love to have this idea, right? Ryan Mallett, for example. They were going to trade him for a'd love to have this idea right ryan mallett for example they were going to trade him for a first round pick jimmy garoppolo they were going to trade him for a first round pick result we always in new england and i count myself in amongst everybody

else with this we have this idea initially of we're going to get first round picks or you know tampa's going to send us oj howard and their first pick for Gronk. Like we have this idea that that's going to be the deal. I was joking with Trevor Sycamore who left Tampa Bay. Now he's in the Charlotte area, but he is a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan. I was joking with him. Look, you know, send us OJ Howard and the pick at 45 and you guys can have Gronk on the timeline. Well, no, in reality, a fourth round pick for this Gronk with this money situation,

probably as good as you're going to do. I'm so glad that you brought that up and a number of different points that I want to expound upon, but one in particular was the version of Rob Gronkowski that we're seeing here or that we might see this season as opposed to the image of Gronk that I think most Patriots fans have burned into their psyche. That romanticized version, like you put, of Rob Gronkowski catching passes, spiking the ball on the sidelines, being that fun-loving type of Gronk. I think Tampa will see that, but in terms of the production on the field, we might see a little bit of a different Gronk than we thought, but I'll get to that in just a minute. What I did want to get back to that you brought up

that I thought was a great point was the Patriots value that they received in return and essentially all they could do. They did have the cap hit. Like I said, it was a situation where they turned a seventh rounder really into a fourth rounder for a player that was never going to suit up for them. And we're starting to hear smatterings of that this morning here on local radio in Boston and in the New England area. You're hearing reports in Rappaport from the NFL Network appeared on WEI this morning and basically advised that he's hearing that Tom and Gronk might have been a package deal, that there was some smatterings of chatter that Tom was trying to get Tampa to acquire Gronk. And that's even been reported a little bit by some of the Tampa area reporters as well. So a lot of this was maybe behind the scenes, maybe working itself into fruition.

But ultimately, I think in terms of what the Patriots received, as opposed to what a lot of fans believe they could get. I'm glad that you brought it back to reality when it came to logistics. This is a player right now that if he chose to come back and just chose to spring it on the Patriots, that $9.25 million cap hit, like you said, would have immediately hit to a team that has only roughly about a million in cap space. That would have absolutely devastated the franchise going into the draft in two days. So again, I do think that Patriots fans maybe need to take a little bit more of a level-headed approach here and look at it as, like you said, a player that is 31 years old coming off of a year off and also coming back from a situation where football may not have been his top priority in the entire

time that he was away from the game. So to come back with a fourth rounder may not be the worst thing in the world for New England. And that does lead me into my next question, my friend, and that we've covered Rob here in New England. We've seen him at his peak. We've seen him struggle with this health as well. And you alluded to this earlier, but I'm just going to ask you to expound upon it just a little bit. He's a year removed from football, yes, but he is only 31. And he's a year that where he's rested and recharged. And even though football may not have been his top priority, you have to think that he was working out in that time. In your opinion, what kind of production should football fans reasonably expect from Rob Gronkowski this year? And does this put Tampa over the edge when it comes to contending for a conference title in the NFC? Well, that's the interesting thing to keep in mind here, Mike, because, look, he was obviously in good enough shape to win the 24-7 belt, which he might have to defend in the end zone because, look, those are the rules, right?

You win a 24-7 title you're going to be ready to defend it at all times so gronk has that to worry about but the other thing to keep in mind is this and this is one of those moments where i often say that if you're just even if you don't play fantasy football if you're purely just a fan of the product on the field you need to pay attention to what they're talking about in the fantasy world and one of the things that you know when this Brady move was made and even before that with respect to OJ Howard one of the things that the fantasy world was talking about at length was how tight ends go to the Arians offense and that's the place they go to die because the Bruce Arians offensive system with all the downfield route concepts and everything they do in the vertical passing game is catered to wide receivers.

