Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Has Josh McDaniels Simplified His New England Patriots Offense?

Episode Date: June 2, 2025

Josh McDaniels was hired shortly after Mike Vrabel was brought in by the New England Patriots. At that time, there was talk of McDaniels changing his “old” offense. But, is that what reporters have seen through two weeks of OTAs?Meanwhile, the Patriots have reportedly changed a young player’s position. Is it the right change and could it impact Jahlani Tavai’s future? Finally, a profile on Craig Woodson highlights one specific trait the Patriots brain trust was focused on this offseason.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!LinkedInPost your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.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.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.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)

With the Josh McDaniels offense, it seems like not much has changed. 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? I am your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, your New England Patriots expert, host of the Everything Pats podcast,

cohost of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles and also a sports talk show host veteran. On today's episode, one player has reportedly changed positions and we'll discuss one underlying theme of many additions this off season but first the new McDaniels offense has looked like the old McDaniels offense. 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 a reminder, we're going three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, starting today, until we get back to five shows a week on Monday, July 14th. The expectation for this Josh McDaniels offense in 2025 was that it was going to be simplified. The offense was going to be simplified. The offense was going to be simplified and the offense would be tweaked somewhat. A lot of stories about Josh McDaniels traveling the country during his one year off,

going to college programs, going to NFL programs, talking to coaches with different backgrounds. And what we expected was that this offense was going to be different. Even if it was slightly different, it was going to be different. And McDaniels was going to make sure it was simplified for everybody involved. Has that actually happened? Has he actually simplified the offense?

Karen Gorigian a couple of weeks ago wrote about this following the first OTA practice that was in front of the media. Here's what Karen wrote. In April, McDaniels talked at length about the offense and simplifying it to make it easier for players to pick up. Quote, our language has been refined a little bit between last year with the time that I had and then this spring with the coaches unquote. That's McDaniels and he also said, I think that it's really getting streamlined. Now Hunter Henry, who was with Josh McDaniels in 2021 with the Patriots after

signing as a free agent, he was asked if he noticed any changes. Henry somewhat cryptically said, quote, it's pretty similar to the past in a lot of ways. Obviously, I think compiling stuff, there's definitely some new stuff. So I guess you guys will have to keep watching Greg Bedard has Recently written on the offense saw about what you'd expect from McDaniel's offense in the early stages of install Saw the whole gamut from zone and power runs to some quick games and screens some deep shots Nothing really different now. There's a warning here before we dive deep into this

The warning is this. The media has seen only two practices. So two practices out of all the OTA practices the Patriots have had, which is obviously a small sample size. So there could be a chunk of new offense that nobody knows about. And even Henry mentioned, you know, there's definitely some new stuff Ultimately the question is whether or not we should be concerned if this is going to be the same old same old McDaniel's offense and the same old same old McDaniel's verbiage And if I was answering that question today, which I will for all of you I would say no

I'm not concerned that this is going to be the same old same old McDaniel's offense and it's going to have the same old Same old language the old offense was really a product of Tom Brady Brady had such a vast experience and knowledge within this offense that he and McDaniel's along with the other OCs during different times continued to build on What Brady initially knew? continued to build on what Brady initially knew. It stands to reason. The more you're working within an offense, the more you understand that offense,

the more of the basics you have down, and then you continue to build on that. It's like you don't start with calculus three, you've gotta build off your fundamental math skills, and as you continue to build those math skills, then you go calculus one, two, and then three. Brady had so much knowledge within this offense. He was an encyclopedia.

