Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith and the Fate of New England Patriots ‘Tight Endage’ in 2023;

Episode Date: January 18, 2023

The New England Patriots are looking ahead to 2023, and offensive improvements will be a key part of the offseason. The team will undoubtedly look to incorporate tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry in to the offense more than they did in 2022. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper to evaluate both Henry and Smith’s output last season. They also discuss the future of both players in the organization, and whether their collective (or individual) fates are tied to the style of a new offenisve coordinator.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONUltimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at Betterhelp.com/LockedOn and get on your way to being your best self.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will the New England Patriots properly use the T.E.s in 23? Stay tuned. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a big part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day.

Remember, Lockdown Patriots free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. Smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to, follow Lockdown Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode, folks, brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline has you covered this season with more props, more odds, and more lines than ever before. BetOnline, where the game starts. Patriots fans, thank you for joining me here on this Wednesday episode of the pod. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So let me know what's on your mind.

Reach out to me. Anything you want to know, anything you want to find out, reach out to me on the Bird app at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well, at LO underscore Patriots. That's, fans, it's Wednesday. And what better way to spend a Wednesday than the way that we spend

pretty much every Wednesday here on Lockdown Patriots. Talking football with the Countess of Clas herself. Columnist extraordinaire from Pats Propaganda. Also the host of her very own podcast, The Claire Perspective of Patriots Podcast. Found on full press coverage Patriots. And wherever you consume your podcasts, the illustrious Claire Classey. Claire Cooper joins me today. Claire, thanks very much for joining me from across the pond today. Well, it's nice to be here. Thank you very much for having me on Wednesday, as usual. Absolutely. Wednesday, if Mondays were created for Murph, Wednesdays were whittled for the

countess of class, and that's exactly how we're going to approach this today. Claire, you're in for a treat, my friend, this morning and this afternoon, this evening, whenever you happen to be listening to this podcast, folks. We're talking a little tight endage. That's right, folks. Positional previews continue here on Locked On Patriots. Murph and I broke down the offensive line on Monday, and now we're going to go into the tight ends and Claire after Johnnie Smith Hunter Henry signed their deals to become New England Patriots in the 2021

offseason I know you and I were excited right off the bat the rebirth of tight endage well maybe a little more excitement on this side I know Claire was not too happy with the fact that Ryan Izzo was not going to be in the fold anymore. But I'm not going to bring that up too much. I'm not going to see the pouting, see. I have displeased the Countess. What to do? I'm going to regale her with a tale.

Well, in any case, that's a very, very bad Billy Zane impression. I don't know why I keep doing these. Claire laughs at them. I do. I get in trouble. Well, thank you. I encourage you because I love. Yes, you do.

She encourages this, folks. Please send your hate mail to me. This is not her fault. But in any case, folks, bottom line, the New England Patriots were looking to add a spark into that position that really had been kind of dormant in terms of usage in terms of productivity since the retirement or the leaving i should say rob gronkowski from new england um we didn't quite get it in year one 18.6 percent of the patriots offensive snaps contained the two tight end sets which we were really looking forward to seeing 2022 comes in you figure okay maybe this is an opportunity now for the Patriots to utilize the

tight ends a little bit more accentuate the seam routes that John Henry uses really get John O'Smith involved in the red zone let people see what a what a typical threat he can be in that area but again it just it did not happen for the New England Patriots. And this was a continued problem for the Pats. So when you look at the tight end positional evaluation for 2022, what displeased the Countess? What pleased the Countess? What was your take on the usage of tight ends in 2022, Claire? Well, to say what kind of, what pleased me, you have to, you do have to jump back to 2021

because how they utilised Hunter Henry in that year is how they should be using him. That was kind of like, you know, the blueprint for how to use him as a tight end. And I know that's kind of slightly moot because we have a different sort of OC and this, you know, we're talking about a completely different season, really, from 21 to 22.

But I looked back because I wanted to compare the two years because a lot of people kind of write off the 2020 season in a way, anyway. But I really wanted to compare the figures when it came to 21 and 22 with these guys sort of under Mac for you know the four years and in 2021 Hunter was ranked the 10th tight end on PFF and he had for example 74 targets receptions, 603 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Now, obviously, that's not sort of in the very cream of the crop of Titans, as people like to say.

