Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 3/29/17- Patriots News Updates & Breaking Down Possible Edge Rushers The Patriots Will Target

Episode Date: March 30, 2017

Chris Simoneau, Patriots Insider for Scout.com, provides Patriots news updates, goes on a rant about Bomani Jones, and breaks down possible edge rushers the Patriots will target. #patriots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good evening, I'm Chris Simino, Patriots Inside of the Scout.com, and also your host of Lockdown Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Wednesday, March 29th, 2017. We have been on hiatus for about a week, but we're back in full force today, ready to roll on with the offseason as we get ready here. Free agencies, free agencies obviously not done this until it's out there, but it has kind of slowed down a little bit and you'll start to see some of the lesser moves and some of those moves turn out to be the biggest moves of the offseason, but you know the Patriots like to attack those cheaper free agents. But we're going to get ready to talk about the draft here because we're getting close to that too.

Today we're going to get you guys updated on all the latest Patriots news and notes. And then we're going to discuss some of the edge-rushing defensive ends and outside linebackers that will be available in the 2017 NFL Draft. It is important to remember, though, that the Patriots do not have a first or second round pick currently. I personally don't know if that's going to change either. I think they kind of look at this draft as being deep and willing to give up a first-round pick in order to go out and get Cooks, and I don't really think they care if they get it back. That's just my opinion.

But we'll get into that too. Some of the edge rushers I think will be available in the third round and beyond. Before we get started, I want my listeners to know that I can be found on Twitter under the handle Chris underscore Siminoe, that's C-H-R-S underscore S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U. If you have any questions for the show, be it about the Patriots, myself, Patriots Insider, or if you're looking to advertise here on Lockdown Patriots, you can email me directly at siminoe.christopher5 at gmail.com. Again, that's S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U dot C-H-R-S-T-O-P-H-E-R, the number 5 at gmail.com.

If you are a member of Patriots Insider on scout.com, which you should be, you can contact me directly on the save via message. Great website. Go check it out. So we're getting into Patriots news and notes in a minute here. I kind of have a combined news, notes, and opinion piece here that I just want to talk to you guys

about. Seeing that I am a newer media member, I've only been a part of the media for a few years now. I started writing for different websites back in 2011 and 12, and Bleacher Report back in 2009, so I'm kind of new to it by their standards, but for the thousands of articles I've written and all that good stuff, I think I'm pretty much established

at this point. I have not had many feuds, but one of the things that I haven't really spoken about, and I haven't spoken about it at all on any of the podcasts, but I haven't really written about it either, is the feud that I had with ESPN's Beaumont Jones back in 2015. I stated on Twitter that I believed Cam Newton was smug, and that was why a healthy amount of fans disliked him. Well, apparently that set off Jones, and he called me racist. He retweeted it and called me racist, which unleashed backlash at me that most people will hopefully never have to endure in their lifetimes.

I spoke to many of the angry responders and explained the reason for what my belief was, and I think it was a crazy thing to say a guy was smug. I don't know if anybody's ever seen Cam Newton in press conferences, especially back in 2014-15 time, but I think most people would agree. So some people said, oh, okay, I get what you're saying. Other people just went off the rails and went nuts, and I had to block a ton of people. It was crazy. So it didn't really matter what i had said at that point because

bomani had already done the damage um so i attempted to speak with him which wasn't a problem in the past we had spoken a few times on you know just about different things joking back and forth um but instead of talking to me which he did for about a second i think he retweeted back to me one time saying some comment about um just very condescending and it just was rude. So I attempted to speak with him. He blocked me and didn't have the testicular fortitude to speak to me. Someone that he threw under the bus, an awful and unwarranted accusation that was completely uncalled for. In fact, I had many, many people come to my defense

when all this was going on. It was crazy. It was absolutely crazy. But it was thanks to Beaumont Jones deciding to call me a racist because I said Cam Newton was smug. It doesn't matter what color you are. You can be smug no matter what. I don't care what color you are. There can be smug no matter what, I don't care what color you are,

there's a lot of smug people out there, and I think Cam Newton was at the time, he's actually gotten better in his press conferences. So now, we're here two years later, and this is why I talk about this story today, I'm not just randomly throwing this out there, In Jones, who still hasn't responded to my emails and has now enraged Boston sports fans and media alike by pointing the racist finger at the entire city, which is just unfortunate. I see that all the time.

