Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Grading The New England Patriots 2025 NFL Draft!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The 2025 NFL Draft is over and we have our on paper draft grade. 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. podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I'm your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England. Your New England Patriots expert, host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles, and also a sports talk show host veteran. On today's episode, some of the risks in this 2025 draft

Starting point is 00:00:45 class and the Patriots consistently focused on one characteristic that will change the look of this team over the weekend. But first, we start with our on paper draft grade, and how we got there. We appreciate you joining the show making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. The Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And today's episode is brought to you

Starting point is 00:01:10 by the all new 2025 Nissan Armada. Stay tuned for the Armada draft pick of the week later in the show. When we talk about grading an NFL draft right after said draft, we have to understand that it's the quote unquote, on paper grade. What I mean by that is,

Starting point is 00:01:30 the draft class will not truly show itself for another couple of years. I don't pass judgment and close the book on anybody's career until they're at least two years in the league. I think it's somewhat silly and preposterous to say somebody is a bust after one NFL season. Now that person might end up being a bust,

Starting point is 00:01:51 but I'm not going to label them a bust after one year. I'm gonna give them some time. So the true evaluation of the draft that just happened for the Patriots, the true evaluation will end up being in about two or three years. But when you look at a draft class on paper and one of the biggest beefs that you could have with said draft class is the fact that the Patriots drafted a long snapper in

Starting point is 00:02:17 the seventh round. If that's one of the biggest beefs that you have about a draft, I think you feel pretty pretty pretty good about that draft on paper. And that's why I'm giving this draft an A- for the Patriots. Now, extra weight has to be put on the picks, rounds one through four. You can't sit around and talk about a draft class and put a whole ton of weight on picks in the late fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. Those picks are lottery tickets. So I look at rounds one through four and I say to myself, man, oh man, that was one heck of a weekend for that Pats front office and coaching staff.

Starting point is 00:02:58 Why do I give it an A minus? Number one, they filled needs without reaching. I talked about it leading into this draft. Don't feel desperate. Don't feel like you have to pick a certain position and reach to fill that void. And the Patriots were able to fill needs across the board without reaching.

Starting point is 00:03:20 You look at the needs that they filled. Left tackle with Will Campbell. Now, whether or not he ends up being a full time left tackle long term, we'll get to that a little bit later in this episode. But left tackle, that's where Will Campbell is going to play in 2025. You filled that spot. Speed running back. Remember Robert Kraft, the owner's meetings talking about a speed running back and Mike

Starting point is 00:03:41 Vrabel said, oh, we're going to draft the running back. You drafted your speed running back. How many times have we talked about needing an ex receiver, somebody who can make plays downfield. You drafted that ex receiver that can make plays downfield before this draft. We talked about the interior offensive line, left guard, also center somebody young to back up Garrett Bradbury, maybe take Bradbury's roster spot as the starter on that offensive line. You did that. Defensive end, an edge, check. Nickel cornerback, some versatility in that secondary. You got that as well. Defensive tackle, yep, you did it.

Starting point is 00:04:26 But you not only filled all of those needs, you did not reach to fill those needs. Phil Perry posted this during day three of the draft. This is the draft picks where they were picked versus the consensus big board where people thought they would be picked. And for this purpose Phil Perry used the NFL mock draft database which is the same website I used for my mock draft

Starting point is 00:04:51 and here's what we got. Will Campbell was selected fourth on the consensus big board. He was listed fourth. Greg Bedard recently in a podcast said that the Las Vegas Raiders were interested in Will Campbell. And of course, the Raiders drafted at six. So you didn't reach you pick Campbell at four, the consensus big board had him going at four. Trevion Henderson, you picked him at 38. The big board had him at 37 right on the dot. Bert Breer on NBC Sports Boston on Friday night said that Henderson could have gone to the Denver Broncos at 20. He could have gone to the Rams at 26. Both teams were seriously considering drafting

Starting point is 00:05:31 Henderson. So getting him at 38 was not a reach. Kyle Williams, you picked him at 69. The consensus big board 74, not a reach. Jared Wilson, you picked him at 90 95 the big board had him at 80 not a reach Craig Woodson was your one reach he was your one reach pick 106 in the fourth round you picked him at 106 the consensus big board had him at 188 so a significant reach when you look at the consensus big board. But then you came back with Joshua Farmer and Braden Swinson. Farmer, you got him at 137. Big board consensus was 86.

