Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - LOCKED ON PATRIOTS- 4/4/17- Discussing Adrian Peterson, Richard Sherman, and Rookie Running Backs the Patriots May Target

Episode Date: April 6, 2017

Chris Simoneau, Patriots Insider for Scout.com, discusses the latest in the Adrian Peterson situation, Richard Sherman trade rumors, and which rookie running backs the Patriots will target in the draft. #patriots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, where are you going, Jim? The elevator's over here. Taking the stairs. But our meeting's up on 8. Yeah, I know. But that's 8 floors up. That's like 8 times... I don't... a lot of stairs. That's the point. I've already lost a few pounds and earned almost $100 in wellness incentives. Whoa, you're getting rewarded for working out? Yeah, I know. I'm just as surprised as you are, Bob.

Fearless is full of surprises. That's the power of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program. Learn more about our healthy benefits and sign up at fepblue.org slash choose blue by December 11th. Good evening. I'm Chris Seminole, Patriots Insider for Scout.com and also your host of Lockdown Patriots, your source for everything Patriots. Today is Wednesday, April 4th, 2017. It's been an interesting week down in Foxborough. Tonight we're going to get you guys updated on all the latest Patriots news and notes. Big news of the week, which we're going to get to momentarily, which is going to also lead us into our Patriots draft focus on running

backs, was the Adrian Peterson thing, but we're not going to get too far into that yet. We'll get there soon. Currently, the Patriots have two third down backs. One is close to a third down. Another one they just signed, who was close to a third down back in Rex Burkhead, and that's all. So they not only need to add a veteran for 2016, but they also need to target a talented

back in the draft that I think can emerge as an every-down threat eventually, something that Bill Belichick actually does covet. People don't believe that, but he actually does. He's always wanted to have that person, but he never seems to be able to find them. We're going to take a look at some potential targets who will be there when New England finally gets on the clock in round three, which is early in round three, so it's not like fans are going to have to wait forever. Who knows?

They could end up trading up. There's a lot of things that could happen. Before we get started, I just want my listeners to know that I can be found on Twitter under the handle Chris underscore Siminoe. That's C-H-R-E-S underscore S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U. I put a lot of stuff on my Twitter, a lot of stuff up on my Twitter account. I also cover some Celtics stuff too there. So go check it out for all your Patriots news and get a little dose of Celtics on there too.

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 Locked On Patriots, and that's for you local advertisers and local listeners. Guys, you get a lot of people listening to our shows nationally and locally, so don't be shy. Reach out to me via email. You can email me at simono.christopher5 at gmail.com.

That's S-I-M-O-N-E-A-U-C-H-R-A-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. If you're not, you're making a huge mistake, and I'll explain why later in the show. You can contact me directly on the site via message. Awesome website. We're going to talk about that later. But now we get some more interesting things to get to first. First up, it's impossible for me not to talk about this,

Adrian Peterson. So Peterson is somebody that I've talked about a lot during this offseason, is somebody that I thought would be a good fit to come to New England and take over the running back position. And truth be told, I didn't really take his off the field stuff into account as much as I should have. I'm a father of two, and I understand that some people say, well, it's a cultural thing. Even myself, to a degree, think about that and think about how Adrian probably grew up in probably the same exact way that he was brought up.

But we learn these things as the years have gone on, and we learn that these things are flat out wrong. They're not the right thing to do. And, you know, in Adrian's situation, I'll never forgive him after reading some of the things that I've read, and it's impossible for me to really let go of that. But at the same time, you know, if he's truly apologized for his actions and he's actually gone and tried to fix these things, I just hope that he has.