This is not the case. But it is what it is. People want to believe what they believe. It is what it is. He has boldly stated that the only way Tom Brady plays until he's 45 is if he's on steroids. And if he pulls it off, he is definitely using. Here's his own words, the all-knowing Beaumont Jones.

Quote, at his age, the only way you're playing six or seven years more is not legal, as things stand right now. I'm saying, to play until you're 45 years old, you can't quite do that naturally. Unquote. Well, I mean, come on. That's a ridiculously loaded accusation, don't you think, Pomani? You know, not that you just ever throw things out there irresponsibly. Irresponsibly, you don't do stuff like that.

I mean, God forbid a member of the Full Letter Network over at ESPN there has a member of their team just say things off the cuff and offend people. Are you kidding me? You just can't say things like that you know i've reached my breaking point with guys like bomani jones you know why is he on such a high profile show every take he has is just the same rehashed crap we are we hear on every on every espn show or every other big time show and it's ridiculous. Or he's busy calling people racists or steroid users. Whatever he feels is okay, because in his world he can say no wrong, and only he is ever right.

And the rest of us are either racist white devils or we are clueless. It's just frustrating. To have a guy like that in the media who you can't even have a conversation with because that's his belief and that's what it is, that's just wrong. It's very frustrating. So, Bomani here, if you ever hear this,

I think you need to find a new thing because your act is it's getting ridiculous and you're not well liked across this country and it has nothing to do with racism it's just a matter of people being able to see through your act stop calling everybody racist yes there's an absolute race problem in this country i'm not going to sit here and be blind to that but don't keep tying it into sports and all the things that go no in one of the most pure things we do have in this country and i believe is sports when it comes to racism i don't think you see it in sports anymore i think you did i think it was absolutely was horrible we i wasn't my generation but i'm not stupid.

I read the history books. I watch things. And I know how bad it was. But don't drag the racism things into sports now because you look at basketball teams, and yeah, it's a predominantly black sport, but there's white coaches, there's white players, there's white front office.

They get along great. It's good. It's not any type of racist situation. I just think that a lot of this stuff is overblown, and the one area that we see the best race relations, in my opinion, is in the sports world. I'm a high school coach. I coach three different sports, football, basketball, and baseball. And I see blacks and whites and Spanish and all different nationalities playing together.

And that's the good thing. They get along great. And I think sports brings people together. So to have a guy like Bomani Jones out there labeling everybody racist and all these things, it's got to stop. Again, Bomani, stop calling everybody racist. You know, it's the farthest thing from the truth, especially when it comes to sports. If you continue, you know, karma's got to catch up, man. It's just not a good idea.

You know, if you ever want to come on the podcast and explain yourself, I'm here waiting. So come on, bring it on. Bring it on, come on the show. You have some explaining to do for your outbursts of just ridiculous, inflammatory comments, Bomani Jones up to his old tricks, so on to something a little bit more interesting and more related to the Patriots, I'm just sorry, I just get in fury when guys get accused of doing steroids and doing things like that when there's absolutely nothing to back it up. So today we have the owners' meetings going on.

So typically at the owners' meetings is trades happen. Not a lot of trades in the NFL, but when the Patriots are involved, there is because they seem to be making one every week. But there is a lot that goes down business-wise and personnel-wise too. Sean Payton had some comments today on the Malcolm Butler situation. So it's nice to finally have some news on the Patriots cornerback and also restricted free agent. And although it wasn't just a simple statement, it did give us a clue of where we stand in this situation.

Payton, who is, again, like I said, he's at the owners' meetings, he showed up for the press conference, but apparently Belichick decided not to. Well, not press conference, but they had all the guys came in and kind of met, kind of like during the Super Bowl. And, of course, like in the Super Bowl, Belichick wasn't there. So he said that, quote, the Saints will not give Malcolm Butler an offer sheet. So basically, they're not trading the 11th pick for him.

