Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots April 10, 2019 - QB Board, QB Situations

Episode Date: April 10, 2019

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Hey there everybody, welcome on into a Wednesday installment of the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Mark Schofield back in the big chair for today, Wednesday, April 10th, 2019. And I'm going to be upfront and honest because I've always been upfront and honest with you guys. This show has been very difficult to record. Not because of the content or anything like that. You've got a little bit of stuff going on at Casa de Schofield. Between a daughter that won't cooperate at night when it's bedtime making it difficult to record at night. Between a new roof being put in over my head which is making it difficult to record during the day.

As a matter of fact, that is going on right now. So you might hear some bumps, some thumps, some loud noises. I don't know what else to do. Also, I've tried to record this episode about six different times now. And between mistakes, between computers crashing, between a variety of issues, it has become very difficult. So part of me wonders if the gods, if the seven, just don't want me to record this show. But I'm going to keep trying. And if I sound frustrated near the end of it, it's because the world is just still not cooperating with me right now. And it's just one of those days so far.

Of course, it doesn't help that I just got back from the doctor, my yearly examination. Everything is fine, but getting 10 vials of blood taken, it's been a day. And of course, having to have fasted the night before and haven't had anything yet, no food, no coffee, not a drop of caffeine, it's making for a tough day. But we'll get through it together. What we're going to do, and it might be a quick show, we're going to do some quarterback-heavy stuff today. We're going to focus on a couple of different areas.

One, I'm starting the series over at Pro Football Weekly, going division by division, team by team, looking at quarterback situations. Not just the starters, but the entire quarterback room. And I'm going to have recommendations for each team as to how they should address the quarterback room in this draft in this offseason so we're going to start looking at that nfc east nfc south so that will be a little bit later first i'm going to talk quarterbacks as far as it comes to the patriots before we do any of that reminder to follow me on twitter at mark schofield check out the work at places like inside the pylon.com pro football weekly the score

matt waldman's rookie scouting portfolio big blue view part of the sb nation family of websites along with bleeding green nation and yes of course pat's pulpit now quarterback room quarterback board for the new england patriots if you've checked out the work over pat's pulpit big blue view anywhere else you probably know where i stand on these guys but this will be a little different i'm going to rank them as far as how I view the Patriots might rank them. And we'll start at the top. I'm taking Kyler Murray and I'm moving him off the board because I don't think he would be in their mix at the quarterback position, again, because of the outlier status.

Now, he is probably the highest graded quarterback on their board. Maybe even that might be iffy they might have the guy i'm gonna have first above him but i just think because of the fact he's probably going one and all the other attendant circumstances they're not really focused in on colin murray so that brings us to duane haskins i love haskins from the mental approach and i think the patriots would value that too they want to fix the mechanics I'm sure they'd want to fix some of the things that he does I get that but I think his mental approach his ability to manipulate would make them value him highly so I think as far as quarterbacks that could be reasonably in the discussion Haskins would be taught then we come to Daniel Jones and

I am not a Daniel Jones fan most of draft media media is in my camp. I think the NFL is in the, he's going to go early camp. You see guys like Jim Nagy and Greg Gabriel out there saying Giants might have to trade up from six to go get him. NFL is going to like this kid. I think the Patriots will like him. I think they'll look at what he can do. I think they'll look at how he's handled some of the situations in Duke playing with some talent question marks around him, so to speak, I think they'll like him. Now, they'll also view him, and this is the luxury the Patriots have that other teams don't.

They would view him as a guy that might need to sit for a while because the decision-making process is flawed right now. So many quick game concepts, like 72% according to Bryce Ross, a lawyer at Sports Info Solutions, which was astronomically high by NFL standards. You know, Nick Foles was 50%, you know, zero to one read type plays. You know, whether it's a quick RPO or just a quick game concept, which was highest in the league, 52% or so. And so 72, it's a big number.