Starting point is 00:06:13 Braden Swinson, you got him at 146. The big board consensus was 71. Filling needs without reaching. Number two reason why I grade this draft as an A minus, of course, on paper, supporting the young quarterback, supporting Drake May, Patriots went into this draft saying, we need to do more to help Drake May. And that's what they did. One of my bold predictions on a podcast last week was that not one, not two, not three, not four, yes, four, four of the first four picks

Starting point is 00:06:48 were going to be on offense, right? Not one, not two, not three, but four. There it is. The first four picks would be on offense. And that's what you did. Campbell, Henderson, Williams, Wilson, offense, offense, offense, offense, helping May. You get the number one left tackle on the board.

Starting point is 00:07:09 You get the number one center on many boards, offensive line, trying to solidify it for the long term to help protect your young quarterback. You got your young quarterback, a running back, Binky and Henderson. You got your young quarterback a toy, an explosive downfield receiver in Kyle Williams, supporting Drake May. Gotta give it an A minus. And the final reason, the Patriots controlled the board.

Starting point is 00:07:37 And what do I mean by that? Well, you look at the farmer pick. Joshua Farmer was picked 137th, as I just mentioned a moment ago. The Patriots moved up to 137 to draft Farmer. Why did they move up to 137? Well, when you look at the picks after 137 down to 143 and the Patriots originally had 144. So why did they move from 144 to 137? Because after drafting Farmer, the Panthers drafted a defensive tackle at 140. The Seahawks drafted a defensive tackle at 142.

Starting point is 00:08:12 The Dolphins drafted a defensive tackle at 143. So three out of the next six picks were defensive tackles after you traded up to draft farmer. That's understanding the board. That's understanding when runs are going to happen, getting ahead of those runs. And you can talk about Jared Wilson and the context around that Wilson pick. Andrew Callahan posted this. Excellent example of why you trade back. The Patriots added a fifth rounder in a 2026 fourth round pick and they still drafted Wilson at 95 when they might

Starting point is 00:08:51 have taken him at 77 or 85. Mike Reese said, oh it wasn't might. Mike Reese in his Sunday column wrote, according to a team source, Wilson would have been a top consideration to pick at 77. So you were seriously considering drafting Wilson at 77. You dropped down 18 spots to 95. You picked up a fifth round pick and a fourth round pick in next year's draft, the fifth in this year's draft, and you still drafted the guy that you were seriously considering at 77.

Starting point is 00:09:21 That is having a control of the board. That's having great intel. Somehow, some way, you had great intel. And it also speaks volumes for the grading system that the Patriots used in this year's draft, which goes back to the Packers system and Elliott Wolf bringing that in over the past year. You filled needs without reaching, you supported your young quarterback, and you controlled the board. A minus. A minus draft for the Pats. This draft wasn't however without its risks. We'll take a look at some of those risks coming up next as we continue with today's episode

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Starting point is 00:10:39 as tip off gets closer and their last minute deals can save you up to 60%. Oh, and the all in pricing means no surprise fees at checkout. What you see is what you pay. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account and use code LOCKDOWNNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply again. create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off That's locked on NFL for the code download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed No draft and I mean no draft comes without inherent risk. Drafts are tough. They're very tough. It's not like it's like a science. Some people say, Oh, it's a science. No, they're so tough to figure out

Starting point is 00:11:33 from year to year, every single draft is different. Some teams are much better at it than other teams. Baltimore is very good at it. Philadelphia is very good at it, right? Shout out to the cost and how he Roseman, those guys do a great job. But there's never a draft that you go through. And you say to yourself, oh, there's gonna be no risk taken here. It's just a risky business. There's no doubt about that. Especially when you look at this specific draft, this specific draft, as we have

Starting point is 00:12:01 talked about over the past couple of months, there were so many questions, there's always questions in a draft, just like there's always risk in a draft questions equals risk. But with this specific draft in 2025, we had so many questions, even about the top tier talent in this year's draft, so many flaws that you could point to so few clean prospects. So the Patriots took some risk, they took some risk in this draft going into it. And they took risks coming out of the draft. The top risk has to be Will Campbell. Now I believe from what I've read and from what I've watched and from what