I think this is obviously a negotiation tactic being used by the Saints and Butler's agent. More by Butler's agent, I think. I think he's telling the Saints, you know, I think we can get the Patriots to agree on it and such and such. But either way, it is a negotiation tactic. And I don't think the Patriots are really inclined to bite on anything like that, which they're not going to. But when it comes down to this, and I know some people aren't going to agree with me,

I don't think the Patriots are inclined to trade him. And let me explain why in a way that makes sense. Because I've been listening to sports shows around here today and some of those shows, and nobody's given a real solid reason as to why the Patriots are just saying, you know what, we're going to keep you, and you're going to sign your tender, and you're not going anywhere.

Here's why. So Butler has already said that he's not going to hold out if he doesn't get a new deal. He's going to sign his $3.91 million tender in his first round tender, and He's going to sign his $3.91 million tender, his first-round tender, and he's going to play the season, and he's going to become an unrestricted free agent in 2018,

which is exactly what he should have been doing right from the start. And here's how the Patriots should be, and I think are, looking at the situation, and this is something no media person has even mentioned, which blows my mind because they just don't look at the big picture. So they keep him. He plays out the season. They have maybe the best cornerback duo in football,

and they give themselves a terrific shot at winning another Super Bowl. If they decide not to franchise him, which they probably won't because the Garoppolo thing, I think, is real. I think they're going to keep Garoppolo on franchise and keep him on the bench. We're going to talk about that later, not today. He's out of here. Butler goes.

He gets paid like crazy. He leaves. The Patriots pick up a third-round pick as compensation. Now, here's the tradeoff. Would you take the 32nd pick and maybe a couple third and fourth round, something like that, probably fourth round, fifth round, and questions at your second quarterback position, essentially lowering your chances to win another Super Bowl, or would you keep him, play out the season, hopefully win it all, and you probably,

he's got a really good chance with the amount of talent you have, and then, instead of that number 32 pick, you've let Butler walk, but you've got the compensatory, you've got to pick back in the high 90s, a third-round pick, which is still a strong pick. So basically, you drop 60 spots for a much, a considerably better chance to win the Super Bowl that's it

that's the deal so my educated guess is Bill would rather win than take the third rounder knowing that he can replace Butler easier next season when they have more picks compared to this year when the only viable replacement

for agency is Jrell Rivas, and the next guys on the depth chart are Eric Rowe and Cyrus Jones. Darrell Rivas might end up coming here, even if they do have Butler, because Rowe and Jones don't look like they're going to be able to fit the bill at the nickelback position. There are many, many, that's capital letters, many, media members that are still sticking to their guns. They're saying a trade's going to happen, it's going to happen,

they don't want to back off, there's a placeholder deal, all this other stuff. But it doesn't make sense to trade a guy to simply move up from the third to the end of the first round when you know it hurts your chances to win an NFL record tying sixth Super Bowl. I'm not saying this as a fan. I'm saying this is somebody looking at it going, are you kidding me? Fan, media member, whatever it is. You look at this and say, what the hell would they trade him?

They're going to trade him to move up 60 spots? They're going to take away this. I don't want to say percentage-wise what it takes away, but I bet you'd say 10% to 15% chance lower of winning the Super Bowl without having Malcolm Butler on your team, and that's not something I want to give away, and not if I'm Belichick. So why in the hell would they give him away for the 32nd pick

when they know they can get a pick that's going to be in probably the 90s or early 100s and keep him and possibly who knows they might even be able to keep him they might be able to resign him they might be able to trade him uh they might be able to garoppolo might be traded they might end up franchising him for all we know so you know as i predict i predict and as i have the whole time i think butler is going to play out the 2017 season in New England. And again, I'm still not convinced that a long-term deal can't be worked out. So April 21st is the deadline to sign this first-round RFA, Tuttner.

So he has another three-plus weeks to negotiate with other teams. Not happening. Here's the thing. He's been out there. Here's the thing. He's been out there. He's been available. He's been a restricted free agent since free agency began. Now he's not unrestricted. He's restricted. I get that. But he's been out there the whole time. Teams could have offered him an offer sheet the whole entire time. Nobody's offered him anything. The Saints

already said we're not going to offer him a contract and we're not going to offer him an offer sheet. We're not giving up that 11th pick. So his value in his mind, in his agent's mind, is not what it is in reality. The only team that's really taken a hard look at him and is kind of acting like he's on their team, it's weird hearing Sean Payton talk about it.