So it really was a product of Brady's knowledge as to why the offense was so voluminous and the verbiage was so much and difficult to truly wrap your head around. What I think is happening here is Josh McDaniels is testing Drake May, and that's fine. Throughout late May, throughout the OTAs, as we get ready for mandatory mini camp about a week away from right now, really what McDaniels is trying to accomplish

is to test his young quarterback, but I don't think he's going to overwhelm May at all. I think he's testing him, but will not overwhelm him. And when you're going through OTAs and you're going through mandatory minicamp, what we really should call that is the kitchen sink phase. Josh McDaniels, I believe, is throwing everything but the kitchen sink and maybe even the kitchen sink itself towards Drake may in this offense to see how much they can handle out of the gates Brian Hoyer spoke to Karen Garegian over the weekend. Here's what he said quote. It's one of those things where you throw everything at the wall, see what sticks and refine it as you go along

unquote. It makes all the sense in the world. McDaniels is trying to figure out what Drake May is capable of handling from all of the options. Here is the entire menu. What can you handle? What do you have a grasp on right now? Because what you have a grasp on right now is what we're going to build upon.

Calculus one to two to three. So McDaniels is testing Drake Mays, testing the rest of this offense and seeing how much this Patriots offense from player to player can truly handle right now. What is your base level? What is your foundational level? See what you are capable of from all of these different options and then we will select what you're comfortable with. If you can handle 10, 15, 20, 100, whatever you're comfortable with dealing with the plays and the language within those plays, what can you handle right now? and we will take that stuff and We will refine it and make sure you're perfect. You're perfect with those plays and those play calls by week one We're talking about volume of plays by the way and not necessarily the language that goes along with these plays

It is quite possible if not likely that, that the language, the verbiage is simplified. But there's just a lot of different plays being thrown out there right now, because McDaniels is testing his young quarterback. And that's a young quarterback that I believe in. I believe in Drake May, I believe in his ability to learn this offense and do the most with this offense that he possibly can now why do i believe it it's not that i just have a blind belief. And faith in may it's because of what we've seen so far last year drake may had alex van pelt as is o c that was may's third offensive coordinator in three years. his third offensive coordinator in three years. That was really his third different offense in three years. So not only was he jumping up a level from college to the NFL, he was also dealing with a completely new offense that he had not run.

So three offenses in three years. And what happened with May last year, his rookie season, He got off to a slow start. You look at OTA's rookie mini camp, mandatory mini camp, even early periods of training camp may get off to a slow start, but then all of a sudden things clicked. And by the time the season was about to kick off, we were wondering what Drake may actually start week one and take Jacobi Brissett's job that he thought he had. So I've seen it with my own eyes, May's ability to learn a new offense and he had a head start with this offense this year because as soon as McDaniels was hired back in January, May went to work. Now he can't have conversations back and forth with McDaniels at the early stages. But what he can do is he can pull up that tablet.

He could look at all the different plays that Tom Brady ran with McDaniels and look at Mac Jones and what he ran with McDaniels and what Cam Newton ran with McDaniels. And he can go through all of those plays and he can already start studying. So he has a head start with this offense versus last year's offense and van Pelt. High IQ, high work ethic, I believe he can get there. Now there are some similarities and I've talked about these and I'm not going to go deep into it. There are some similarities to 2021 and this season. A young quarterback learning this offense for the first time, some new pass catchers. But there's one big difference between 2021 and this season and that's the offensive line, experience chemistry.

Your left tackle was Isaiah Winn, third year with the Patriots. Of course, this year, rookie left tackle, Will Campbell. Your left guard was Ted Carras, fifth year with the Patriots, 31 starts, the prior two years at center between New England and Miami. Right now we have no idea who's going to be your left guard. David Andrews was the center. It was his seventh year with the Patriots. Garrett Bradbury, first year with the Pats,

first year with May. Bradbury's backup, at least right now, might actually take over the job sooner rather than later, is a rookie in Jared Wilson. Shaq Mason, really the only comp that we can have back from 21 to 25 here, because Shaq Mason was in his seventh season with the Patriots.

Mike Owenu is in his sixth year with the Patriots. And right tackle Trent Brown, it was his seventh year in the league. He was the left tackle for New England back in 2018. He had 16 starts that year. And now we've got Morgan Moses in his first year with the Pats. So that's the biggest difference, is that offensive line. And can they figure things out to help me as the season begins?