I just don't think that the Kraft family would allow him to come to Foxboro and meet with him and do everything that they did if he hasn't taken steps on his end to try to repair the mistakes that he made when he did abuse his child. And there's just no getting around that. That's what happened. He abused him awfully. Hit him with a switch, otherwise known as a stick. And it's crazy that that happened. but i get the feeling that that's what happened to adrian peterson when he was a kid and i just get the feeling that he just never

that was something that was never unlearned from him he just that that's what he was brought up with and it worked for him so i guess he thought that that would work for his children in this generation when this is absolutely no need for anything like that that's just horrible. So, you know, on both sides of it, I can see the fans that say absolutely no, and I can also see the fans that say, well, this guy's good, you know, give him a shot, give him a chance. You know, let's not judge a guy who we haven't lived in his shoes and haven't gone through his life and, you know, not used to living in his ways and his culture. But again, it's a tough one to talk about here. You know, I know a lot of fans aren't going to like my opinion that I think that they should

sign him. The former host of this show actually got attacked on media, on Twitter yesterday. Mr. Howe there, Jeff Howe, you guys all know him. He's a great, great, great guy, great reporter, and he had the same opinion that I had and got ugly. It's funny, too, with Peterson. The rumors I heard early in the offseason, they were true. I heard this a long time ago that the Patriots are going to meet with Adrian Peterson.

I brought it up on the show. I told you guys that I got it from one source who I wasn't really trustful from, but I got it from another who I do trust. And the person was right, like they usually are. I'm saying since the start of this offseason, it does make sense for Peterson to sign with the Patriots. I've heard a lot of people saying out there, it doesn't even make sense from a football standpoint.

Really? Have you not watched a football game? You're going to tell me that a running back that plays and runs as violently as Adrian Peterson and plays the way he does and attacks the hole and knows how to use his blockers, isn't going to, why, how would that not make sense? I just, I don't understand people sometimes when you hear them, you know, so-called experts talk about if a guy's going to fit in football wise and this and that. How the heck do you know? You know, I hear that all the time.

You hear guys, you know, and I hate to say their names, but I'm going to, guys like Felger and Maz and guys like that who honestly think that their opinion on the X's and O's matters. And then they have a conversation. They bring on a great, great writer and I say just student of the game

and Greg Bedard. I love what he does because he does what I have to do as a coach and I do it because I enjoy it too but I get it's part of my job as a coach is to study film all the time with my own players and I study film with the Patriots players too because that's what I do but this guy's doing it and he's excellent at it. He does it like a coach says. He's been trained by the NFL coaches you can tell because he knows exactly what he's looking for and these guys actually have him on their show which is awesome. I love what he's looking for and these guys actually

have him on their show which is awesome i love when he's on there i love everything he has to say what i don't love is when the other idiots have to talk because they basically contradict what he's saying that is correct and he's even said it too that i'm sorry greg if you've heard if you hear this and I misquote you, but I know that you thought that Peterson was a fit as a back. I could have sworn you said that, but I could be wrong. But he is. Flat out, he is.

If the Patriots are looking for a big, bruising, dangerous running back on first and second down mainly, and on third and short and goal line situations, Adrian Peterson is definitely a guy that would fit in nicely. I just don't understand. The guy is dying to win a Super Bowl. He's motivated because he's coming off an injury. You know, I know he's going to be 32, but I know he's coming off another knee injury,

but he is a difference maker. He is, and he's still good. There's no risk for the Patriots if they want to sign him on their terms. If he doesn't show that old burst, which I'm not sure if he did or not. I know he had the workout. He actually got worked out. Belichick took a look at him, and they didn't sign him to a contract yet. But the reason they didn't sign him to a contract yet, but the reason they didn't sign him to a contract yet in part is because

if they sign him before the draft, they have to give up a fourth-round pick. I'm not 100% sure the rules of that has something to do with the fact when he got released, he was still on the contract, so the Patriots would have to give up compensation for that, and they're not going to give up compensation for that. But there's no way that they didn't say to him if they had interest, listen, as soon as the draft is over, you're here. So, you know, I don't think that's dead yet just because he left.

And again, like I've said, you know, if he's shown that burst and they like what they see, it's a great, great pickup from a football standpoint. If they don't, they can just cut them. It's gotten this far. They get a sit-down meeting and a tryout. So that's a sign that Belichick spoke with him early on. And one thing we've learned over the last year or so,

when Belichick talks to a free agent, they typically sign with the team. I think eventually, and I know a lot of people are not going to like this, I think it's going to happen. My prediction is he's going to sign a one-year $3.5 million deal with a chance to make about seven with performance bonuses. And I don't think he's going to sign the contract until after the draft is over. I think he's going to sign on the Monday after the draft is over. I think he's going to sign on the Monday after the draft, which I believe is April 30th.