He's like, you know what, Sean, it's not a done deal. Not even close because I don't think it's going to be done at all. He's a Patriots football. He's a Patriot. Right now he's a Patriot because he can't do anything until he signs that RFA. And once he signs that RFA, he's not going anywhere because this team is not going to give up a

corner unless they get a bounty back for him. If they get the 11th pick somehow and they give up, say, a third rounder and they work something out, and they can get a corner that they can come in and play right away and they won't sign Rivas and they do that. That could definitely happen. It could. It could definitely happen.

But why are the Patriots going to go out and do all that to trade up to get a cornerback high who is always a gamble? It's always a gamble. Look at Dee Milner. Look at some of these guys that are not even in the league anymore. So why do that? You have a known commodity here. You keep them for the year.

You hopefully keep them after that. If you don't, you get your compensatory. Next season, you get your first-round pick back. You have multiple other picks. You're going to be loaded up with picks next season. You go out, you draft some corners, maybe sign a guy. Again, maybe you bring back Rivas too. But at the same time, Rivas could already be back here.

I have a feeling Rivas is going to come back and finish his career here, and we'll get to that in a couple minutes, a little bit of an update on that. But, again, my prediction, Malcolm Butler stays. He's not going anywhere this season. They're going to keep him, and if anything, they'll let him become an unrestricted free agent and say, thank you for three great seasons as a starter and a fourth season where you developed and made the biggest play

and probably the biggest play so far in Patriots history as far as a defensive play in a game. So that's my take on it. That may sound stupid. People may think that that's ridiculous, but I'm sorry. That's just the way it is. That is truly what I believe is going to happen, and I'm not the only one who believes that.

There's some people in the know who think that he is staying, and don't be surprised if a long-term deal gets worked out on top of that. So that's just my take on Malcolm Butler. So speaking of cornerbacks, apparently Richard Sherman was a Patriots target before the Gilmore signing. So the Patriots, you know, everyone knows that they signed Gilmore to that giant deal. But before they did that, they reached out. And if you think about it, so Gilmore didn't, he didn't even know the Patriots were a player

for his services. I'm sure his agent had an idea. I'm sure they called him. I'm sure it wasn't one of those things he woke up. So I'm going to go sign him. I know that the Patriots had him in their sights, but I don't think that they had him in their sights as soon as people think they did. And I don't think this whole rumor, which is probably real, I'm sure it's true that the Patriots had reached out to trade for Richard Sherman was something that was just kind of, oh yeah, maybe we'll see. Because if Gilmore didn't know that the Patriots

were on the radar and saying they did come out of nowhere, which a lot of people are saying did happen, it makes me think that the Sherman thing got a little farther than people think. Because why would they be so late in getting into Gilmore if they knew they wanted him? It makes me think, I'm just, connecting the dots here makes me think that I think they really had a shot at Sherman, and I think that maybe, maybe that whole situation isn't dead yet, so that's something to keep an eye on. I get this feeling they're not done yet,

and I know that they're trying to put together a team that can absolutely win the sixth Super Bowl here. Sherman's 29 years old. He's got two years left on his deal. He's going to make $11 million in 2017 and $11.4 million in 2018. Seattle's, you know, here's some people saying, oh, they would want a ton back for him. I don't know. I mean, he's, yeah, he's 29 years old.

He's still, he's in his prime years. He's going to be in his prime year this year, next year, and probably one more year after that, and then he'll be sat really down because that's what happens to those big corners. But, you know, I just, I get this feeling that he's definitely still available. And I don't think he'd have to give up a ton to do it. The Patriots, I think they're pretty clear that they were determined to add a big corner.

I think they want to add a second one, too. So it's just really interesting to think about that whole timeline and how the media today, some members of the media kind of played it off that, you know, well, they just kind of talked to him. Even Ian himself, and Ian Rappaport's a really good guy, another guy that I've had good conversations with, and I've gotten some advice from him, he's good. He said it himself that, you know, it just was a small talk, no big deal.

I don't think so. I don't think it was a small talk. So, again, Richard Sherman, two years left no big deal. I don't think so. I don't think it was a small talk. So, again, Richard Sherman, two years left on his deal. Seattle's kind of in a position where they might have to do some things contractually with some of the players they have in order to retain some of the younger talent they have. Sherman's getting a little long in the tooth. Don't be surprised if New England ends up being his home at some point, which would be very funny if him and Brady ended up on the same team.

