Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots April 18, 2019 - OL Board, AFC East QB Situations

Episode Date: April 18, 2019

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Hey there everybody, welcome on into a Thursday installment of the Locked On Patriots podcast. Mark Schofield sliding into the big chair for today, Thursday, April 18th, 2019. We are officially a week away from the NFL draft. A week from tonight. The Arizona Cardinals will be on the clock unless something changes between the time I record this and the time you listen to it. But as we sit here right now, the Cardinals will be on the clock at 1.

The Patriots will be on the clock at 32. So we'll have a long wait ahead of us. We will drink and we will know things. What we're going to do today, we're going to talk interior offensive line. We're going to talk tackle as well. I'm going to have a list of five prospects or so at the interior offensive line position. We'll go a little deeper at tackle. I think that's probably a more pressing need. So we'll go through some of the players that I think the Patriots will have their eyes on, give you my thoughts on some of these players. They're roughly ranked, so to to speak but let's face it if you want quarterback takes you come to me if you want offensive line takes

you probably go elsewhere but you know i i know a couple of things about playing the offensive line position mostly i knew when to duck because i was gonna get hit That's what I know. Let's get into that. But before we do, a reminder, as always, please, please, please, follow me on the Twitter machine, at Mark Schofield. You can check out the work on a variety of websites, including InsideThePylon.com, Pro Football Weekly, Matt Waldman's Rookie Scouting Portfolio, and a trio of SB Nation websites, including Big Blue View,

Bleeding Green Nation, where I co-host the QBsco show with the venerable Michael J. Kist, and of course, Pat's Pulpica. Peace is up at all those places this week, so please do go check out the work. Let's start with the interior offensive line, and this might be... The Patriots have a lot of quiet positions of need in this draft. There are the big positions that we know they have to address. Quarterback, perhaps. Wide receiver, most likely. Tight end, certainly.

Defensive line, edge. But then there are the quiet positions of need, like running back, like linebacker. Like interior offensive line was probably on that list. Up front, the starters. Joe Tooney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason. Like interior offensive line was probably on that list. Up front, the starters, Joe Tooney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason, they're fantastic guys. They're a great interior offensive line, but the question marks are a bit behind them,

so it never hurts to prepare for the future. And so it is with that in mind that we take a look at, say, five interior offensive linemen. And we will start with Elgin Jenkins, interior offensive lineman from Mississippi State. 6'4", 3'13", ideal size for the position. Gets to the second level with ease, moves well in space, got some strong hands in that run game. Very smart player.

I think the Patriots will like that about him he's got some good hands as I mentioned in the run game he works his hips into contact gets his good punch off the football you can see some lateral mobility as well to strain along block so he can schematically exercise in both the gap and power game as well as the zone run game. So it gives you a little bit of that run block and schematic flexibility. What people really like about him most, myself included, the way he gets to the second level. That's a big ask for interior offensive linemen to get to that second level, especially on both gap and power designs as well as zone blocking schemes.

But when you go zone, you've got to have linebacker. I mean, you've got to have guards, excuse me, that can come off that combo block and get to that second level. And that's something that Jenkins shows. And so he checks that box. I think the Patriots will be interested in him. Another player to look at is Michael, excuse me, skipped ahead, Eric McCoy, interior offensive lineman from Texas A&M.

Very good in pass protection. Very, very good in zone blocking schemes. Texas A&M, heavy zone scheme. He was very good at that. He has the traits where you think he could project and do some stuff in the gap and power game plan, but very much a zone heavy blocker. Very, very functional in that kind of design.