Am I right? 29th of Saturday? Yeah, it's April. I appreciate it's April. It'll be May 1st. So it'll be on May 1st. So keep an eye on that, because I think that's exactly what's going to happen.

Peterson's going to become a Patriot. It's going to happen the first day after the draft. And people are going to be angry about it for a little while. And then I think eventually what's going to end up having to happen with him is if he signs with the Patriots, such a high-profile team, he's going to have to talk about it, and he's going to have to talk about the progress he's made in his rehab because that's really what it is he's a he's a broken man if he thinks that it's okay to abuse a child he's going to have to confront that when he's here in new england

there's no avoiding that so it's going to be very interesting to see what happens in the peterson situation um in fact we're going to talk a little bit more about the Peterson situation, not that situation, but how he ties in with another player that New England's looking at who we'll end this segment of the show with. But again, the Peterson thing is very polarizing. I believe that what he did was disgusting, but I also believe that what he did is rehab-able, and I don't think that he would ever do it again. I think that that is something that he, that's a learned, horrible

way of raising a child, and that is what he was taught, and I think that's what he thought was going to work, because he's successful. It's a disgusting thing that he did. I'm not giving him an excuse. I just think that is exactly what happened. So people can dislike my opinion. That's okay. I'm allowed to have an opinion.

Again, I find what he did to be disgusting. And I hope that he got rehabilitation and that he has fixed his relationship with his children, that there's no more child abuse going on. And again, I think he's going to sign with the Patriots. So, moving on. Gronk-mania is going crazy. Rob Gronkowski, he showed that his back was healthy the other night. When he showed up on Sunday at the WrestleMania 33, Gronk entered the ring, made a tackle on the wrestler Judge Mahal,

who had thrown a drink on him, which was obviously staged, as he sat ringside. It was funny, too, because Gronk, when he went to climb over the fence, the security guard, she wasn't aware of the plan, and she tried to stop Gronkowski in one of the more awkward exchanges in WrestleMania history, but all went well, Gronk, he actually looked pretty good on the tackle, he nailed the guy, people across social media, oh my god, oh my god people, what is wrong with you people, if you're listening to my show and you're one of those people who got mad, come on, come on. Do you really think

that he would have done this without telling the Patriots about this? He didn't just go out there and do WWF. That's what I have to call it. WWE. Give me a break. The old WWF is what I'm going to call it right now.

He obviously spoke with the Patriots about this and got approval. So everybody, calm down. Calm down, okay? People across social media, they just freak out so fast, and it's hard to watch. I use social media because I like to see the breaking news on Twitter, how fast it happens.

It's excellent. There's a lot of stuff that comes out. I use it to promote my site, to promote this blog, blog, sorry, this podcast. But the way that people go nuts, listen, the guy is going to do things in the off season. He is going to do things that are highly publicized because he's a star. That's what he is. It's okay that the Patriots have a star on their team that is doing these type of things he's not out there getting wasted all the time like he used to now he's like making movies and doing things that he thinks again is going to make him money when he's done playing the game and

that's okay there's nothing wrong with that so he needs to chill out and actually the next day when they had Red Sox opening day he took Brady's jersey and ran off with it, which I thought was hilarious because Brady looked like a kid who stole his candy. Got his candy stolen. It was a riot. So Gronk got a little wild. But again, crashing WrestleMania may as well just crashed Twitter and crashed people's rational thoughts.

Calm down, people. He's okay. He got back surgery. He's a, people. He's okay. He got back surgery. He's a big boy. He's had it before. What do you think he's doing to get back into football shape? Standing around? Eating bonbons?

No. He's doing physical acts. What he did to that guy in the ring was absolutely nothing compared to the things he does on a daily basis in order to get his body in shape to play a dangerous game. So calm down, everybody. Okay, so speaking of calming down, I don't know if I can calm down about this guy until I actually see him make a play.