I have a feeling they'd become best of friends, too. So, speaking of not best of friends and enemies, Roger Goodell is going to make his return to Foxborough on opening night. Yippee-dee-doo-dah. Goodell, the man who is hated by the entire New England Patriots fan base. I'm not a huge fan of him, either. And it seems the front office seems to hate him, too the entire New England Patriots fan base. I'm not a huge fan of him either, and it seems the front office seems to hate him too for New England.

They released a press release today that I can't say off the top of my head because I don't want to misquote them, but it was quite funny, and it was just a shot across the bow to the NFL. It's just non-stop. I love it. So apparently he's going to return to Foxborough for the season opener in September

night the Patriots are going to raise their fifth banner in spite of Goodell's obvious attempts to prevent that from happening. It's going to be a nice reminder that the parity in the league that he's searching for, it's not going to happen as long as Belichick and Brady are doing what they do. As long as Belichick's around, I don't think parody's going to happen. I think the Patriots are going to be good for a long time. So good luck, Roger, if you get a chance to listen to this, which I'm sure you won't because I'm sure you don't listen to lockdown Patriots,

but that's your loss, clown. So you better wear earplugs and you better bring a change of clothes because I think you're going to hear the loudest boos you've ever heard, and I think people might throw stuff at you like tomatoes and stuff like, you know, back in the day and Shakespeare shows and things of that nature. I think you, uh, I think you're making a mistake coming here. I just do. I don't think it's a good idea. A lot of people think it won't be as bad because they won. People around here are very hateful when it comes to people crossing their sports teams.

So I'm very loyal. I don't know. I think that Rodgers is going to get hit in the head by a tomato, but who knows. I'd say good luck to him, but that would be a lie. The way I look at it, you reap what you sow. Let's take a minute to tell you about one of our sponsors. Patriots Insider on Scout.com provides daily news, video from NFL.com, great fantasy football, baseball, basketball, all types of stuff.

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You're going to get free Sports Illustrated for a full year. That's a good deal. Sports Illustrated is a great magazine. They've got good articles. One of my favorite writers and another guy that I've gotten some advice from there, a good guy, Greg Bedard, he's got some good stuff in there. Peter King's got some good stuff in there. So go check that out. You get a free

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for the year. Don't be a fool. nwe.scout.com Register today. Do it. Don't waste any time. Go register today. So we only got a few minutes left here. So we got to get our edge rushers in.'re not gonna speed through But we are gonna go a little quick

Just because I don't wanna Tie up all your time You guys have lives, I get it But the Patriots pass rush I believe in a whole Was lacking in 2016 Even after Trey Flowers Started to become a dominant force

In pass rushing situations. Chris Long, he had a decent season. He was one of those guys, though, that got pressure, pressure, pressure, didn't get the sack. And I'm going to say this forever. I'm not immortal, so I won't say it forever until the day that I'm not able to talk anymore. Chris Long and guys like that, they get pressure.

It's all well and good. You've got to get to the quarterback. You've got to get there. These quarterbacks have strong arms. If they're not sacked, the receiver's going to get open, even if he's pressured. A lot of these guys are going to make a play. So make the actual sack.

So Long, he's gone. He went to the Eagles. I don't think it's a big loss. Jabal Sheard, he took his inconsistent play to the Colts. So the Patriots, they did go out and, you know, they lost two guys that did play for them a little bit. I mean, they helped. I'm not going to say that they stunk completely.

Jabal Sheard did for half the season last year. In Long, definitely because he would cause some pressure, it would take away and relieve pressure, open things up for Flowers and other guys. But, again, make the sack. The Patriots went out and made a strong trade, though, for former Panther Coney Ealy, who was the best player on the field in Super Bowl 51. Besides Denver, they were there with Von Miller dominating, but Ealy

was ridiculous. But I don't think the Patriots are adding to this group, even with the pickup of Ealy, and they'll likely add depth in this area through the draft. Without a first or second round pick like we spoke about before, that limits what prospects would fit into England. Let's talk about, and I said we won't go through this forever, there's only a few guys that are actually available with where they're going to be picking that should be available. We can't obviously 100% predict who's going to be there,

but let's talk about some guys I think who might be there when New England gets on the clock at pick number 72. First guy is a guy that you guys are going to recognize his name. It's T.J. Watt, Wisconsin. 6'4", 252-pound outside linebacker, and Watt is the younger brother of Texans superstar J.J. Watt, and he's an intriguing prospect to keep an eye on, and I know he's somebody that the Patriots have already taken a look at, and they like him. He ran a 4.69 in the 40. He had 21 reps on the bench press.