But I'm not too concerned here. I believe in the quarterback. I believe in the OC. It sounds like the coaching staff has changed someone's position. That's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of Locked On Patriots, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

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to double your reach to qualified candidates. No wonder 72% of small businesses say LinkedIn helps them find high quality hires. That number was 72%. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash lockedonNFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply. Mike Vrabel has made a significant change that could quote unquote save a player's career. What is that change? Let's get into it. Greg Bedard on our podcast that we do the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles said that Marte Mapu was seen an awful

lot at linebacker during OTA practice number two. Evan Lazar at Patriots.com wrote the following about Mapu. Mapu could play more at the second level of the defense under this coaching staff. Mapu had a nice blitz that got home in Wednesday's practice. So Marte Mapu is playing linebacker and he's playing a significant amount of linebacker. Let's start here. I don't believe Mapu was going to make this team as a safety. And I don't believe that the coaching staff believed he was going to make this team as a safety. And I don't believe that the coaching staff believed he was going to make this team as a safety because when you look at

the safety room, there are already five or six guys that Mapu has to challenge and he would have to leapfrog two or three of those guys. You've got Pettis, you've got Marcus Epps, you've got Craig Woodson. We can go through all the names, obviously, beginning with Dugger and Peppers. That's five right off the bat right off the top of the head Do you honestly believe from what we've seen from mapu in his first two years really last year? Cuz his rookie season for all intents and purposes was lost

Do you really believe that map who was going to beat out two or three of those guys? Do you think he'd be able to leapfrog at least one or two to make it on this roster? I think that was going to be a, uh, an uphill battle for one Marte map who now linebacker, you've got three guys that I think you can pretty much write down in Sharpie that will be on this team. Robert Spillane is obviously going to be on this team from day one. He's going to be that guy. He's the quarterback of the defense. There's no doubt. Christian Ellis,

the Patriots just signed Ellis to a two year contract extension. They match the offer from the Raiders, which tells you how much they wanted Ellis to be part of this football team. Seems like a really good fit for Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams defense. So Spillane and Ellis, they're on this team. I don't think there's any doubt about that. And then you've got Gibbons from Tennessee, who you brought in, has experience with Williams, has experience with Vrabel. So Spillane, Ellis and Gibbons are on this roster. I'd be shocked if any of those three guys get cut before the season kicks off. But then it gets interesting. season kicks off, but then it gets interesting. Then you've got just some other names along with Jelani Tavai that you could easily see

Marte Mapu actually slide past. It would not be crazy. Mapu could easily be the fourth or fifth linebacker on this team. If the Patriots take five linebackers to the 53 man roster to begin this season, then it actually makes some sense that map who could find his way in that mix. I, Monty rice, Cam Riley. I mean, those are the other names along with to Vi. And I could certainly see to Vi maybe be teetering here because of his style of football and

what this defense asks of linebackers to do. So just when you look at it from a positional standpoint, from a depth and numbers game, safety I think is very much solidified for the most part versus linebacker where you might have some wiggle room if you're Mappu. I don't think Mappu had much of a chance to make it as a safety. He does have a chance to make it as a linebacker. And when you go back to the draft of Marte Mappu a couple of years ago, when we talked about Mappu, I didn't do it here. Obviously I was not hosting locked on, but I can tell you that I was saying it everywhere else I was that I wanted to see Mapu get a shot at linebacker because when you look at the

Patriots defenses they were missing athleticism they were missing that sideline to sideline ability and I thought Mapu would make a lot of sense he's very athletic. When you look at his size, he fits the prototype of what Mike Vrabel likes from his linebackers. Mapu is 6'3", 230. That's pretty much right in that area that Vrabel's a big fan of. So the athleticism, the size, Mapu can obviously cover as a linebacker. He's been covering as a safety when he's been out there plenty with this Patriots defense. I think he played 10 or 11 games last year, which seems kind of high, but he was out there.

He was out there a decent amount after the initial injury kind of bogged him down to start the season. So he's shown he can cover some downfield. He can certainly cover some guys tight ends out of the slot if the tight end moves on the line of scrimmage. We know that map who has a very, very high football IQ that has been talked about throughout his first couple of years and his ability to get downhill and be aggressive and make tackles.