Tight ends barely factor in that offense. That's why O.J. Howard is basically expendable. It was probably before the Gronk trade. And so fantasy players have been saying for a while now with Tom Brady coming to Tampa Bay, well, he's a guy that loves to throw the tight ends. Bruce Arians doesn't use tight ends. And so this might get us into how does Brady's offensive philosophy mesh with what Bruce Arias likes to do? And perhaps caught in the middle of that might be Rob Gronkowski because he's used to going up seam routes and going on crossing routes. And, you know, what do we often see so often that play action fake with hen

brady wheeling out of the fake and then thrown to gronk on a cross when those linebackers crash down to the run action that might not be a huge part of what arians wants to do and so even if gronk is in the best shape of his life at 31 right now you have to look at the offensive system and wonder how much run he's going to get and the other thing to keep in mind with the gronk is much as look he wants to play with brady and that's great and i'm not stunned that this move was happening we're seeing brady on the timeline posting videos of him blown on the conch shell and gronk coming out of the woodwork you know it's a recycled video from a couple years ago but yeah you yeah, you know, it's making Patriots fans emotional.

We're like Squidward seeing, you know, Patrick and SpongeBob celebrate. We're peering through the window. We're feeling sad this morning, getting into our emotions. But at the same time, when Gronk walked away and he had that press conference to announce his little promotional deal for the CBD products, and he got choked up talking about what football did to him you might say that okay well maybe that was belichick influenced this is a guy that has been through so many injuries that has played the way he played which a made him great but b also exposed him to injuries even if he's in great shape is that guy really ready to come back and play a full 16 game slate i don't know

as somebody that loved watching him play and is going to certainly root for him, I hope he's there. But I just don't know if he's going to be back mentally to expose himself and play the way he played and play the way that made him grog. Exactly. And until they start playing the games on the field,

but nobody is going to know. I mean, Rob Gronkowski is one of the most gifted athletic specimens that I've ever covered, that I've ever seen. And I think that a lot of people look at him and they look at the Gronk of the past and immediately they're plugging that image of the Gronk of the past into what the Buccaneers are going to get. I'm glad that you mentioned the fact that there are a number of age and injury factors that have taken their toll on Rob. I happen to find his retirement, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I happen to find his retirement very sincere. I don't think this was, oh, I'm going to stick it to Bill. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that. I know that's a common narrative out there. And look,

I'm not going to refute that because we may find out down the line that there were a lot of personal feelings that factored in. But I think to ignore the fact that the wear and tear that this guy had on his body, the difficult injuries that he had, and hearing him describe how difficult it was for even to get out of bed for him to move, the fact that he would spend days, hours on the floor not being able to physically do anything, that definitely took its toll. There's no question. And that was a huge reason why he decided to walk away. Maybe the rest, maybe the recharge helps him get back into that mode. But ultimately, until we play the games on the field, like you said, my friend, we just won't know. So we do move on from Rob Gronkowski, and now he is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and your insight is always second to none, Mark.

I thank you for your insight on Gronk and what this has meant to both he and the Patriots from a logistical standpoint and from a hypothetical standpoint. But what does this mean for the Patriots' draft strategy? Don't forget, they now have an additional fourth rounder, and who will they target? And does this change the Patriots' plans for drafting a new signal caller? I will put these questions to Mark Schofield in just a moment when the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues.

Patriots fans, I am back with the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. And no, folks, not Bret Hart, but in my opinion, this man is the only other man that can exceed those expectations. And that's my friend Mark Schofield. And Mark, don't let Rob Gronkowski becoming a Tampa Bay Buccaneer make you want to hide under your bucking hat, my friend.