Starting point is 00:12:40 I've heard, there's a good chance that will Campbell can be your starting left tackle for the next eight, nine, 10 years. Good chance. I don't know if I'd say great chance. There are the questions, the legitimate questions that we talked about regarding his length, but the majority of experts and pundits and analysts say that he will be a left tackle, but there's still some risk because if Campbell is not a left tackle, if you've got to slide him inside, and if it's this year, especially if it's this year, if Campbell's a disaster in camp, and you say to yourself, there's no way that this guy's going to be left tackle. First of all,

Starting point is 00:13:16 the evaluation wolf. But secondly, what's your plan B? Your plan B right now is Vidarian Low. If Campbell can't make it work, you're going back to Vidarian low. And we saw what happened with low last year. Thanks, but no thanks. And it would not be ideal going into 2025 season without an upgrade at left tackle. So the first risk is with the first pick that you had at number four, you got to hope that will Campbell can play left tackle. He doesn't have to be great. Doesn't have to be great. Doesn't have to be unbelievable. But if he could hold that spot down, you feel good.

Starting point is 00:13:51 You feel good about your future. The second risk that I want to talk about the durability of Trevion Henderson, the durability and the workload This last season at Ohio State Henderson was terrific and we could talk about what he does on the field. He's just he's a terrific weapon If he could turn that corner get down the sideline you almost have no chance of touching him He's a true home run threat. He's dynamic. He's explosive of touching him. He's a true home run threat. He's dynamic. He's explosive. But he wasn't full time last year at Ohio State. He was not a three down back playing 50 snaps. Now he has the talent to be a three down back. He is one of the best blocking backs that we've seen in the past few years.

Starting point is 00:14:43 I believe it was Daniel Jeremiah who said he might be the best blocking running back in like at least the last decade. He's that good and he can run, he can catch. So he has the skill to be a three down back, but the reason why he was not the full time three down back bell cow for Ohio state was because of his history. His history tells you that he's got some durability issues. back Belkow for Ohio State was because of his history. His history tells you that he's got some durability issues. He gets banged up and he gets banged up to the point where you can't really trust him to be your full-time guy.

Starting point is 00:15:16 You don't want Trevion Henderson in 2025 carrying the football 20 times in a game. That's not how you want to use him. Dane Bruegler wrote about Henderson and his beast at the athletic. And when you look at Henderson's history as a sophomore, Henderson missed five games and parts of several other games because of a broken bone in his left foot. Then after that hampered him all season, he missed three games as a junior because of injury.

Starting point is 00:15:53 So he missed five games as a sophomore and parts of several other games as a sophomore because of that left foot issue, bothered him all year long. He had surgery in December of 2022. And then he came back in his junior year, and he missed three games because of injury. And at that point, Ohio State, they went out after the 2023 season, and they got Quincheon Juckins and brought

Starting point is 00:16:20 him in as a transfer. So they could balance it out a little bit. So drafting Trevion Henderson, he's explosive, he's a lot of fun to watch, and he's going to change this offense. And we're going to love watching him play when he's out there. But the running back position, as we know, is already about the wear and tear on that player. is already about the wear and tear on that player and you don't know how long you're going to have a running back for when you draft them because of the wear and tear because of the shots that these guys take and Henderson has multiple injuries in his past and he was best at Ohio State when he was not used

Starting point is 00:17:04 as the number one You're on the field all the time type guy So the Patriots are gonna have to balance out his snaps now Obviously, it's easy to do when you have Ramon Dre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson But it's a question and somebody has an injury history That has cost him several games in his college career to the point where the team said we got to go out and get somebody else like Jutkins to split it with you then we have to keep that in mind. It's a risk With that wear and tear and playing that position, even if he's not playing a ton of snaps every single week. It's still a risk

Starting point is 00:17:40 The third risk and there were more risks taken in this draft for sure But the third risk I want to talk about is Craig Woodson If the Patriots swing and miss on Woodson That's not great Because when you look in the fourth round and you look at the other safeties that were taken in that round Bowman was taken in that round ransom was taken in that round Malachi Moore was taken in the fourth round Ransom was taken in that round. Malachi Moore was taken in the fourth round. Those three safeties were taken after Woodson. So hopefully you were