But then, you know, Daniel Jones, I think would be next. Next, I think would be next next I think would be Jarrett Stidham I think the Patriots gonna like him I do like him in somewhat of a time and a rhythm based offense I think there is some big upside to him and as again a situation where you're gonna have a chance to let a guy sit and develop Stidham makes some sense so I think they're gonna like Stidham I think they'll like Ryan Finley and we're hearing some rumblings that Finley might come off the board sooner than we expect for example you know I saw just a couple of days ago might have been a day ago or so there was a mock draft from a pretty reputable source

here pretty reputable finger here in the NFL media world and that was was Todd McShay, who has Ryan Finley coming off the board to Miami at 48 or so, like second round pick type situation. And so I think the Patriots are going to like him. I think the NFL is starting to warm up to the idea that as far as this quarterback class, a guy with a pretty high floor is valuable. So I think they're going to like him. It pains me to do this, but next I think it would be Tyree Jackson. I think they're going to look at Jackson and say, we can mold this. There's some talent here. There's some schematic familiarity. I mean, a piece I just put together over going up a Pat's pulpit, you see him running Haas. And the question about Jackson is this, does he fit into what they do

right now? No. But when the Patriots are looking at quarterbacks now and look at guys like, say, Moore and this could be our next starter, whereas Finley might be this might, but a worst case scenario, he's a backup. Jackson, I think you'd look at as a guy that could be in the next starter. You do have to wonder if this is going to be the Patriots offense forever. If you draft a quarterback that maybe doesn't fit the offense right now, but you know you're going to have to develop him anyway, and you're going to have time to do that because of Tom Brady, are you drafting a quarterback to run Tom Brady's offense, or are you drafting a quarterback to run what the Patriots offense will look like in a post-TB12

world? That's a more philosophical issue, but it's something I've been wondering about the past couple of days. Next, it's going to bring us to our boy Ryan Finley. I mean, not Ryan Finley, Brett Rippon. Ryan Finley, also our boy, but Brett Rippon too. I love him. The NFL doesn't. I get that sense. Matter of fact, I put together a quick thread of GIFs and images on Twitter. Game of Thrones sort of images or GIFs. And yes, I used the hard G. GIF, not JIF.

Whatever. That's a debate for another time. But I put together sort of some clips or whatever of sort of reactions and expectations for how the draft is going to play out. For example, one of the quotes was, me waiting for the draft to begin

and the Patriots to be on the clock. And it's just, I believe it was Tyrion pouring himself some wine. And when it gets to the Rippon thing, I put out, me when Rippon goes much, much, much later than I hoped him to be drafted. It's the scene with Sir Alistair right before he meets his fate.

And he says, I fought, I lost, now I rest. That's going to be me when it gets to be, you know, sometimes Saturday afternoon. And Brett Rippon is still there in the 200s. I fought, I lost, now I rest. I will still be on that hill, but maybe I'll be resting on that hill. Final quarterback to talk about on this Patriots board? Actually, two, two. Clayton Thorson,

I'd put him, the Patriots might even have him above Rippon. I would put him after Rippon. I'm not a Clayton Thorson guy. I know that the league is going to like him, so he's probably going to be in the mix as well. And then finally, Easton Sick from North Dakota State, just because you can draft him in the seventh, this could be Edelman 2.0. I know we're all thinking that. That's a quick look at how I think the Patriots stack their quarterback board. I'm going to do some more of these as we get closer to the draft tight end and other

positions of need. Up next, we're going to start this divisional quarterback series looking at the NFC East and the NFC South ahead here on Locked on Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now on this Wednesday installment of Locked on Patriots. And we're going to start with the NFC East, do some divisional quarterback stuff here. We'll start, we'll do this alphabetical order. Start with the Cowboys.

Currently under contract, they've got Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, and Mike White. And for whatever, I don't want to wade too much into the Dak versus Wentz wars, although it's almost inevitable when you bring up these guys. There's an argument that the Cowboys have perhaps the most stable, let's put it that way, quarterback situation in the division.