So when you looked at some of his stuff from Sacramento State when he was drafted by the Patriots, a lot of us said, hey, maybe this is their answer. Maybe finally they're going to address the athletic linebacker role. And so when you think about what we were saying a couple of years ago and how it fits to this current defensive philosophy with Vrabel and Williams, you can see that fit. Now it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough for Mapu to make this team. First and foremost, you can't make the club when you're in the tub.

And we know that Mapu has been in the tub an awful lot during his first two years here in New England. He's got to prove that he can be healthy. I mean, I'm not even talking about just being consistent. I'm just saying he needs to prove that he can be healthy. He needs to get through a camp without being on the sidelines walking around constantly. That's all we saw last year at training camp was map who walking around with a hoodie on is his hands in his hoodie. He's got to be healthy. He's got to stay healthy. It's going to be difficult to leapfrog Johnny to vie. And I know people were frustrated with to vie last year and what he said in

his role with the team last year. Now, according to reports to vice playing a lot of off the ball linebacker is that really his best fit? I have my questions So this could be to vie versus mappu if mappu could stay healthy that could be the battle for the fourth linebacker spot Now it could hurt mappu as well that he's not really an option to play the edge Tavai has played some on the edge, but that was in the old Bill Belichick slash Covington defense. So is he a fit there now? I have my doubts, but I'm intrigued. I am very intrigued by this idea of Mapu playing linebacker. Now I'm not going to sit here and guarantee anything. He you know, Mapu has to prove it to me that he could stay on the field and until he proves

it to me, I don't think he's going to make this team. But if he can be healthy, if he can prove that he could stay healthy through this camp, Marte Mappu playing linebacker, it has me intrigued because of his skill set and how this defense wants to run. I could see him being a pretty, pretty good fit in this defense. During this off season, Mike Vrabel and company paid attention to a specific trait when adding to the roster. That's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of Locked On on Podcast Network, your team every day. It is clear that Mike Vrabel and the rest of his staff and the front office, they highlighted football IQ before they went out into the off season, added players via free agency

and added players via the draft. And the message is clear you've got to have a good to great football IQ if you want your best chance to make this football team. If you are not a smart football player if you don't have that high IQ it is going to be an uphill battle for you. have that high IQ, it is going to be an uphill battle for you. And that's just obvious with all the players that this front office, this team has brought in this year, the massive turnover to this roster. Let's start with just Craig Woodson, because a lot of people were questioning the draft pick when the Pats selected Woodson towards the top of the fourth round, and we've spent a lot of time on Woodson towards the top of the fourth round.

And we've spent a lot of time on Woodson on the various podcasts. So I don't want to repeat myself a ton. But I found it interesting that night one, as soon as as soon as Woodson was drafted. On that Saturday night, Ryan Cowden met with the media and he was asked about Woodson and where he was picked and basically did you reach. And Cowden mentioned the history of himself and Vrabel with the safety position.

And sometimes people say you reach and people thought we reached for this guy and that guy. He brought up Kevin Byard. But Cowden also pumped the tires of Woodson's football IQ. And this past weekend, Mike Reese at ESPN.com wrote about Woodson. And here's part of that write up from Reese. Cowd, the defensive backs coach Trey Watson told ESPN quote any week we went into a game plan if there was a matchup or a formation or personnel Woodson was going to be the one adjusting and cleaning up everything for us because he could handle it unquote.