But in the top 10, I think he's pretty darn good. And he had zero drops as well. So it was shown that they knew how to use this guy productively, correctly know whatever sort of terminology you want to use then flip it to 2022 and yes i know we're talking about coaching as well everything is so integrated and and but when we just just looking at how the titans were used to try trying to put in a vacuum hunter had 57 targets for 41 receptions for 509 yards and two touchdowns. Now, he dropped from 10th in 2021. This is only on PFF, so I'm only going on one source, to 50th in 2022.

He just about made the first page of PFF. Now, that can be put to several factors. Granted, things drop drop off skill sets drop off you know uh systems change that kind of thing and in the in the case of the patriots they had a different oc did they have an oc i know this is still you know one of those things but we'll pin that aside because you know semi-relevant that's a significant amount considering it was the same quarterback and the same tight end at the same team with the same head coach. When you look at Jonu Smith, the picture is quite different.

And I think this is very reflective of how the Patriots and him have sort of melded, if you like, because in 2021, Jonu had 43 targets, 28 receptions, 294 receiving yards and one touchdown. In 2022, he had 37 targets, 27 receptions, 245 yards and zero touchdowns. He went from 49th on PFF in 2021 to 63rd in 2022. But the numbers of how

they used him aren't greatly different in the way that sort of the Hunter Henry numbers were different. And in comparison to, if you use the comparison of Hunter to Jonu, again, you've got very different numbers. Now, these are only stats, and I know I'm throwing lots of numbers at people and I apologize I'm trying to to really

show you guys the picture of it they tell the story yeah of how they know how to use Hunter Henry you can't tell me that that Josh McDaniels is the only guy in that building who knows how to use Hunter Henry correctly don't believe it for second. The thing that's sort of more significant is how Jonu Smith isn't necessarily being utilised successfully or how Jonu Smith isn't very successful in the Patriot system. We're not really sure.

It's six of one, half a dozen of the other, really. But it does really show a good picture of we're not quite sure after these several years if Jonu Smith Smith as a great athlete as it is and you guys know I don't trash players I don't do that sometimes I'm a bit negative about them but I won't trash a player and I'm not trashing Jonu Smith he's a good tight end I'm just not sure that he can be used in the Patriots system sort of productively I just don't think that they can unlock that secret to bringing out of him what

they need whereas Hunter Henry they can and they have and we can we've seen that they can so flipping heck let's hope that 2023 they turn that key again as you guys all like to say in regards to keys for success and things like that and and you know they really break out how to use him again with Matt Jones i want that we saw that mac hunter connection and it was a beautiful delicious thing in 2021 and we saw tiny little sprinklings tiny little grains of sweet sugar of it in 2022 so flipping heck for 2023 give me a bag full of that that's all i can say. Yeah, very good. I like that.

And I like that comparison. And I'm glad that you mentioned the dichotomy between Hunter Henry, John O'Smith, their learning curves, how they assimilate into the Patriot system. Josh talked about this last year. And I remember being on a conference call, a Zoom call, with Josh and several members of the media last year where the tight end position came up

and specifically John O'Smith's usage and the reason why Hunter Henry had assimilated himself so well into the Patriots offense and Smith continued to struggle. Hunter Henry is one of the best route runners I've covered. That includes wide receivers. That includes tight ends. He didn't get the opportunity to utilize that skill set much in 2022 but when he did and he was able to utilize the scene routes off a play action you saw what could happen hunter henry breaking for big yardage getting into the end zone only two touchdowns for henry this year should have been three folks yes i'm going out there on that limb that should have been three there was no excuse why that wasn't called but i digress the. The season's over. I can't cry over spilled milk.

But Josh, I thought, gave good insight on Johnner Smith and what his difficulties were. And he mentioned the difficulty in trying to really, I think, absorb the Patriots' language, the Patriots' determinations in terms of how to deploy their tight ends. It's a difficult system to crack. And I'm using Josh's words exactly here. The tight end position here and really everywhere, but he was specific to New England, is unique because you're involved in so many different things. You're involved in run blocking. You're involved in pass receiving, pass protection, alerts, motion.