Prescott is still there. Yes, they have the decision to make about his long-term extension. They're going to have to pay him. This is the decision. He's good enough that you've got to pay him. They've got Cooper Rush and Mike White, so they've got two solid backup options, although Rush is also going to hit free agency

at the end of this year as well, so there's a decision there. But they're sitting in a pretty good spot. I don't think they need to do anything about the quarterbacks this year. You look to sign Prescott. Maybe you look to bring back Rush or tender him or at least to make it difficult for a team to sign him away.

If they can do that, I think he might be an unrestricted, though. I'd have to double-check that. But you've got Mike White there in the wings, too. So you can kick this quarterback decision in terms of getting another player in down the road. I don't think you need to address it this year. So the Cowboys are in a good spot. Next team, the New York Giants, not so much. Manning, Alex Tanney, Kyle Oletta. Those are their three quarterbacks. Now, so far this offseason, the Giants have not

only paid Eli Manning a $5 million roster bonus, but they've also intimated that he could be in their plans for 2020. He's currently in the final year of a contract extension that he signed back in 2015. He's due a base salary of $11.5 million, $5 million of which is guaranteed, and his contract contains bonuses that in all likelihood push that value close or north of $23 million for this year. Still, nobody thinks he's the long-term answer. I don't think Alex Taney is the long-term answer. As much as I liked Kyle Oletta last year, maybe he isn't going to be their next guy.

They need to get somebody in here. Period. Full stop. Whether it's Drafton Haskins, trading for Rosen, Drafton Jones at 17 or 6 or wherever, they need to do it this year. They can't wait any longer. Winter is coming

for the New York Giants and the quarterback situation. In this series, I'm doing it in sort of a Game of Thrones slant as well, but I'm not going to focus on that part here. They need to do something this year at the quarterback position. It can't wait any longer. Philadelphia Eagles. Wentz, Nate Sudfeld, and darling of the AAF and Division II football, Luis Perez,

recently signed as their third-string quarterback. This was a team that I thought was going to have to draft somebody because you lose Nick Foles, they'd like to have three. Wentz, Sudfeld, and Perez now, maybe they still draft a day three guy, Perez, and he could duke it out for that third spot, but it's less of a need right now. Now, they also have a situation ahead. Sudfeld is a restricted free agent. They put the second round tender on him, so he's going to be back in the fold, but he'll be an unrestricted free agent next year.

Wentz, they have one more year with him fully under contract. The team option is next year, the 2020 season. Yes, he's been injured at times. I still think they're going to, again, similar to Prescott, who doesn't have the fifth-year option because he was a later-round pick, the Eagles are going to have to pay once. I know there are some people in Philly that think he's under some pressure this year. I think you're going to have to pay him.

So as far as the Eagles go, you make the decision on once. I think you pay him. Maybe you think about a quarterback in day three as a hedge against Perez not working out and as a potential hedge against Nate Sudfeld leaving next year, but I don't think you do it any earlier than that. You've got some other needs, defensive back, running back, some other spots, safety. So the Eagles can probably wait a little bit, at least until day three. Washington, similar to the Giants, also a sticky situation. You've got Alex Smith, the injury Jason

Lock and Forrest saying he's probably not coming back again Case Keenum under contract for one year Colt McCoy under contract I'd have to double check this he's yeah one more year as well so they got some question marks they need to answer them everything seems to point to Josh Rosen perhaps being the guy. So I would expect them to go get Josh Rosen. If it costs you 15, fine. Maybe you can do it for their pick. I think it's in the 46 spot or so. Go get Josh Rosen.

If not, I think at 15, most of the quarterbacks would be gone. If Jones is there, I think you give it consideration. If not, a guy I love from Washington is Will Greer. I think he makes a ton of sense for them. I think he would fit Schemmel. Let's close out this show now. Doing two segments today. NFC South, we'll start with Atlanta.