Let's not forget this is in just over 40, 24 hours. The 2020 NFL draft is going to still kick off. And let's start with that fourth rounder that's coming back to the Patriots via Rob's trade. Pick number 139. The Patriots have needs. Mark, we've talked about all of them ad nauseum, but giving Bill Belichick extra draft ammunition, I think could be a dangerous thing for the rest of the league. Even for the cliff dwellers on Moron Mountain that love to say that, quote unquote, Bill the GM can't draft. When you look at your analysis, who do you believe the Patriots might be eyeing here? Or does this additional pick make it more likely that we see Bill package this capital

and move up or even move back in the draft? You know, I think it's entirely likely that this pick that they acquired at 139 is going to be part of a move to acquire more picks in that 40 to 90 range, right? You look at this draft, you look at perhaps most drafts, you know, the names that get pushed up to the top of the board, often our quarterbacks, our positions of dire needs. There are names that will get drafted on tomorrow night that maybe if you're grading them in a vacuum, they're not first round players, but because of positional value, because of needs of positions that certain organizations have, those guys artificially become first round draft picks, which means that you're going to find guys on day two in that, say, 40 to 90 range that are going to be great football players potentially immediate contributors and so i look at the new england patriots they have a pick at 23

which we know and then they have that gap until the third round at 87 they want to get more picks on day two i think that's what they're trying to do and so whether it's moving down from 23 or taking that pick at 139 packaging it with maybe the one at 125 and you know maybe a sixth rounder and getting up into the third round maybe earlier into the third round now that would give you four third round picks you could potentially play around with those and get a second rounder out of them i think that's the goal here because if we take them sort of with whatever, everything that they've done this off season at their sort of their word, which is they're going to go in on Jared Stidham and Brian Hoyer, Brian Hoyer has probably insurance for Jared Stidham with the assumption that

he's going to win that job. There's not this sort of move up for Tua or move up for Justin Herbert scenario at play. Then they're going to want to get guys that can contribute right away around Jarrett Stenum, whether that's guys on the offensive side of the ball, particularly at positions like interior offensive line, tight end, wide receiver, whether it's on the defensive side of the ball, you're looking at a team that lost Kyle Van Nooy, Jamie Collins,

Landon Roberts, Daron Harmon, Danny Shelton. Those are core contributors to your defense. And in Roberts' case, your offense, you know, down the stretch last year. And so you can get guys on day two, like say, you know, a Kenneth Murray, perhaps if he falls out of the first round or Logan Wilson, the linebacker from Wyoming, who was moving up draft boards, who I think has gone from sleeper status to perhaps a guy that we're going to hear earlier than we thought, you you look at the safety position, Jeremy Chin, Kyle Duggar, some of these guys that are potentially starters on day one, even Xavier McKinney.

He might also fall out of the first round. Grant Delpit. There are ways to get immediate players at the start of the second round. And so I think all of this is a move towards getting picks on day two. Now, I haven't spent two and a half minutes, Mike, outlining why I think they're trying to get to picks on day two. I'm sure you will agree that having spent time and so many hours trying to get inside of the mind and get it under the hoodie,

we're often wrong with that. And so while I might have just tried to convince you that look they're trying to get into day two maybe this is a way to get to the top of the draft board for somebody bill belichick zigs when everybody zags and even when we try to anticipate his zigs he still out zags us he's a master at this and i've seen many smart football people mike freeman and others on twitter right now said look look, he's cooking up something. Like, this guy doesn't, like, just stay pat. This guy doesn't get outwitted.

He's doing something, whether it's to get into day two, like I think, or to get hired to the draft board. Like, who knows? Maybe he's actually doing. We'll have to see. But he's cooking up something. Absolutely. I could not agree with you more, and I'm so glad that you said that.

Bill Belichick, for all his faults, for all intents and purposes of what people want to do to negate his ability to draft to second guess him uh to get on him when things like this happen we've seen it so many times in new england where he's let someone go and all of a sudden it's ready for the sort of damocles to drop and everybody says all right this is finally where Bill went over the edge he finally lost his mojo or whatever you know colloquialism you want to put into that that's been the narrative when it comes to this he is not a guy that does things without planning without having a vision a future vision in mind I completely agree with what you said there right like it's hard not to forget the lawyer Malloy move.

Right. Remember that? Absolutely. When they moved on from lawyer Malloy and Tom Jackson's out there saying, look, this is a locker room that hates its football team. Guys hate their coach. Yep.