Reese writes Woodson's cleanup skills have already shown up at times during the Patriots voluntary OTAs the past two weeks. He has displayed a knack for being in the right place from the deep part of the field to closer to the line of scrimmage, which included breaking up a pass from backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs in Wednesday's practice. And Woodson, it's just a long line of guys that you can look at. The Patriots added this off season that has a high football IQ. Just take the draft, for example. Will Campbell, we heard a lot of stories about how Will Campbell,

when he sat down for these pre-draft meetings, these pre-draft interviews, it was like talking to another coach. It was like having another coach in the room. Very, very smart football player. Trevion Henderson, his ability to pass protect, blitz pickup, his understanding of the game, not only being able to deal with pass protection, but also being a really good running back,

but also being a really good pass catching running back at a high, high, high quality program like Ohio State, which just checking notes won the national championship. That takes football IQ. Kyle Williams was a quarterback before he turned receiver. Takes an IQ. Jared Wilson, look what he did one year at Georgia as the starting

center had a good season. And a lot of people have commented, including my friend, but are talking about how smart Wilson came across at the podium when he was speaking to the media a couple of weeks ago. He is understandably a pretty smart guy who was able to transition to starting center at a place like Georgia. So Wilson's IQ on the football field is rather high. And then you've got Woodson and others. High football IQ almost exclusively across the board here with this draft class, Campbell, Henderson, Williams, Wilson,

Woodson, on and on. Robert Spillane just mentioned this last segment he's going to be the quarterback of the defense very smart football player Morgan Moses very smart football player high football IQ was a trait that variable obviously underlined along with the rest of this front office and coaching staff. Now why would you do that? You would do that because it makes all the sense in the world.

The turnover on this roster has been unbelievable. The Patriots have flipped a lot of dudes on the roster in a couple of months. And when you look at the turnover, the Patriots had one of the highest turnover rates of this off season. And so when you are bringing in so many new names and so many different faces, and they're going to play, a lot of them, the vast majority of the new guys coming in are going to be playing with guys they've never played alongside, then guess what? High football IQ allows you to learn quickly. You're not dragging your feet.

You're not stuck in neutral because you pick things up quickly. And it allows you to stay ahead of the curve and not worry about, oh man, we got to teach these five guys this offense again. Oh man, we got to teach these five guys the defense again. How is this guy not getting that? How does he understand?

How does he not understand the blitzes that we're running here? McDaniel's sitting there going, how does he not understand? That's the play call. So a football IQ, when you're gathering all of these new players, and you're trying to transition to a different era for all intents and purposes, to have guys that you bring in

that have the high football IQ, it will just help that transition speed up. Not only do we talk about learning quickly in the initial burst that you get from that, but you're also looking at week-to-week adaptation. Mike Vrabel likes to change things week-to-week. Bella Chickian, we know that McDaniels loves to change things week to week. They are going to be once again as they were under Bill Belichick, they are going to be a game plan specific team.

That's asking a lot from your players and that's why Belichick went out and got a ton of smart football players, especially at the beginning of his tenure. You can look at somebody like Mike Vrabel who played offense and defense. The guy could play a bunch of positions on the field. So high football IQ allows you to have a team of 53 that you are comfortable with when you say to yourself, okay, we're going to go week to week. We're going to have to change. We got to have guys that are capable of deploying one game plan in week three and then come

back and deploy another game plan in week four. Are they able to speed up the learning process so that we could practice is efficient enough for us not only to game plan in a certain manner, but make sure we can execute that game plan high football IQ And when you're trying to turn a team around back-to-back for win seasons when you're trying to turn that kind of mess around You don't want it to take forever and I believe Rable and everybody else at that facility, their desire was to not only

bring new faces in, but they wanted to bring new faces in who could have a sudden impact. And the best shot at that sudden impact is if you bring in guys that can mentally handle what you're going to ask them to do You can't mess around The Patriots need urgency If they want to have a good season if they want to prove to us and the rest of the football world That the Patriots are a serious program They're gonna want to do that early now. They don't have to go five and oh, or seven and two to prove it.

However, if you get off to a good start, you've got three out of your first four games at home, there is an opportunity to get off to a good start here. And urgency gives you the best chance of having that good start. And you can have urgency if everybody under the same roof understands what you're trying to accomplish. High football IQ, it was a trait that Mike Vrabel spotlighted throughout this offseason and we'll see if it works. That wraps up this edition of locked on 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 hosts Kyle crabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this off season. Find Locked On NFL scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day and we will see you on Wednesday.