Pretty good as a pass protector. Longer defenders can sort of get into him at times, but handle the zone and pass protection, good strength, pretty effective blocking in space, can frame and punch pretty well, get some powerful lower body strength to him as well. And so he's somebody that you could look at and say look if they're going to be a very heavy zone team like they've shown up in the at times i think he was to be somebody that they would be even more excited and i kind of have him a little bit

lower than others do because he does seem to be a little bit limited schematically next michael dieter from wisconsin that w Wisconsin program known for churning out tremendous offensive linemen Michael Dieter I think no exception very mobile for a player whose stature can move well very experienced player can anchor very well finds leverage points great with his hands technically refined player he can also get to the second level. He has played center, guard, and tackle. Very smart player. 54 games starting under his belt. Always looks for work. That's part of the reason I love this guy. You know, other people might be lower on him. I think the Patriots are going to love him. I think Dante Skarniecki would look at him and say, this guy knows how to play the position,

and we can refine some stuff around him, and he can be a fantastic interior offensive lineman for years. But look, with the background of playing center guard and tackle, you know the Patriots love positional flexibility, so they're going to be very high on him. Similarly, Chris Lindstrom from down the street at Boston College. Very quick player, good transition, very high football IQ type of player as well. Can identify some stunts and some blitzes on the interior and handles them extremely well. He's a player that is also very versatile. He played some tackle as well as playing at the guard spot. He's probably best thinking about him as an interior guard type player, but the versatility that he's shown

is going to be very attractive to New England Patriots. BC run heavy offense, lots of play action, rollouts, and those types of pass plays. That's some stuff that the Patriots do. They do do a lot of play action stuff. So his ability and experience in that aspect of playing the position would translate well for him learning the Patriots playbook. Very good play strength as well. I'm very excited about his potential. And we know the Patriots have taken a deep look at him. Skarniecki was at his pro day.

He put the offensive linemen through their paces. It would not surprise me at 56. It wouldn't even stun me at 32. It would be perhaps a little bit underwhelming, but it would make a lot of sense if they went early with Chris Lindstrom. And so there you go. There's four. The top guy, I think, on everybody's board, Garrett Bradbury. Very comfortable, technically sound player. You watch Ryan Finley. You go to watch him. You come away thinking this guy is the top center in the

draft another zone heavy type guy but still he shows you the traits the range the power the ability the technique where he can get reach Brock's he can work in a gap and power scheme and so I think he's a very very good player and it would not surprise me to see him come off the board in the first round I've mocked him at least once, if not more, to the Rams at 31. With John Sullivan moving on, they certainly need a center. And so, Garrett Bradbury, interior offensive lineman number one, I think he'd be there

on the Patriots board. But I don't even know if he'll be on the board when the Patriots pick at 32. So that's a look at some of the interior guys. Next we'll go to tackle. Talk about some of the tackles in this class. Again, with Trent Brown moving on, the loss of Adrian Waddell. Question marks about Isaiah Wynn.

We think he could step in, but he's coming off of an injury. They're probably going to want to hedge their bets to tackle. So we're going to talk about the top tackles in this class. That's ahead on this Thursday installment of Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now on this Thursday installment of the Locked On Patriots podcast and we'll work our way through the tackles right now and this time I'm going to go sort of

top down partly because I want to talk about this player at the outset. It's interesting that this player given his experience given what he's done in the toughest conference in college football is being viewed again as a guard. It's very reminiscent, eerily reminiscent, as it were, of last year in Isaiah Wynn. And that's Jonah Williams. A lot of people look at him and they say, look, he's a guard. You look at his arms, 33 and 5 eighths,

not long enough to play on the outside in the National Football League. But we remember this discussion last year with Isaiah Wynn. Dante Skarnacki is saying, look, Matt Light, he had short arms. He was an all-pro. It's the other stuff that counts. Length, it's part of the equation. But footwork, football IQ, play strength, functional athleticism,

those are the things that really go a long way towards becoming a stellar tackle in the National Football League. Those are the things that Jonah Williams does. This is a guy that shows you great footwork, great tools, very smart player. He handled bigger, longer edge defenders in the SEC. Looked very comfortable at left tackle last year. Very heady player who knows his craft

and is very, very technically sound. Good lateral quickness great adjusting and finding moving targets very balanced type player can sink an anchor against the bull rush smooth with a quiet upper body kind of working my way through Lance Erland's profile of him but when I watch this kid I away thinking, this is a tackle in the National Football League. I don't worry about the arm length stuff because it's the footwork. If your feet are there and if your feet lead you to the spot and you beat defenders to the spot with your feet, you can then finish with the hands.