He had a 37-inch vertical, 128-inch broad jump, so he had a good combine, 6.793 in cone drill, 4.13 shuttle, and 11.2 on the 60-odd shuttle. So he had some good measurables, and I know that the Patriots really value the three-cone drill. So that was good to see. He's got pretty good length. He's got big hands. So he's definitely athletically able as far as being an NFL player. So he was healthy, finally, in 2016.

He won the starting job, and he was awesome. He was second-team All-American, first-team All-Big Ten, 63 tackles, and he had 15.5 for a loss, and he also had 11.5 sacks. So he went through some struggles with his knees and things of that nature before he got to where he was. sacks so he went through some struggles uh with his knees and things of that nature um and before he got to where he was but now that he's healthy and um maybe he's on the same uh regimen that his brother got on um i'm not bomani jones i'm not gonna start throwing out steroid accusations i think jj watt worked his you know what off to get where he was and i think his brother's doing

the same thing they may drink creatine and do all that other stuff, but that's not steroids, so I'm sick of hearing that crap. So this guy, he's produced at a high level, but he only did it for one year. That's one of the biggest issues. He's got good length for the edge. He's got a lot more room to grow as far as size is concerned. Again, I said he's 64 252

But there's some he's you can put a little bit on and be able to do it. He attacks blockers He's got good arm extension does a good job of this push-pull. He's really good at getting guys off balance He's good with his hands, which is really important. Obviously as a pass rusher He's a good player. He's ready to go. The thing about him, we saw with his brother, and typically this doesn't fire. When you get another guy who's from the same family, typically the character is similar.

I have a feeling this guy's going to be a worker. He's good in space. He can actually cover. He shoots gaps. He's decisive in his pursuit. He's good in space. He can actually cover. He shoots gaps. He's decisive in his pursuit. He's a good player. He's not as good as an athlete as his brother. He's talking about J.J. Watt here. Best defensive player in football. It's kind of insane.

He'd be the number one pick if he was as good as an athlete as his brother. But that's okay. You know, he definitely doesn't have the same explosion in strength, but he does have enough in order to be a good player in the NFL. A scout from an AFC team, from the AFC, sorry, AFC South, quote, said he looked a lot stronger, a lot more confident on tape, needs to get bigger, but he's already a strong guy.

I can see him playing base end for a 4-3 team, and he's going to keep getting better. So there it is right there. They believe he's going to get better. He's been compared to NFL.com, compared to Paul Kruger, which I think is a very good comparison as far as his ability and what he looks like from just watching him play. I definitely think that Watt and TJ Watt and Kruger are definitely similar players. So I think that Watt might be a guy that the Patriots have a ton of interest in because they've seen what his brother does. They love guys that work. They love guys that love football. So to be

able to go out and get a guy like that I think would be a really good, it'd be a coup for them. But again, he's not somebody that he might not be available when they're on the board at 72. He's currently ranked, according to drafttech.com, which is a great website, he's got him ranked 44th overall. So if they're going to get him, they might have to trade it to get him. So we'll see what happens in that situation. Another guy that I think they're going to have some interest in

is Demarcus Walker out of Florida State. He's listed at 6'3", 280. Walker has got good size, and I know that they, that 6'3", 280 thing seems to be pretty much what they're looking at for guys, those stout, strong guys that can really, you know, make plays and be disruptive. And, you know, they saw it this season when they had um uh trey flowers explode for them and they went on gate coney coney ely he's a similar guy to flowers as far as his build is concerned um so it definitely makes sense for them to go and add a guy um possibly like a guy

like demarcus walker also to add and be able to um improve that pass rush and know that they're going to have defensive ends that can push the pocket and help those corners and hopefully be the best cornerback combination in the league. We talked about that earlier. We'll see what happens. Walker's got good size. Again, he's 6'3", 6'4", depending on who you talk to and what day it is and what type of cleats he wears.