Right. And what happened? They want a Superbowl title, right? Absolutely. So I'm not sitting here mike saying that they're gonna go and win super bowl 55 you know if they do you gotta believe it's belichick's greatest coaching job ever but bill belichick knows how to build a roster how to construct a roster and yes there are times when he whiffs on picks the idea of bill belichick the general manager he whiffs on picks well that's why you go into a

draft with 12 draft picks right because if you miss say they sit there and make all 12 if you miss on a pick at 100 at 173 and at 214 but you hit on the rest, that's better than most other teams will do in this draft. So you might whiff on some, but you give yourself more bites at the apple. Think about how Belichick handles every offseason. You look at the free agency move. He doesn't make the big splash signing. He doesn't go out there and use all of their salary cap space on a big name. He'll nibble around the edges.

Instead of bringing in one guy at one position, he'll bring in three at that position. He gives himself more bites at the apple. So if one guy doesn't pan out, that's great. You've got two that did at that position. And it's the same thing with the draft. The smart teams each draft season give themselves more opportunities to A, move on from mistakes and b get things right

and so with 12 draft picks at his disposal he's got a lot of opportunities to get things right this draft or even right next draft if he starts accumulating picks for next year absolutely and again it's that ability for him to be able to have that flexibility that makes him the type of GM slash coach that's able to always put himself in the right position to be able to contend. And again, you know, we don't know what the future of the 2020 season is going to hold. And there are a lot of reasons for that. We haven't even gotten into the logistical factors of whether or not there will even be either a shortened season or an abridged season or any season in the NFL in 2020. But right now, assuming things are going to be status quo,

we won't really know how this team is going to look until they put it together on the field. And based on a 20-year record of, dare I say, excellence, my friend, I think we owe him a little bit of the benefit of the doubt to see what he's putting together. Lastly, you did not think that you were going to be able to come on to Locked On Patriots without me seeking the wisdom and counsel of the quarterback whisperer. And you did allude to this a little bit earlier.

We're very like-minded when it comes to Jared Stidham. We do believe that he is capable of handling the load. I think the way this team has put things together does indicate that they are willing to roll the dice, take their chances with this guy. But I do believe the Patriots are going to address the quarterback position this weekend. And you alluded to possibly moving up, possibly moving back those middle round gems. But I do believe that they will address it. And with a name that we've at least heard before, I steal the words of Kevin Bacon from

a few good Men, buddy, without the sarcasm, I will add. But in your expert, professional opinion, what is the best-case scenario for the Patriots draft fit at quarterback? And if they're not one and the same, what do you believe is the most realistic? First of all, that's a fantastic poll. I mean, any time you drop a A Few Good Men reference, I mean, just a tremendous movie.

It's one of those movies, right, Mike, where if you see it, you stop and you put the remote down and you watch it. It doesn't matter if it's like 8 p.m. on a Tuesday or midnight on a Saturday. You're going to watch a few good men. It's just that good. Let me try to do it this way, okay? I'll give you sort of a scenario or two. And day of the draft I think might make sense for New England. I think off the jump, if Tua somehow falls, not even all the way to 23, but into the teens, like if he's on the board at 14, 15, it's hard to overlook the value there as much as i think jared stidham is the move is the play and is where they're headed if to his hip situation has teams that wary of drafting him that he falls

into the teams you have to think about moving up a couple of spots to get him just because on the field he is that good and even if he's not ready to go full bore for a full season or a shortened season, whatever we do get, you have Jared Stidham. And then, and you know, 2021,

if Stidham is great, well, now you've got Tua and you could perhaps either move on from him or whatever you want to do with him, or you've got a quarterback battle on your hands. And so I think if they do something in the first round, it would be something of a slide. If Herbert is there at 23, if Love is there at 23, I think if they do something in the first round, it would be something of a slide.