Can Cyrus Jones be salvaged? That is the question. And the answer comes from, of all people, Gerard Bale. And he says yes. 2016 was bad for Cyrus Jones. He was the second-round pick for New England, and he was their top pick. He played for Alabama in college. He had nothing but success throughout his entire career.

And then he had a dreadful 2016 rookie season. Thing is, Jones can play. And according to former Patriots linebacker Gerard Mayo, Bill Belichick's the best guy to get Jones through this bout of confidence and help him regain the form that made him one of the best players in the country. I liked Jones coming out of college. I thought he was a good player, playmaker. I thought he'd be a great punt returner and not even a nickel corner

because he wasn't a nickel corner in college. He was an outside starting guy. I know he's 5'9", but sometimes those 5'9 guys can get it done. Yes, he could probably convert to a nickel corner in the NFL because he is talented, but people don't just limit him to that spot because he can play the outside too. And they didn't just draft him to return punts. They want him to evolve into that other second or third corner to make those big plays on defense and score some defensive touchdowns. Those things are just such huge momentum turners, and he is a momentum turning guy. Mayo has his own podcast, and I think everybody does run

at this point, but they're not all good like us. On his podcast he said that, quote, Belichick will boost up his entire offseason because he gets what the problem is with Jones. As much as he gets after guys during the season, during the offseason, it's more individualized. I know this is a confidence issue, and I think they can fix it, unquote. So Mayo is a good podcast. I actually recommend it. After you've done listening to this one, you have to listen to a lot of Patriots first.

But I'm somebody here who's rooting for Jones to recover the talent he had at Alabama because he'll add an element to the Patriots special teams that they haven't had since Edelman broke his foot. He also has a chance to play a lot of defense, like I said. If he has his head on straight, he could be really, really good for them. I think this is going to be one of, if not the biggest story going into training camp. I'm going to be watching the situation as it develops. I'm going to be getting down to Foxborough soon too with the draft, assuming that they send me my things. I should be able to be down there and hopefully I'll be able to catch up with Cyrus Jones

and talk to him a little bit about what his plans are and maybe try to get him on the show. So when we do that, I'll definitely make you guys aware a lot when we do that. So we're working on getting Cyrus Jones to come on Lockdown Patriots, and I think we might be able to pull it off during the draft. But we'll keep you guys up to date on that because I want to hear what he has to say and maybe try to gauge where he looks like he's at mentally. I think that'd be fun.

Last on the list of news items. So are the Patriots going after Richard Sherman? I kind of think they are. So we knew the reports were out there. It was reported by Ian Rappaport. I think Jason Lockenforst said something about it too. Richard Sherman, he's on the trade block. Today it was confirmed by the Seattle Brass,

so it's not like it's not a known thing. And the Patriots are interested. They're very interested. They want to bring him in and match him up and have those two big redwoods playing at the corner position to match up with McCourty at the safety. That would be nasty. I still want him to sign Rivas at the Nickelback, too. So, think about what it would take to get Richard Sherman. I think it would take to get Richard Sherman. I think it would take Malcolm Butler to get Richard Sherman.

And Richard Sherman's 29 and Malcolm Butler's 27. Richard Sherman is a, he's a really good player. And Butler is too, but Sherman is better. He's longer, he's rangier, he can do things that you wouldn't expect a guy his size to be able to do. I say if you have an opportunity to get him, absolutely, positively go for it. Sherman's a stud. Pairing him up, having one of the best duos in the league, they're obviously going for this as many times as they can. They know that they're at the end.

This is it. Like, we've talked about in New England, you've heard it for years. So they don't load up. Why are they taking advantage of the Brady window? I think one of the reasons why they haven't gone too crazy during the maybe 2009 to 2012, 2013 period is because they knew Brady wasn't done yet. They wanted to rebuild the team to build the juggernaut that they have right now,

and now they're just filthy and loaded. They are so loaded right now, and they're not even done yet. So this is when I'm looking at it and saying, okay, I think this is the push to win as many titles as possible before Brady's said and done. And trading for Richard Sherman is another one of those moves that would make a lot of sense. Now, here's the thing, and I didn't come up with this.