And the other thing about him, he has very quick hands. And so even if his feet don't get him there in time he's still able to use the quickness in his upper body and the quickness with his hands to redirect players and to get that counter punch on them if he needs to and so people say look he's going to kick inside the guard i think he's a tackle in the national football league we saw it last year with win and yeah win looked great when he kicked inside the guard. This guy, you can tell. Some of the things he said at the combine, there was a bit of an edge to him.

People saying, I would guard. Come on. He's a tackle in the NFL. I think the Patriots would love to get their hands on him. Another player I think they'd like, Juwan Taylor. Many people have him sort of as tackle one in this class. I think we could look at him and say, yeah, he could be at the top of the Patriots board as well.

You know, very, very good player that has gotten better over his time in Florida. That's one of the things that stands out. You look back at him a couple years ago, looked good. Now looks great. He's got some nastiness to him, great foot quickness. You could slot him in at right tackle for a lot of teams. Good hustle player, competitively tough, wants to win every battle. And sometimes you need that at the right tackle spot

or the left tackle spot or along the offensive line. Very controlled in his kick slide, very good footwork. Again, he had a great matchup with Brian Burns. Burns is one of the top edge defenders in this class, and he handled that pretty well. And so I think Juwan Taylor is another player that I don't know if he's there at 32, but if he is, I'm sure the Patriots would love to get their hands on him. Up next is another player that could sneak into that top spot. Look, there are some question marks about Taylor. There's obviously question marks about Jonah

Williams, as we've talked about. Andre Dillard from Washington State. He might sort of sneak into that top offensive tackle spot when this is all said and done. 6'5", 315. Interestingly enough, he seems to be moving up boards. 33.5 inch arms. Whereas you look at the previously discussed jonah williams his arm length 33 and 5 8 so williams's arms are longer but people are saying he's a guard

dylan's arms are shorter but he's moving to near the top of the offensive tackle class curious how narratives build over the course of draft season. But when I see Dillard, you watch Gardner Minshew, and you see a guy that can handle the left tackle spot. He's got some athleticism to him. 4'9", 6", in the 40. Not too shabby for a 6'5", 315 guy. So you see some good footwork, outstanding feet. Athletic guy.

Now, what's interesting is he's very much, because of the Mike Leach scheme, zone-heavy type guy. Now, what's interesting is he's very much, because of the Mike Leach scheme, zone-heavy type guy. So if you're looking at sort of gap and power type stuff or a mix or some diversity schematically, it's a question mark. That's why I sort of have him in the third spot behind Williams and Taylor because there might be a learning curve for him.

But for teams that are going to be zone-heavy, I think it makes a ton of sense. Jacksonville, if they want to address the offensive line at 7, I've mocked Dillard to them at 7. I think that would be a fantastic fit for them. But a great athlete, very quick and fluid feet, good balance, gets to the second level very well, can handle some stunts and stuff like that.

So there's some inexperience and gap in power designs and things like that, but I think he could grow into it. And so the traits are there, the foundation is there, the athleticism is there. I think he could be a good player in the National Football League. Up next, Dalton Risner.

And again, another guy, we've talked about guys like this, Dax Raymond and others that play the game pissed off, and he's that kind of player. 6'5", 314, 34-inch arms, kind of the ideal size. People are saying, oh, he maybe has to kick inside. Again, I think he can play on the outside. He's got positional flexibility to him. Started at center, then moved to right tackle. You know, was an All-American last year for 12 starts at right tackle. Very good player, both inside and outside.