If Herbert is there at 23, if Love is there at 23, I think they would consider it. I don't think Herbert's going to be on the board for them at 23, so I don't think that's an option. I don't know if you look at what they value at the position. I don't think Jordan Love is their guy, even if he's there at 23. If he's there at 87, maybe. But I don't think that scenario plays itself out. So know, Tua potentially, if he slides on day one,

might be something they do. You get into day two. You know, I think the two names to watch are Jalen Hurts and Jake Fromm. You know, I think Fromm stylistically fits with what they want to do. And from the neck up is exactly what they want at the position. You look at the decision-making, you know, the, the process and speed, the accuracy checks, those boxes. He might not be the physical guy that people tend to gravitate towards at the

position. But if you look at bill Belichick, scouting notes Daniel Jeremiah put out on the Twitter timeline a couple of weeks ago, you know, it was decision-making was like the most important thing. And so that's Jake from Hertz is the athletic type that maybe belichick wants to get you know he brings some of that athleticism to the table and when you talk about the intangibles of the quarterback position he checks those boxes as well he's he's a leader he's somebody that handled the alabama situation with to a tongue of ilo extremely well he did it immediately transfer

you know he stayed he helped him he helped team. Then he transferred as a graduate, you know, goes to Oklahoma, takes on a leadership role there. People are raving about his leadership abilities. And so I think Hertz and Fromm are the guys to watch on day two of this draft. As we get to day three, you know, you have to pick a 139 now. You get to that pick a 173, 196 maybe. I think some names to watch might include Anthony Gordon from Washington State. I think he's sort of the processor, decision maker that they might like at the position.

I think Nate Stanley from Iowa is more of a throwback, traditional battleship type of quarterback. Doesn't move a ton. Just moves well enough. Kind of reminds you of somebody else who played in the Big Ten. Got a very big arm and so i think he has some things to clean up mechanically which i know he's working on with tony rocopia great quarterback coach and guru um but stanley's a guy to watch i think james morgan is a name to watch i think that they've done a lot of work on him there's some you know high variance to his play i'm not the biggest fan of his, but I think it makes sense.

And I'll throw out some late sleepers. Tyler Huntley from Utah and Josh Love from San Jose State. There's not just one Jay Love in this quarterback group. There's two. There's Josh, who's a little bit undersized, just a hair above six feet tall, fearless in the pocket, throws a great deep ball. He's one of my sleepers that I put up on today's piece over at Touchdown Wire.

He's somebody to watch as well. And so I think you start to piece these guys together. I think there are opportunities all over this draft board for New England to address the quarterback position, whether somebody falls, whether it's somebody just right, or whether it's more of a reach or a lottery-type ticket. There are ways they can address this quarterback position all throughout this draft, which is why, like every year,

I'm always fascinated to see how they address the quarterback position because I'm always of the mind that even if you have the guy, you draft potentially the next guy because you always are one rolled ankle, one twisted knee, one hard hit from needing your backup to run it onto the field. Now, maybe that's my mindset as a former admittedly awful backup quarterback, perhaps the worst backup quarterback in all of college football. Let's not forget, when you're a backup in Division III in the NESCAC,

you're not exactly a guy that's going to be here at his name called come draft time. Mel Kuyper isn't exactly talking about you on ESPN. So I can admittedly say i was the worst backup in college football but as a backup i know the importance of the position so i think i'll probably draft sometime on one of these days of the draft another quarterback well as ty webb once said do not sell yourself short my friend you're a tremendous slouch when it comes to being a backup quarterback so you know what i i think you you sell yourself short, and you really need to give yourself a little more credit. But look, it has provided some of the greatest insight at the position anywhere in the civilized

world, folks. I don't say that as an exaggeration. I truly mean it. I've been a longtime admirer of your work, Mark. The fact that I can actually call you a friend in this business and a friend in life is my greatest honor. And again, that's the reason why we keep bringing you back home here to Locked On Patriots. And it is still home because that Toto poster on the wall stays up there in your honor and

it will continue to do so. What can I say? Thank you so much for always taking the time out, joining me here on Locked On Patriots to lend your wisdom and counsel the way only you can. Floor is yours, my friend. I don't think there's anybody out there listening to the show that doesn't already know where to find you. But just in case we have a couple of newbies, please let everyone know where they can find