I heard this today on the radio. I heard this. This was on Felger and Mazza, actually. They talked about it. It was interesting. They said Richard Sherman and Adrian Peterson share an agent. So they're thinking, you know, they're working with Sherman to possibly get it, to see how much money it would take to sign him to a new deal if a trade was to go through,

and that the trade negotiations are already down the road a little bit, and that they gave Adrian Peterson a look so that other NFL teams would be interested because the Patriots are interested. I can see that angle. I can. I'm not going to sit there and be naive and say, no way, that's blasphemy. No, I can totally see that angle because that makes sense. But I don't think that's what's going on here.

I think the Patriots are interested in Peterson, and I think they're interested in Sherman also. And I also think they're interested in Rivas. I just think they're trying to go out and sign and trade for the best possible guys they can get to go win Super Bowl 52. They want it. You can smell it.

They want it. They're not going to stop until this team is as loaded as they possibly can be. They still have a ton of money under the cap. Like I just said, Richard Sherman is only 29. Malcolm Bowe is 27. That's not a big age difference.

So let's see if you trade Butler and say maybe a fourth rounder. Maybe even less. Maybe a fifth or a sixth considering that he is a couple years younger and he's not going to demand as much money as Sherman. Well, actually, that's not true. He does want as much money as Sherman,

but he's younger than him, and they're looking to start over. So you trade Butler in a fourth or a fifth-round pick, and you go get Sherman, you're going to be filthy good in the secondary, and you're just going to be really tough to deal with. So, again, I would make this deal in a heartbeat. I think the Patriots have a chance next season to be one of the greatest teams we've ever seen,

and it would be the second time in this run that they had won three out of four, which is just amazing. That's amazing. It's amazing that they've won two out of three twice and bookended this run with that. If they win three out of four twice, that's just...

We've never seen anything like that in sports. Never. Never have we ever seen anything like that where the best player, coach, and the core of the team wins a Super Bowl or wins a championship in 01, 03, and 04, and then 14, 16, and 17, that's rare, beyond rare, especially in a sport like football. So it's going to be interesting to watch, and I think going out and trading for Richard Sherman

is just the type of move that the Patriots have been making this offseason. I'd look at it and go, yeah, I'm not really surprised, but I'm pretty excited to see what it's going to look like. So let's take a minute to tell you about one of our sponsors. PatriotsInsider on Scout.com provides daily news, video from NFL.com, fantasy football advice, which is great stuff, and you can also earn money back. What you want to do is you sign up for PatriotsInsider on Scout.com. You're going to get 10% off tickets to

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you're going to save money. Go sign up today. Again, nwe.scout.com. Okay, so let's get to the second half of the show here. We won't hold you guys too long. This is a few running backs that I'm interested in the draft that I thought we would have a little conversation about. As you guys know, I am the Patriots inside of Scout.com. It's in the name, Scout.com. We like the guys coming up.

We like to talk about rookies. We like to talk about the guys that are coming out of the college ranks. And there's some good players here that I think the Patriots might be interested in that could be there when they're on the clock in the third round. First on the list is Samaje Perini from Oklahoma. Throughout his career, he had 685 carries, 4,122 yards. round. First on the list is Samaje Perini from Oklahoma. Throughout his career, he had 685 carries, 4,122 yards, average 6 yards a carry, which is impressive, and he also had 49 touchdowns. He's listed at 5'11", 233. He's actually been compared to former Charger

in Falcon running back Michael Turner, and Turner had a very good, very productive career in the NFL. Perini exploded onto the scene as a freshman. He put up an incredible 263, 17-13, 6.5, and 21 stat line. He was pretty dominant as a sophomore, too. But this past season, he had the share of time with woman beater Joe Mixon. He saw his carries drop from.263 as a freshman to.226 as a sophomore to.196 as a junior as he had to sit on the bench and watch that wife woman beater take his carries.