Especially if you're a move tight end, you're really required to kind of be all of those, and that's something that I think John O maybe has struggled a little bit that new england vernacular that you see so often you know in uh you know whether it be in media or whether it be the fans talking about it and how difficult it is to come in here and learn the offensive system for the patriots may end up being a learning curve a little bit for the new players that come in, especially a tight end like Jono Smith. So it'll be interesting to see if that continues this year or if the Patriots have seen enough, like you said in Jono Smith, where it just may not be the fit that everybody thought it would be. I still think there's a lot to like about what Hunter Henry brings to the table. I love John O'Smith. I think he's a very hard worker. I think

he's a good player and a good weapon for what the Patriots need him for, but the Pets brass is going to have to be the one to make that determination clear. It's one of those things, isn't it? It doesn't always have to be that there's anything wrong with anybody. It can be a really good team. It can be a really good system. It can be wrong with anybody. It can be a really good team. It can be a really good system. It can be really good offense. It can be a really good player, but just there, there just isn't, it just doesn't all connect well. And if it did, then every single NFL team would probably be really successful if everything

can, because it wouldn't be down to any kind of mojo or atmosphere or, you know, the sort of the human nature of it as well you know we look at it on paper like we've been talking about the statistics it isn't always it isn't about just what what's there on paper how they add up on paper you know what johnny smith is on paper you know his list of his skills and stuff and how they could be used it just sometimes it just comes down to the fact that things just don't work and it's kind of nobody's fault or everybody's fault depending on which sort of side of the coin you want to be

glass half or glass half empty kind of person I'd like to say it's nobody's fault because it sounds kind of better and I think it's just it might just be it's one of those things it's unfortunate it just doesn't work yeah and ultimately it may not work and I think that's going to be one of the big keys and one of the big questions for the Patriots to answer in the offseason but New England is committed to making significant offensive changes as we speak they're interviewing in Foxborough at least we think they are we haven't gotten official confirmation at the time Claire and I are recording this, but it appears that the Patriots are definitely searching in earnest for a new offensive coordinator. Does that mean a resurgence of the tight end position?

Well, it might if they bring a certain guy in that a lot of people are talking about. Claire and I are going to talk about what the new offensive coordinator may mean for the tight endage position when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, Claire, I continue to be more and more excited by the day by our new partner and sponsor of today's show, and that is the mobile game Ultimate Football GM. Folks, again, I say it all the time. I cannot say it enough. You will absolutely have a blast with this game.

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Patriots fans, the illustrious Claire, classy Claire Cooper of pat's propaganda and full press coverage patriots joins me here today each and every wednesday she brings the wisdom and counsel the class and all of that it's all here in the studio as we speak and claire we're talking tight-ended so you can see the smile on claire's face if you're watching on youtube if you're listening to this podcast you can feel it you can sense sense it. It's there. Trust me. Claire, we talked a little bit in the previous segment. I thought you gave phenomenal insight on what the Patriots' evaluation, or I should say the evaluation of the Patriots' usage of the tight ends in 2021, including 2022 as well, definitely. But there is an undercurrent of Patriots fans, Patriots media, us,

that feel that perhaps the struggles at the position have not completely been on the shoulders of the players themselves. That maybe the usage, the play calling, that type of background may have contributed to their difficulties in the field and may not have their best interest in heart. In other words, they're not being used the proper way, Claire. You see things us mere mortals don't see when it comes to tight endage. When you look at the way that Josh McDaniels called the game with the two tight end sets

with John R. Smith and Hunter Henry then you go to the Matt Patricia Joe Judge experiment where these guys were calling plays uh Mac Jones looked like a different type of quarterback when throwing the tight ends when he was utilizing them properly um how much of this do you think was on the coaching situation and do you think a new offensive coordinator which the Patriots are right now in the midst of trying to figure out could that be the key for a resurgence in 2023 well I think so I mean a lot of it talking about who the coach may be a lot of it is going to depend on what kind of OC that they bring in um or the the sort of the different ways the Shanahan experience and this and the other sort of thing so in regards to showing or yeah shedding some light on how coaching can affect it is

as we as we mentioned previously when i as i threw all the stats out to you and stuff like this and we talked about hunter henry when we talked about johnny smith johnny smith's utilization sort of plateaued it seemed to be pretty much the same for the two years. So I think that's kind of more than simply just coaching. Hunter Henry gives you a brilliant, glaring kind of obviousness of how the coaching affects it. Because 2021, when he had Josh McDaniels, he was utilised well. There was that great connection with Matt Jones, the nine touchdowns, this and the other, as we discussed.