you and the great work that you provide each and every day. Well, Mike, it's always great to be back with you. Always great to catch up. But it is truly an honor for me as well to be able to call you a friend. You're one of the great people in this business. You're so talented on the microphone. Your shows day in and day out are so great. The way you connect with your listeners is so great. It has been such a joy watching you take this show. And I've said it before, I'll say it again. You're taking it to new heights, heights I never could have reached. You're doing such a great job with it. I'm so

proud of you. And it's just great to be able to come on with you from time to time and like I said to be able to call you a friend it's truly an honor you're one of the best at what you do for me if you want to find me at Mark Schofield on Twitter it's probably the easiest way Touchdown Wire is where I'm doing the bulk of my work right now I just put up our draft hub

where you've got top 11 from myself and Doug Farrar at every position you've got top 50 you've got comparisons you've got top 11 from myself and Doug Farrar at every position. You've got top 50. You've got comparisons. You've got sleepers, film breakdowns. Doug's been watching film with guys like Zach Moss and Jalon Johnson and Antonio Gibson from Memphis. So check that out on touchdownwire.usatoday.com.

The easiest place to find me is on Twitter at Mark Schofield. Absolutely. And again, folks, I can't recommend following Mark highly enough, particularly when it comes to the draft. I didn't mince words earlier when I said that if you don't follow the man, you will be lost when it comes to draft coverage, because that is simply the way it is. He is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. I sincerely thank you for the kind words that you provided. A lot of people may look at it and say that you provided a big, you know, big shoes to fill or a large shadow to fill. I look at it as an example, one that I try to honor each and every day here on the microphone of Lockdown Patriots.

And your support has been a big reason why I've been able to take the microphone here and attempt to do you justice every single day, my friend. Stay safe. Stay well well thanks again for joining me and we look forward to having you back here post-draft as we head toward the regular season and try to make sense of everything that bill had to do over the weekend well mike thanks again for having me happy to come on anytime stay safe wash those hands social distance do all that stuff so we can the more we do that folks the quicker we're going to get a football season in the fall. Absolutely. So eloquently said, and I am washing my hands.

Folks do the same. I recommend the first few bars of Toto's Africa to do that. I think it's a great way to do it. You sing the song, you honor the man by washing your hands. And it's a, it's a great tune as well. The chorus is 20 seconds. The chorus is that 22nd mark that you're supposed to hit when you wash your hands. People have done this and pointed

it out. It's science. It's just science. Absolutely. Scientifically proven, folks. Toto saves lives, as does the song Africa, as does my friend here when it comes to knowledge on the NFL draft. Thanks again, Mark. Take care, my friend. Stay safe, everybody. You too.

So, Patriots fans, although it is bittersweet to say goodbye to a legend like Rob Gronkowski, in just a little over 24 hours, the Patriots will begin the process to welcome a whole set of fresh faces here to Foxborough. And if the impeccable insight and analysis of my friend Mark Schofield left you wanting even more, I have great news for you. Because tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots, in our 2020 NFL Draft Preview, I will be welcoming a good friend of the program.

Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub will join me here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And we will discuss Gronk. We'll talk a little bit about the three finalists selected for potential induction into the 2020 class of the Patriots Hall of Fame. And last but certainly not least, we will give our predictions on exactly what the Patriots will do on day one of the NFL draft. So be sure to subscribe to Locked On Patriots via Apple Podcasts, follow Locked On Patriots on Spotify, and especially this week and beyond, folks, be sure not to miss an episode.

And don't forget that you can always listen to Locked On Patriots on your smart device. How do you do that? Very simple. Just ask it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. And if you've enjoyed today's episode, now tell your smart device to play the most recent episode of Draft Dudes. Once again, I am Mike DeBate. I thank

my friend Mark Schofield for his time, his wisdom, and his insight today. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening today and for staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Stay safe, stay well, and have a great day, everyone.