Starting point is 00:18:12 right because a lot of people, as I mentioned earlier, that consensus big board had Woodson at 188 and you took him at 106. So you have to make sure you have to make sure that you hit on him to the level that goes above those other guys that were taken. And you got to hope that he's an impact player for you because taking Woodson in the fourth round and I don't have a problem with it. You love your guys when you get to the when you get to that point day three and you love a guy Take a guy because you never know right? But if you don't hit on them and those other safeties hit then you look back at that pick and you're left scratching your head And in the fourth round in this draft when we talked about day two and day three

Starting point is 00:19:01 Those rounds two through five and really two through four, I should say, bringing really impact players guys that could start for your football team to spend a fourth round pick in this specific draft on Woodson, you got to hit because if he's a swing and a miss, you look back and you go, man, a lot of people thought he was a, you know, fifth round, sixth round guy. We went out on the ledge for him. We fell in love with him and we got him in the, in the fourth round, early in the fourth round at one Oh six.

Starting point is 00:19:34 And we had all night to think about it. We had all morning to think about it. And we still went with him at one Oh six. Hopefully Woodson is a hit. He doesn't have to be a home run, but hopefully he's a player that contributes for you and outplays those other safeties taken in the same round, but below him. All right. The Patriots put heavy emphasis on one specific trait during this draft that's coming up next. As we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, on one specific trait during this draft. That's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots,

Starting point is 00:20:09 part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. The Armada pick of the week is brought to you by our friends at Nissan and the all-new 2025 Nissan Armada. This week we're highlighting the top pick from the Patriots draft. The one selection that truly stood out, the guy who showcased the strength and power to push the Pats forward as we look ahead to next season. This week's Armada and clear cut top pick of the draft, of course, is Will Campbell. The Pats are depending on Campbell to be a heavy duty and rugged left tackle during the 2025 season. Campbell is the most important pick up this draft not only

Starting point is 00:20:50 because he's the fourth pick overall and he was your first one. But also because he will have to show capability and confidence like the Armada does on the road while he protects Drake Mays blind side when it comes to the Nissan Armada. They say go forth and protects Drake May's blindside. When it comes to the Nissan Armada, they say go forth and conquer, and that's exactly what I think Will Campbell can do here in New England. It's clear that our top pick of the draft is out here ready to conquer the road ahead with confidence, just like you can in the all-new Nissan Armada or any of their outstanding vehicles. Take the Nissan Armada Rogue or Pathfinder and

Starting point is 00:21:24 go find your next big adventure. Shop NissanUSA.com. One of the clear primary focuses of the draft for the Patriots was to upgrade this team's athleticism and we have seen, right? When you watch this team over the past couple of years, athleticism was lacking. Athleticism was a problem. You couldn't really check that box for everybody on the field with the Patriots. And this began in the Belichick years, and it carried over to last year's team with Mayo and it's clear it's clear that the Patriots went into this draft saying to themselves we have to get more athletic there have been plenty of complaints especially from this guy

Starting point is 00:22:16 about the lack of a sideline to sideline linebacker now they didn't draft that guy but Robert Spillane is that guy. And you hope that Woodson can get a little sideline to sideline on the second and third level and drafting Woodson might open up peppers and Dugger to get sideline to sideline in that role. I've been complaining about it. Where's the speed on the second level? In some cases, where's the speed on the third level of this defense? Where is it? Then you look on offense, my goodness. You know, when we talk about the overall speed of this team, it's not just the second, third levels of the defense. It's first in the mind of the offense.

Starting point is 00:22:58 Where's that explosive wide receiver that can get downfield? Where's the explosive running back and Ramadre Stevenson is a good back. But I wouldn't call him explosive. He's a powerful downhill type runner. Antonio Gibson, he's more, you know, jittery. I don't know if I'd call him explosive. Travion Henderson is explosive. Kyle Williams is explosive.

Starting point is 00:23:26 A different dynamic, both of them will bring to this offense and they will help the overall speed and attack of this team in 2025. And the Patriots, they aggressively took those explosive playmakers. And we got some numbers for you. So the 30 13 that website, they posted about Henderson's max speed. Henderson's max speed on the field was 22 miles per hour.

Starting point is 00:23:55 Now let me put that into some context. Thanks to the 30 13 post, only three, according to the post, only three ball carriers in the NFL Reached 22 plus miles per hour last season and that's from next-gen stats. We're talking about turpin We're talking about Thomas jr. BTJ, and we're talking about Gibbs in Detroit Only three ball carriers in the NFL last season reached 22 plus miles per hour. Henderson, max speed, 22 miles per hour.