Plays wide, keeps his blocks centered. Can punch, can counter. Very good on climbing up to the linebacker. Works some combination blocks extremely well in that Kansas State offense. And look, Lance Zerline notes it here in his notes. Again, I'm scrolling through other people's, making sure I'm not missing anything because I got my notes. But again, there are smart people out there.

Zerline notes, finishes with a mean streak. And that's like I said, he plays the game pissed off. And if you like that in an offensive lineman, you're going to like Dalton Risner. Next is Cody Ford. Ford's an interesting eval. I think it was the guys over at PFF that put this out there. And again, he's getting some consideration as a guard.

But in terms of traditional pass sets, other guys made a lot, a number, like 300, 400 last season. He did not have that many to him in that offense. They did so much in the RPO-type game at Oklahoma where you're not getting a good sense of where he is as a true pass blocker. Now, he's a guy that's played outside and inside athletic type player physical type player you know do you kick him inside or do you let him play left tackle again i think you can see him play tackle in the national football league if you want to get him

on the field right away maybe you move him to guard But I think if it's a situation like in New England where you might not have to start him right away, you can draft him and develop him to play left tackle. And so I think there's some talent there. I would not rule out him playing tackle as well. This is the new thing in today's draft process. We look at these guys that have played tackle for so many years and say, yeah, that's great. Now we'll kick you inside. And the offensive line Twitter has some rather colorful ways of describing what that is really like. It involves bathroom humor, you know, using different hands when you take care of yourself. You can figure it out, but it's not exactly easy. Let's put it that way cable mcgary washington right tackle

at washington who is getting some serious top 30 type buzz and i think he was a solid if unspectacular type tackle but a lot of people are saying that he could sneak into the first round somehow i thought he was okay when i was studying j Brown. And I thought, look, he's okay. But there might be a ceiling to him. I'm not sure he's playing left tackle. Obviously, look, right tackle in today's NFL, you've got to handle some fierce pass rushers. The Von Millers of the world are going to line up against you. But I think he's a competitively tough player.

So he's a very interesting type of evaluation. He can counter some rushes. He can handle some different types of rush moves and pass rushing plans that guys will put on him. He can handle them pretty well. He's got some good upper body strength to him as well. He's got an NFL frame that he can add some mass to, but

he's got a nice, nice size to him. He comes in 6'7", 3'17". So he's a bit taller than the other guys. Interestingly enough, 32 and 7 eighths inch arms. Again, he's sort of being talked about as a guy that might get into the first round to play tackle in the National Football League. I'm fussy over the Jonah Williamson. That's Caleb McGarry, another player I think the Patriots will value

because of his versatility. He's played some right tackle, but he could kick inside to guard finally Max Sharpen who I love down at the Senior Bowl I thought he had a fantastic week down there tackle from Northern Illinois 6'6", 327, 33.58 inch on the arms very sort of well-rounded type player can handle a variety of different pass rushing moves

he has experience at both tackle spots. He could play both left side, right side. If they're looking to sort of get a swing tackle type player later in this draft to replace Adrian Waddell, like say one of the picks in round two, one of the three picks in round three, Max Sharpen might be the guy. I think he'd be a fantastic fit for that kind of role in New England.

So there you go. There's a look at some of the offensive tackles. Up next, we're going to work our way into the AFC East quarterback situations. Got some interesting ones to talk about, including our own. That's ahead on this Thursday installment of Locked on Patriots. All right, so if we go back with you now, we're going to quickly close out this Thursday installment of the Locked on Patriots. All right, so if we go back with you now, I'm going to quickly close out this Thursday installment of the Locked on Patriots podcast,

working our way through the QB situations and get into the AFC East. Obviously, one team has it all figured out. Two teams seem to have figured it out. But the fourth team might need to make a decision next year. That's the way it seems to be trending there. We'll start with the Bills, Josh Allen, Matt Barkley, Derek Anderson. We all crushed the Bills, right?