He's 280 pounds. He was a big-time recruit coming out. He was going to go to Alabama, but he decided to go to FSU instead. It worked out for him. He ended up playing as a freshman. He started in three games and ended up becoming the starting champ he ended up starting his second year and when they won the national championship so he had a great year as a junior you know 158 tackles 15 for a loss 10 f sacks and he also broke up five passes which is huge

he was mvp that year senior year having a great year you know He had four and a half sacks against Ole Miss, which was just impressive. He was awesome. And he finished the year well, too. Kind of in the middle, he kind of struggled a little bit. But he had 68 tackles, 21 and a half tackles for loss, and 16 sacks. So, yeah, needless to say, this kid is a player, puts up big numbers. And, again, if you look at where they got Flowers when they drafted him, Walker's the type of player that was very productive in college,

very productive in his time, just like Flowers was. And they got that third-round pick. He might be the guy that I think could be the guy that comes to New England. He's got a really good swim move. He uses his quickness to make plays. 25 sacks in two years playing for the Florida State. That's impressive because they've got a pretty tough schedule. They're playing against legit NFL prospects every week.

He's got different ways of doing things. He doesn't like to mess around with the blockers. He's got different ways of doing things. He doesn't like to mess around with the blockers. He's always trying different things. He's a different type of player, but he makes plays. He's got eight career passes defensed, and that's not something you find in a lot of defensive linemen, but he's got a good nose for the ball. He's a good tackler.

He does a good job of shedding blockers, and he can defend the run. He can defend the pass. There's times he gets a little lazy, which is a problem because you cannot be lazy if you're going to play for the Patriots. But I think that might be a little bit of nitpicking because, you know, from the tape I watched, I don't know how lazy he is. I didn't really see that so um sometimes he i saw a couple times on film that he actually did not exactly

quit but there wasn't good pursuit from the back side um you know playing from the tackle position and playing from the end position he's got to be able to do that um and also his range i think is a as you know it's a little, is a little bit above average. Maybe it's average, but he definitely needs to do a little bit better job tackling overall. He needs to work on his feet, but everybody needs to work on their feet when they go from college to the NFL. They need to be quicker. He needs to be better in his technique. He's just going to get better overall with his technique. That's why he's a third-round prospect and not a first-round prospect.

NFL.com compares him to Mario Edwards. So impressive sack totals, like I said. He's not a guy that's going to be picked in the first. I don't think he's going to go in the second round either. I think he's a guy that's going to be available in the third round. He's one of those guys. he doesn't have that big size that a lot of teams are looking for, the physical traits that teams look for off the edge.

But he can make plays, and he can get after the quarterback. And like we've seen with Trey Flowers, you can move him inside, you can move him outside. I think Belichick likes guys that he can move around. And a lot of people believe that a move to the three technique is going to be the best thing that could happen for Demarcus Walker. Well, the real best thing that could happen for him is he gets drafted by a team like New England that will play him at the three technique and that will play him at the five technique. It will allow him to get after the quarter or the seven technique

whichever side they play him on and allow him to get after the quarterback, or the 7 technique, whichever side they play him on, and allow him to get after the quarterback from different spots. So Demarcus Walker from Florida State I think is a definite strong, strong fit, and I know he's listed as a second round, the 50th ranked prospect for draft tech, but again, I know he's a bit, teams look at him as a tweener, so I think he will drop down a little bit. A couple other guys to keep an eye on, Jordan Willis out of Kansas State, 6'3", 255. The thing about Willis, I mean, he's a good player. I liked watching him play, athletic. He definitely makes plays out there.

I just, I'm not a big fan of his build in the 255. I think they need somebody that can put his hand in the dirt a little bit more. So I'm just a little concerned that Willis' weight is not what they want for a guy, for them in the NFL. He was the second-team All-American last year in the Sporting News Pro Football Focus also, third-team All-American for the AP in Phil Steele. He's a decorated player. He's been one of the better defenders to play at Kansas State over the course of his career.

He's great. He started 13 games last season, not a surprise. He had 52 tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss. And he had 11.5 sacks. So, I mean, he definitely put up some numbers as an All-America, and he was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. So, I mean, the guy can play, but there's something about him, there's something about his weight and his build that I just don't know is a fit for the Patriots.