2022, you've got your defence guy calling the plays and this, this and the other, as we discussed. 2022, you've got your defence guy calling the plays and this, that and the other. And I don't think he quite knew how to use a tight end properly. I think he needs a little bit of schooling, the Clancy Clare School of Tight Endage of how to use your tight endage correctly. Maybe. Just kidding.

They're taking applications and enrolments next week, folks. Yes, exactly. The off-season, that's what the off-season is for. That's right. But seriously, that kind of gives you the, well, yes exactly the off season that's what the off season is for that's right but seriously that kind of gives you the well it's got something to do with the coaching it's obvious that hunter was successful then he wasn't because he wasn't being used successfully in the right way so a lot of it falls on the coaching shoulders when you can use hunter henry as an example of that now

you mentioned in regards to OC who they're bringing in, the big hubbub about it being Bill O'Brien. And I think it's because that's the one that makes the most sense for us as Patriots fans. Now, just because he comes in doesn't mean he's going to be brilliant, doesn't mean it's going to be successful. But we don't want to think about that right now. We just them to get an oc to be honest with you but if they bring in the likes of willow bryan he utilized the 12-man personnel quite considerably you know he was big into the two tight ends two wide receivers so that works very well into what i want the kind of jam that i want going down now that's going to depend on who the tight ends are in in this season this season coming, I suppose I should say, sorry, in 2023.

Because I know that we'll kind of maybe talk about this in a little bit, but we don't necessarily know who's going to be there. So it's all very well saying that he'll bring in the 12 personnel, but not if you haven't got two very competent tight ends. Now, if there is Hunter Henry and Janu Smith, I still don't know if you will utilise that 12-man personnel very well, simply because of the whole thing that we've already touched on and we've talked about before, how Janu Smith maybe isn't jiving in the Patriots. So it's going to depend on that. And I think really sort of the main thing to say when it comes

to discussing the OC and what we might end up with and what we could get out of it, that kind of thing is the key. The biggest thing at this stage, I believe, is utilising what works for the quarterback. Yes, I want tight endage. People want wide receiver one. Yeah, I completely, fully get all that.

I think the most important thing that we need to not lose sight of is how this guy works with the quarterback because that's where you build your team sort of from and I'm not saying that the quarterback's more important excuse me than everyone else because you guys all know that I'd have a whole team of tight ends so you know because I'm a lunatic but whatever it kind of starts with and we sorry carnes couldn't resist it's true it's fine it's true um but yeah to be serious i think that's the thing that we sort of need to focus on the most is the oc that works best with mac and that's the other reason why everybody's throwing sort of bill over or most people maybe not everybody is throwing the kind of the the bob thing out there is because of the

alabama connection we think he's got a very good connection with mac and we really i think we're just craving as patriots fans we're craving that positivity we're craving that connection that they've got and hoping that them having that connection brings back the success of Matt Jones, gets him to grow further. And we get a 2023 of what we hoped 2022 would be in regards to Matt Jones growing the utilization of the two tight ends and that kind of thing more. So, yeah, I think it kind of comes down to that more than anything else at this particular point in the offseason. Spot on, in my opinion. I think that's exactly what Patriots fans not only needed to hear,

but also what I think is beneficial for everybody to hear, and that Bill O'Brien is not going to come in if he is the guy. And I've gone on record, Murph and I went on record earlier this week. We've talked about this several times. I believe Bill O'Brien to be the best fit for this team as an offensive coordinator in 2023. You mentioned what he can do from Mac, his connection with him, his ability to maximize his capabilities. I think Bill O'Brien is in the best shape to be able to do that. But that being said, he's not going to come in with a magic wand, wave it, and all of a sudden get massive production out of Henry and Smith the way he did.