There are two teams in this division that have bad backup situations that need to address them. Atlanta is one. They've got Ryan. They're set at the top. Matt Schaub almost into his 40s. And Kirk Bankert behind him. They need to upgrade at the backup spot at a bare minimum.

Now, what was interesting in researching this piece, since they drafted Matt Ryan in the first round of the 2008 draft, the Falcons have drafted one, yes, one quarterback, Sean Renfree from Duke in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. Patriots fans know since they drafted Brady, they drafted nine quarterbacks. That's nine quarterbacks in 19 drafts. Now, Atlanta's had the benefit of Chris Redmond for a while in place behind Ryan, Shaw behind him for two different stints, but get a draft of quarterback I think Jared Stidham is a smart fit for them has some upside to him I think would fit in Cutter's offense I think he

would be an immediate upgrade over at least Kirk Banker and with some room to grow would probably be an upgrade by next year over Matt Shaw but the two spots so you'd have a young quarterback too you could start to develop because Matt Ryan won't play forever so I think Jared Stidham is a smart move for them in a similar vein the Carolina Panthers they've got Cam Newton coming back from the shoulder injury so there's that issue and behind him Taylor Heineke and Kyle Allen again I don't think people are putting too much faith in those two guys. And so, question marks there. I would look to Tyree Jackson.

I think he fits in what North Turner wants to do. I think he and Cam Newton have similar play styles. That makes some sense to me. New Orleans, they've technically got four QBs on the roster. Drew Brees, Taysom Hill, Teddy Bridgewater, JT Barrett. Now, they have the line of succession seemingly in place. They re-signed Teddy Bridgewater, even though he had a bigger offer from the Dolphins. They'll have to do some creative stuff here with Drew Brees because he could become a free agent for the 2020 season. Under his contract and the recent restructure, his deal becomes voidable at the end of this league year,

the 2019 league year. This was done to spread out the cap hit on his current two-year deal. Now, under this restructure, the Saints could be looking at a cap number for Breeze north of $20 million, even if he's not on the roster next year. This bill is going to come due. The Iron Bank is coming to collect. So they need to win. But behind him, they've got Bridgewater in place. Taysom Hill, look, I don't think he's going to play quarterback in the NFL as a full-time starter. He's getting almost to be 30 now. It's tough to now make the transition. Oh, you've been this gadget player.

Now you're a quarterback. Plus, with Bridgewater, he's going to be their guy. He's the heir apparent. So I think they're set at quarterback. They're going to have to figure out the money side. Now Tampa Bay. Very interesting situation. I forgot that they had signed Blaine Gabbert after they lost Ryan Fitzpatrick.

They got Ryan Griffin, who they brought back. They got Joe Callahan, who they signed sort of on a futures contract. And of course, Jameis Winston. They exercised the fifth-year option on him, but they seem to have taken more of a wait-and-see approach with a long-term deal. They want to see how it goes this year with him and Bruce Arians. If it goes well, fantastic. Sign him to the long-term deal. You don't have to worry about it.

If it doesn't go well, you're going to need a quarterback in next year's draft. So I think they're in sort of a wait and see situation. Prepare for winter. It might not be coming yet. We might not get the White Ravens from the Citadel, so we can wait a little bit. But if this marriage between Arians, the noted quarterback whisperer, and Jameis Winston does not pan out, they're going to have to be in on the quarterback market next year. And so there you go. That will do it. As I said, quick show today because, let's face it,

you've probably heard in the background a lot of noise. You've heard some squeaking because I'm doing it in the basement in basically a tiny little cove here with a squeaky chair. Not the best environment to pod, but we're doing it anyway because we do it for the love. I will be back tomorrow. Hopefully, some of the things will have settled down. It'll be an easier show. Until next time, keep it locked right here. Me, Mark Schofield, and Locked on P.A.P. Thank you.