But they have him ranked, Draft Tech ranked him actually 72, which is funny because that's exactly where the Patriots are going to be picked. He's actually moved up their board six spots since the combine because he did have good workouts and scouts like him. So Jordan Willis, another guy to keep an eye on. Next on the list here of guys I think could fall into their category is Terrell Basham from Ohio, 6'3", 269. We go down the list here.

There's two more we have. Next up, I had Ryan Anderson, a 6'2", 253-pound defensive end slash outside linebacker from Alabama, who I know Belichick personally went down and scouted. And lastly, he's a skinny guy, which I don't know how much Belichick likes the skinny guys, but he's a player. Tyus Bowser, 6'3", 247-pound edge rusher out of Houston,

is a guy that I think the Patriots could possibly take a look at. They did draft, I can't pronounce his name off the top right now, I just can't think of it, but a lighter pass rusher last season, and I get the feeling that they might not be afraid to take a gamble on a guy like that again. The thing that I like about this guy is that he's kind of flying under the radar. He's from Houston. A lot of guys from Houston, they just, they don't really pop. And Bowser is one of those guys that's been productive,

and he's made plays, and he had a great 2016. I just think that he's a guy that the Patriots might be able to get. I think they might be able to get him in the fourth round, actually. The draft tech has him rated as the 74. Actually, they have him rated as the 89th rank, so he's a third round, but I think he might drop a little bit more than that. So last on the list today, Tyus Bowser. So again, keep an eye on those guys. TJ Watt from Wisconsin, Demarcus Walker from Florida State, Jordan Willis from Kansas State, Terrell Basham from Ohio, Ryan Anderson from Alabama, and Tyus Bowser from Houston.

Now, I know there's more guys, but that crew right there, that 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7-man crew there, I'm willing to bet that at least one of those guys is going to be a Patriot come draft day. So study them up if you want to get an idea for somebody who's probably going to be a Patriot come draft day. So study them up if you want to get an idea of somebody who's probably going to be a Patriot. We will talk more about other edge rushers in about a week or so. We want to kind of go through all the different positions of need, but we also are going to talk deep, you know, 5th, 6th, 7th round picks

that guys that we think could be a good fit here, guys like Darius Hamilton out of Rutgers that could be available in the seventh round, guys that I know the Patriots, sixth, seventh round, I know they love making those picks. So we're not done with Ed Rutgers yet. We just wanted to talk about the guys, the top six, that will be available when the Patriots,

or should be available when the Patriots are on the clock in number 72. So that's all we got as far as some draft talk, but I'm just going to whet your appetite and get you guys ready because it's going to be nonstop until the draft is here. I want to thank you guys all for joining us on our return. It's been kind of a tough couple weeks here. We had some things happen that just derailed us, but we are back in full force, excited to be back.

I love talking out to you Patriots fans and filling you guys in on what's going on and giving you my opinion on what's going on and even telling you some crazy stories about when I was accused of being a racist by Beaumont Jones. So I'm glad to be back, and we're going to be back in full force, I promise you guys. Just keep tuning in. Be sure to go to iTunes and subscribe to our show today, as in right now,

and be sure to tell your friends about us. You know, here at Locked On Patriots, you guys know we're all about getting you guys, you Patriots fans, you guys and girls. Not enough girls, though. Get some ladies on here. Ladies, the few that look like three that listen to the show, tell your friends. All right? We're going to get you the most info you need to be the most in the No Patriots fan.

So be sure to join us tomorrow. We're going to provide you guys again with the up-to-the-minute news. I didn't get a chance to talk about it, but we're deep in the show. But Robert Kraft had a couple of comments about Jarrerell Rivas that I want to get into tomorrow. So we'll talk about that. And we're going to talk about some more draft business tomorrow. We're going to talk about cornerbacks that are available in the draft. It's actually a pretty deep class this season.

Again, I'm your host, Chris Semino. Thank you for joining us tonight. And be sure to join us again tomorrow. Have a great night, Patriots fans. Is democracy in danger or decline? Condoleezza Rice, William Galston, and Carlos Gutierrez and others take on this question in the fall edition of The Catalyst, a journal of ideas from the Bush Institute. Surveys show Americans place less trust in institutions like the media and business. Others contend America has faced far more challenging periods and emerged strong.

Leading policymakers, Bush Institute experts, and respected journalists take on this debate. Read about it at bushcenter.org slash catalyst.