I like that. That's pretty good. That was good. I like did. I like that. That's pretty good. That was good. But I like that. I like that. Wait, I have props, folks. I have props. I can do this.

Oh, she's got props, folks. Look at that. What is that? Oh, there we go. That's okay. That's like a feather duster. Okay. You can listen to me rant on tight ends, folks, while Claire cleans the top

of her desk. We are going off the rails this morning. Okay, no, all kidding aside, when it comes to the tight endage position, when it comes to what Bill O'Brien can do, Hunter Henry, Jonu Smith are different players than Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. One of the big reasons why Bill was able to find such success with Rob and Aaron, because Aaron was very much wide receiver-like in his moves. He almost used him as another type of weapon in that regard. And Rob really was the prototypical tight end. He could play the move. He could play the wide.

He could do it all. One of the most unique athletes that I've ever covered, and really one of the most unique athletes that i've ever covered and really one of the most productive athletes that i've ever covered you don't necessarily get to harness that lightning in a bottle once again love what hunter henry can do as a wide tight end love what he can do on the scene i still think jono can be better utilized in the red zone i look for bill to come in and do that but it's not going to be a magic wand type of resurgence for this group unless the players buy into it. You're going to have to see improvement from Jonu Smith. You're going to have to see an understanding of the playbook, a recognition of where he needs to

be, and also you're going to need to see him work very well in tandem with Mac Jones. If we see those things from Jonu in 2023, it could be be a better year I think it'll be a big year for the tight ends if not you're probably looking at more of the same but more production from Hunter Henry because I think no matter who comes in you're going to realize that's one of the best connections Mac Jones has when it comes to trying to put points on the board and get big time yardage I do hope so I very much hope so we know the Countess definitely hopes so, and I know you all hope so too. But will these two even be on the field together next year? Yeah, I know.

A lot of people are talking about it. As incredulous as it may seem, the Countess has an answer for us. She's going to pull on a little bit of her clairvoyance. That's right, folks. The tea leaves are here. We're going to read them in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up. But first, keep in mind that today's episode is brought to you by our good friends over at BetOnline, their number one source for

sports betting info, stats, news, analysis. You can get the latest odds and trend for every professional and amateur league out there, from pro football to college. We've got it all at betonline.net and if you love sports podcasts you can even find those at betonline.net as well the fastest the easiest way to get your betting info head to the website today use your mobile device to learn more about the trends and the action betonline.net where the game starts. Patriots fans, once again, I am pleased, I am honored to be joined by Claire, Clazzy Claire Cooper, columnist extraordinaire from Pat's Propaganda,

podcast host extraordinaire from a Claire perspective, a Patriots podcast found on full press coverage, Patriots. Claire, we are talking all things tight endage. Claire has had a ball today. I've had a blast as always, but we know, Pats fans, that this offseason is going to be an important one for the future of the franchise. A lot of offensive changes are expected. Special teams changes maybe. Defensive tweaks here and there. We all want to know what the Patriots are thinking, especially when it comes to tight endage. We've talked Hunter Henry. We've talked Johnnie Smith today, but

will either or both be a part of the team in 2023? Well, good news, folks. To help us crack the code, we are fortunate to have our very own famous sage, our famous soothsayer, the all-knowing, all-seeing, all- omniscient Countess of Klaas. That is right, folks. It's time for a little clairvoyance. And the tea leaves have arrived.

These tea leaves that Claire is about to read, folks, hermetically sealed, kept in an ancient ceramic tea kettle. Really, it's a gorgeous little thing. You've got to see this. On the shelf of Locked On Headquarters since noon on Monday. No one, not even the illustrious classic Claire Cooper herself, knows the contents of these tea leaves until now. So, Claire, in your infinite wisdom, in your clairvoyant essence,

when you look at the tight end position, are we looking at a situation this season where both Hunter Henry and John O. Smith are on the field? Or have we seen the last of this duo in the New England Patriots uniforms when it comes to 2023? I feel like you really oversell me on this segment, Michael. I really do. But it's the clairvoyance.