Sorry, Joe, I have no respect for you at all. Joe Mixon's a little scumbag. So, again, Preeny was able to break the 1,000-yard mark, even only having 196 carries, and he was also able to score 12 times, 12 touchdown runs, which is an impressive total considering that he ended on 200 carries. Preeny would be a strong fit for the Patriots' offense, and he has the ability to get better catching the ball.

He had 40 catches for 321 yards and two touchdowns during his three years at Oklahoma. Perini isn't a guy that's going to run for 2,000 yards, but he could definitely fit the role the Patriots are looking for in first and second down, a guy they use as a hammer to end games. I think Perini's definitely a fit for New England, but they would probably have to take him with their third-round pick. So they could do that, depending on what happens in the rest of free agency.

But if they do sign Adrian Peterson, I think they would take a running back later. If they don't sign Adrian Peterson or LeGarrette Blount, then keep an eye on Perini as maybe being the guy that they have their eye on to take the reins as their next starting running back, or their first and second down big back. Second running back that I have interest in is Wayne Gallman out of Clemson. Wayne finished with 675 carries, 3,416 yards, 5.1 yards carry, and 34 touchdowns in his years at Clemson.

He's got good size. He's listed at 6'2", 15, and he does run with an edge, which allows him to use that size to his advantage. Goldman, he needs to get stronger in the NFL, but he plays so physical that he should be able to get reps right away and be productive. As his body matures, he could become a starting and very effective NFL running back. He's a one-cut back that loves cutting back inside, challenging Pursuit to cut back and try to tackle him,

which is very difficult considering he knows where he wants to go, and the defender doesn't, and Gallman is going to hit the speed, and that's just tough to stop. Gallman, in my opinion, he's a poor man's version of Matt Forte, which is still a very good NFL back. He can be the poor version of a guy just because you're not quite as good as him. He's still pretty good when you're talking about a guy like Forte. You know, he's got good hands.

He had 66 receptions in his three years at Clemson, and that's a team that's loaded with weapons in the passing game. So although he isn't quite as tall as Forte, and he's not going to put up the same exact amount of numbers, he has similar skill set. He also has the same type of running style and ability to break tackles with his overall strength. So I think Gallman would be a good fit in the Patriots' offense,

and he could be available at the end of the fourth round. So keep an eye on him. Wayne Gallman is the type of guy where if they do go out and pick up Blount or Peterson, which I think it's going to come down to one of those two at this point as far as free agency is concerned, I think that Gallman could be a guy that is a, he's not quite the same type of back. As I said, he's more of a forte type of guy that can catch it, and he can run, but he's not quite the same type of back. As I said, he's more of a forte type

of guy that can catch it and he can run, but he's not quite as physical. He is physical, but not quite as physical as Peterson is. I think he could fit and I think he's a guy that they would take a look at. So keep an eye on him. Wayne Gallman from Clemson. Our third guy, I have him on my list, but I've watched a lot of film of him lately, and I'm starting to second-guess this one. Marlon Mack from South Florida, 586 carries, 3,609 yards, average 6.8 yards per carry, which is really impressive, and 15 touchdowns. He looks like a guy that can succeed in the NFL,

and although he should be available and the Patriots are on the board, they probably won't draft him because he just isn't the type of player. He's going to get drafted, but it's not going to be from New England. I just don't see it happening. So I really shouldn't have put him on the list. I did, but he's a name to put out there. My own Mac, talented, but not really a fit for the Patriots. Next on the list is a guy who could be a fit,

but I'm not a huge fan of him either. Jamal Williams from BYU. It's 726 carries in college. That's insane. 3,901 yards, 5.4 yards per carry, and 35 touchdowns. Williams has been a bull of a back for BYU the last four years. He only missed significant time when he was injured for four games during his junior season. One thing to keep in mind when it comes to Williams, you know, I just said it, he carries the ball. He carried it 726 times. That's a lot of carries.