Starting point is 00:24:34 Phil Perry, he posted this. Kyle Williams, by the way, was clocked as the fastest wide receiver at the Senior Bowl. Williams was clocked at 21.36 miles per hour. So you've got Henderson who gets up to 22. You've got Williams who's at 21.36. Speed. On field speed. We're not just talking about, you know, shorts and t-shirt speed. We're not just talking about combine speed know, shorts and t-shirt speed. We're not just talking about combine speed. We're talking about legitimate on the field football speed. Both Henderson and Williams have that.

Starting point is 00:25:11 But it didn't even stop at the skill positions. And this is why I say the Patriots were clearly focused on athleticism in this draft, because it wasn't just Henderson and Williams, the guys that you can watch on Saturday and say, oh, they run fast. It was at the other positions as well. Evan Lazar posted this about Jared Wilson, interior offensive lineman, center from Georgia. You got him at 95. We talked about him earlier.

Starting point is 00:25:34 Wilson posted, and I've talked about the relative athletic score a lot as we got ready for the draft, Wilson's RAS was 9.84 at the combine. He ran a 484 40 yard dash. Kent Lee Platt, who came up with the relative athletic score. Craig Woodson, your fourth round pick that we just discussed. His RAS was 8.76. 8.76. That ranks 151st. Now you might say that ranked 151st. Zibbidi-doo-dah! No no no no. Yeah, it ranked 151st out of over 1200 free safeties. His 8.76 RAS was 151st out of 1209 free safeties going back from 1987. So from 87 to 2025, Craig Woodson was just outside the top 150 at his position.

Starting point is 00:26:41 Even the long snapper, Brett Coleman posted this. Can we talk about the Patriots new long snapper having a better 10 yard split than Roma doonsay? Athleticism, athleticism, athleticism. And not only did they draft athletes, because you could draft athletes. You could draft the guys that You watch at the combine and go. Oh my god that guy ran like a four three 40 Yeah, what was his broad jump? What was his vert? That's all great But as we know there have been plenty of athletes in the nfl that don't end up being good football players at that level

Starting point is 00:27:22 But here's the difference. Hopefully with what the Patriots did in this draft. They not only went after those athletes, but they also went after guys who have high character and high football IQ. Will Campbell is a tremendous athlete. Will Campbell is one of the best athletes that we've seen at his position with his size. And that's a fact. If you look at relative athletic score, Will Campbell off the charts with that RAS, but he's also crazy intelligent on the football field. Coaches say when you talk to him, it's like talking

Starting point is 00:27:57 to another coach. So when you marry the athleticism with the high football IQ and and hopefully that football character and work ethic. That's the magic sauce that's the magic recipe that mike rable and company looking for because not only are you a tremendous athlete. What you have tremendous acumen and you can take your job seriously and you're gonna work at your job. It doesn't mean that all of these guys are going to be hits. They're not all going to be hits. They're not all going to be home runs or even triples. But you have a much higher likelihood of hitting on your picks. If you're not only checking the athleticism box, but you're also looking at the character

Starting point is 00:28:39 and the high football IQ, the work ethic, because those things to go along with your natural athleticism, your gifted athleticism is what's going to make you different. And the Patriots are just catching up to the evolution of the game. They've been behind in this. When you have less athleticism, you have a lot less margin for error. And a lot of those Belichick football teams, they won because of their smarts and you can do that. But man, your margin for error, especially in 2025 football, when you've got a bunch of athletes and you're scoring the points in the quarterback position with the offenses being, you know, so deep now and the schemes are being so intricately woven in. If you're not athletic,

Starting point is 00:29:27 you better be a freaking Mensa across the board. There's just less margin for error if you don't have that natural athleticism. So the Patriots, I think did a fantastic job addressing that in this draft. A draft that was an A minus for me. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots on tomorrow show, we'll continue to discuss the fallout from the draft. But let me know your thoughts on today's topics. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C radio. And don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL scouting the NFL draft, it's over,

Starting point is 00:30:05 but the roster moves and news never stops. Hosts Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason. Find Locked On NFL Scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day and we'll see you tomorrow.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Grading The New England Patriots 2025 NFL Draft!

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