Which I think is oversold. But anyway, it's lively. I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't oversell. No, I think is oversold. But anyway, it's lovely. I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't oversell. No, I think so. She's got a clairvoyant gift, folks. After all, her name is Claire.

She kind of has to. Well, when it comes to whether or not they'll have two tight ends, this is the thing. The first thing is I really hope that whatever they do they really sort out because they entered i think yeah the 2020 sort of free agency signings they had to spend a lot of money on hunter and smith because they were in a desperate situation all they got left in their bag of tricks was brian is out and as much as i adore this guy my complete rebound he wasn't all he ever can be is a titan two or three anyway and i fully understand this i know his limitations in

that respect i think he was a bit better than people gave credit for because he was compared to grunk but that's another thing for another day that we've already gone over so that's really all they sort of had left um you know they brought uh ben watson almost out of retirement and things like this it was like they were really scraping a situation so they went out and they paid a lot of money for two Titans now they paid a lot of money for two really good Titans and and I fully appreciate that and we we discussed how they've been successful and maybe not quite so successful in the previous two segments the thing is in regards to moving on from from each you know of the titans you've got hunter

is in his last year of his deal so you'd hope that they would look at the last two years you know of production from him and be like okay we might need to save some money in regard to that but we don't want to get rid of him so let's sort of maybe rework his deal if that's kind of necessary in his last year because if they get rid of him to save money it feels beyond crazy and that's not saying it from the perspective of a tight-ended enthusiast which i know i am i can be non-biased and say well he's the only tight end on that roster there that has been really productive for you in the last two slash three years so you'd get rid of him what you'd empty the cupboard completely once again and dial yourself back to you know the the crumbs of 2020

just seems crazy in regards to johnny smith i know like as we've said in regards to performance and things like that he may be somebody that they want to move on from just because he might not fit he might not work there's there's money when it links him. And I'm not even going to attempt because Miguel would do this much better than me. But all I can say is I know that there's dead money and I know that there is money if he's traded. He does release some cap space, but it will cost. Jonu Smith will cost the Patriots regardless of whether he stays or goes,

is the extent of what I can say in all fairness. Now, they might be happy to eat that cost, to be able to trade him away because they don't think he works in the system. It's losing money where they sort of need money to be spending on other things, possibly the wide receiver one that I know a lot of people want to, and they need money to spend there. Now, we discussed previously in regards to bringing in Bill O'Brien, and you

mentioned how kind of well he utilized the tight ends and how that that might be the saving grace for Jono Smith they might actually bring someone in who really knows how to use Jono Jono finally clicks you know within within the third year in in the system and maybe you know things things go nice and they get to you know, things go nice and they get to, you know, productive tight ends because they know how to utilise them. Logic would suggest that both of those tight ends are on the Patriots roster in 2023

because of the reasons that I said. Jonu costs and is an elite, you know, he's an elite athlete who I think may still have a chance at working, possibly in the Bill O'Brien. And Hunter just makes sense because he's literally one of the most productive members of the offense, really, or he has been, I should say. So to trade him away, and he's your veteran presence in regards

to tight endage as well. So if you're looking at bringing in some new guys through the draft or anything like that, if you're looking at bringing in some new guys through the draft or anything like that if you've got rid of hunter henry you you then have no veteran tight end presence and if the goodness forbid nick cayley goes on because he gets the job at the jets or something like that you also don't have the tight end coach that you had so you've cleaned out the cupboard completely and you've got no one there in the tight end room with experience within the Patriot system obviously those are the coaches and stuff like this don't get me wrong they're not like sitting in a corner by themselves I fully

appreciate that if you've got a new tight end coach and you've and you've got no veteran presence you've really sort of emptied the drawers when it comes to experience within that system so then it would hinder the development of the newbies of the young guys of the drafts or whoever you take sort of thing so i think logic really suggests that these two guys really sort of need to be there now if they did find a way of trading away johnny smith yeah i think a lot of us are a bit like oh okay shame it didn't work. Sort of nevermind this, that and the other. I think they really need to address this because you're looking at a future. You haven't got much tight-ending for your future.

And I think that they need to make sure that they're building. We saw this this year in regards to O-line, the depth that they didn't have. What happened a couple of years ago in regards to tight-ends, the depth that they didn't have. They need to sort of be thinking about this.