This time last year, you're going to draft Josh Allen? No. Seventh pick, seventh round, seventh pick overall, way too high. What are you doing, kids? Well, maybe they've seemed to make it work here. Allen showed some signs with his combination of arm strength, arm talent, and athleticism. Seemed to be working. And so you could say that maybe they got it right.

And what they've also got right are the guys behind him. Derek Anderson, Matt Barkley. Two veteran voices behind him. Barkley seems to have certainly taken a shine to Josh Allen. Taken him under his wing. And so Bill seemed to have figured it out. Now they've got to build around him. Same kind of situation for the Jets.

They trade up. They go get Sam Darnold. It seems to have worked out for them. Darnold down the stretch had some pretty impressive games. Those Week 15, Week 16 games against the Texans and the Packers threw for seven touchdowns combined in that two-week stretch with no interceptions. The Jets lost both those games, but he seems to have arrived.

Now the question is going to be, how does he fare without Josh McGowan, who was basically an extra set of coaching eyes and ears with him on the sideline. Now they've got Trevor Simeon and Davis Webb behind him. I'm intrigued by Webb. Studied him a lot when he was coming out of Texas Tech, as well as California. And then obviously when he was at the Senior Bowl last year with the Giants. I wouldn't be surprised if he's the guy that wins that backup job over Trevor Simeon. So maybe they draft another guy.

Maybe not. But I think they're also pretty set at the quarterback spot. And then, look, there's the Patriots. We know they're set, at least at the top, with the TB12 guy. You know, he's pretty good at playing this position. Now, I still think that they draft a backup, a guy that they can groom. I'm banning that drum for Brett Rippon. I will keep banning that drum until he is drafted by another team.

But I do think that they go quarterback. They've met with a lot of quarterbacks, Will Greer, Daniel Jones, and I said it a couple of days ago on this show. If they draft even Jones at 32, I would be grudgingly okay with it. I would grudgingly understand it. Because you get a guy that's rumored to go maybe sixth overall, fall into you at 32, I'm okay with it. Then you get into the second round,

any of these guys I'd be fine with from the second round on, except for Clayton Thorson. I'm just not a fan. Just doesn't do it for me. But the Patriots. As long as they have TB12. They're pretty set at the quarterback position. That brings us to the Miami Dolphins.

Who maybe aren't set. Unless you think that a journeyman veteran like Ryan Fitzpatrick. Is going to be the answer. They've got Luke Falk. Jake Ruddick behind them. Probably not the guys that are going to be taken over for the Miami Dolphins. It's clear that this is a team that is preparing for that 2020 draft class. Justin Herbert, Tua Tagliavila, Justin Fields, Jacob Eason, Jake Fromm.

Maybe they'll find their next guy in that 2020 class that everybody expects to be fantastic, but no matter what, they got to find a quarterback of the future. Ryan Fitzpatrick is not going to be it. The 2020 free agent class, maybe a Nate Sudfeld. You know, maybe one of these agent guys. Who knows? But it's probably the 2020 draft or bust for the Miami Dolphins. But that's a quick look around the AFC East and that will do

it for today's show. We went through some offensive linemen, tackles, and guards. I said a lot about how arm length does not matter because in Dante we trust and when Dante says arm length doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. We also talked about some of the AFC East quarterback situations. Tomorrow we will do our usual Friday Fair. Now the new segment, who won this week in football, as well as our first sort of yes. We're going to talk a little thrones, close out this week. I've put it off until Friday,

but I told you this was coming. If you'd like to be part of the ongoing discussion about the Patriots, thrones, or anything else on the Locked On Patriots Slack channel, hit me up on Twitter for an invite at Mark Schofield on the Twitter machine, MarkDartSchofield at InsideThePylon.com.

If you would like an email invite sent your way. That will do it for today. I will be back to close out this week. Tomorrow, keep it here. To me, Mark Schofield and Locked on Patriots. you