So he already has a ton of wear and tear on him as he enters the NFL. Yes, he's an experienced back, but history shows us that these high-carry big backs, they're not long for the NFL, and some just don't make it at all. So if Williams goes undrafted, I think he could be worth signing as an undrafted free agent. I've actually seen a lot of different publications say that and scouts that I've spoken to and myself as being a scout and seeing my eye

is trained too. I don't think he's going to get drafted so I think he could be a guy that's worth looking at as an undrafted free agent because I don't think the Patriots should waste a pick on him. I just don't think it's worth doing. The last back that I like is Dante Freeman from Texas. He broke out his senior year at 323 carries for 2,028 yards, 6.3 yards per game, and 15 touchdowns. He didn't get a lot of opportunities during his freshman and sophomore year. He had a combined 108 carries, 94 as a sophomore, for 817 yards, 6.4 yards per carry,

and five touchdowns. So he got a little bit as a sophomore, but not as much as he probably should have. He's listed at 6'1", 249, so he has that build to take a pounding and succeed in the NFL. Freeman did have some fumbling issues, and he's also had some trouble in pass protection, but he definitely has a chance to be a really good NFL running back he needs to work on his flexibility in his running style and not be afraid to hit a different hole if it opens up it's just one of those things he's a little bit stiff sometimes I think Freeman would be a good back for New England to take if they sign Peterson also I think that you want to have an understudy and have a second guy just in case what if Peterson's knee blows up. It's happened twice

in the last three years and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. So I think Freeman would be a guy that the Patriots definitely keep an eye on. Again, fourth round, fifth round, sixth round, that's the time when you're going to start to see a lot of these guys go off the board and I think that's when they would be taking him. So

a few running backs again to keep an eye on. Again, we'll go through the list. Samaje Perini from Oklahoma, Wayne Gallman from Clemson, Marlon Mack, who I just don't see happening, from South Florida, Jamal Williams, possibly an undrafted free agent from BYU, Dante Freeman from Texas, and two other names to keep an eye on. Jeremy McNichols from Boise State, 674 carries, 4,294 yards, 6.4 yards per carry, and 55 touchdowns throughout his career. If you take a look at

Jay Ayagi, I think it's Jay, whatever, however we pronounce your name, I sometimes struggle with it, but look what he did when he came out of Boise State. Look what he's done since he's been with Miami. He's excellent. So I think McNichols is a guy to keep an eye on from Boise State. And one other guy to keep an eye on is Kareem Hunt. But the thing with Hunt, he's played for Toledo. We talked about a lot of carries for Jamal Williams. Kareem Hunt carried the ball 855 times in college for 5,500 yards,

6.4 yards per carry, and 45 touchdowns. So I think Hunt's another dark horse that the Patriots might have an eye on. But, again, that's a lot of carries. He's got a lot of miles on that odometer. So, again, there's a few guys to soak your teeth into. I think you guys, what you should do is soak your teeth into it. That's what I really just said. How about sink your teeth into it instead of soak your teeth?

Unless you're old and you need dentures and you've got to soak them at night. And I'm sorry if that's the case. I didn't mean to offend you guys. But, yeah, sink your teeth into that one. So, again, there's a lot of running backs that the Patriots could target. This is a good year to do it. Free agency's got some veterans that make sense, and there's some kids that are going to be available when they pick,

when their selections finally come up in the third, fourth, fifth, and around that area. I think this is the year to go out and find a couple good running backs. So I'm hoping that's what happens. So I want to thank you guys for joining us for this Wednesday edition of Locked on Patriots. Be sure to go to iTunes and subscribe to our show today, tonight, like right now, and be sure to tell your friends about us.

Here at Locked On Patriots, we are all about getting Patriots fans the most info you need to be the most in-the-know Patriots fan. Be sure to join us tomorrow. We're going to provide you guys again with some up-to-the-minutes news about the world champs. We're going to talk a little bit more about some of the stuff that's happening with Richard Sherman. I want to dig into that a little bit more.

Actually, I want to dig into Richard Sherman's overall numbers throughout his career and watch his career ascension and just see if he really is somebody that fits. Spoiler alert. Well, spoiler alert, he does. So we're going to get into that tomorrow. Again, I'm your host,

Chris Simino. Thank you for joining us tonight. We really appreciate it. Be sure to join us again tomorrow. Good 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.