So when we go into the draft, and I know obviously that will be talked about a little bit in the future, when we move forward into that, I know a lot of people will say, well, it's not a position of need. Okay, it's not a position of need necessarily this moment, but halfway through the season, if there's any injuries, things like that, you really want to be getting young guys in. And you want to get them in while you've got a good veteran

who knows what he's doing in regards to Hunter Henry. So you want them evolving in the system when you've still got somebody like that in, because he's in the last year of his deal. So, you know, that's, we don't really know. So I think in that respect, for me personally, you've got to keep Henry and you've got to get some drafting, some really good tight ends. But logic for me would suggest that, yes, Hunter Henry and Johnny Smith are on the Patriots.

I would not be surprised if we roll up in sort of August, September time when it goes down to the 53 and there's Hunter Henry and there's Johnny Henry and there's Johnny Smith out there nil surprise at all if there's nothing in the backup situation in regards to draft and stuff I'll be a little bit concerned but that is a topic for another day yeah you know you sell your clairvoyance short but I think you made a few excellent points on this matter first of all you're absolutely right if the Patriots do decide that they wanted to cut John who before June 1st, they're going to owe him an additional $1.8 million in addition to about $19 million in dead money, according to over the cap.

So when you're looking at a $17.2 million cap number for John who Smith, a $15.5 million cap number for Hunter Henry, you're looking at some big costs in terms of, you know, jettisoning these guys. Even though Hunter right now stands to save the Patriots 10.5 if they were to cut or trade him either first or either pre-June 1st or post-June 1st, I still think what he brings to the table is much more valuable than that, and I think the Patriots realize that as well.

And Miguel has talked about this a few times. I'll let him talk about it the next time he joins me here on Lockdown Patriots. But I think Hunter Henry is a prime candidate for maybe a contract reworking or an extension or something to that effect. They're going to try to do something simply because of the synergy he has with Mac. The Patriots are serious about committing to Mac, at least in the short term and maybe even in the long term. I think Hunter Henry is a guy that needs to be here. So I would agree. I think both of these guys are in the fold when it comes to the start of the 2023 season. And who knows, maybe the Patriots do have an eye on someone in the draft. This is a team that does not draft by

need, folks. They draft by fit. They draft by potential. And I know there's someone that Claire is dying to discuss that went to the University of Notre Dame. So we are going to save that, folks, for the next time that Claire joins us here, because we're going to start to take a look ahead at potential draftees. And I know Claire is excited to talk about them. We will talk about that next time. Claire, in the meantime, thank you so much for joining me here today from across the pond before I let you go please let everyone know where they can interact with you what you have coming up on the horizon in the offseason from the great pen

the great voice of Claire Cooper well thank you very much for having me Mike as always I love talking tight-ended as you all can tell yes I am not disappearing in the off-season, folks. You will still get a Claire perspective. It will be a bit less frequent than in-season, but a Claire perspective was born in the off-season almost two years ago now. So it will continue and soldier through the off-season. So you will still get to hear me, if you so choose to, on a Claire perspective, a Patriots podcast. And please keep an eye out for Pat's propaganda.

It is the off season. So obviously it could read you as a little bit lighter, but me and Tom are still there working hard. So we're trying to get some things in the process. So yes, the next season, there'll be maybe some new stuff over at Pat's prop. So just keep an eye out from where you can find me and always on the bird app, as they like to say at Palsy Claire.

Absolutely folks. I can't recommend it highly enough. Pen to paper, voice to microphone. Check out all the great work that Claire does in the off season especially. It's going to be an interesting and exciting one here in Foxborough and we'll continue to break it down each and every day right here on Locked on Patriots as well. Now that you've made us your first listen folks, please make your second listen. Our good friends over at Locked on NFL.

All the major stories throughout the Shield all covered on a daily basis available wherever you get your podcasts either on the odyssey app whether it comes to youtube definitely download subscribe to follow wherever you get your podcasts and once again folks thank you so much for making locked on patriots daily part of your new eng Patriots coverage, and your first listen every day. Once again, on behalf of the illustrious Claire, Klaze Claire Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate. Stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.