Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots April 24, 2019 - Setting the Top Fives

Episode Date: April 24, 2019

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The I'm going to use the big button. Hey there, everybody. Welcome on into a Wednesday installment of the Locked On Patriots podcast. Mark Schofield back in the big chair for today, Wednesday, April 24th, 2019. We are on draft eve. It is draftmas eve here at the Locked on Patriots podcast and league wide. The 2019 NFL draft kicks off tomorrow. We've got a ton to get to. Basically, one of the great listeners to the show put out a request. Would I be doing sort of a top five at each position? So that's what I'm going to do today. I'm going to sort of unveil my top five at every position.

This is my top five. Earlier shows have done sort of my crack best guess at what New England might look at for a top five. But these are just my top five rankings on each of these positions. There might be some differences between how I view the Patriots board and my own. So if that's confusion, for example, we just did wide receivers yesterday. And there's going to be some changes in my rankings of them and how I view the Patriots might rank them. So if there's some confusion, I do apologize.

But as I said, we've got a lot to get to. So we've got to get into it. Before we do that, your usual reminders. Please, please, please follow me on the Twitter machine at Mark Schofield. You can check out the work at a variety of places, including InsideThePylon.com, Matt Waldman's Rookie Scouting Portfolio, Pro Football Weekly, my series on QB situations league-wide just wrapping up, and of course, a trio of SB Nation websites included

the one and only Big Blue View, Bleeding Green Nation, where I co-host the QB Scosio with of course Michael J. Kist and of course Pat's Pulpit let's dive into it now we're going to start defensive side of the ball I'm going to start with the guys up front because that's a position we haven't ranked yet so I haven't done these for the Patriots I'd imagine

there's a player that's going to be mentioned here that I think is more a Patriot type player than overall but I still like him we start with Quinton Williams interior defensive tackle from Alabama might be one of the most solid all around players is more a Patriot type player than overall, but I still like him. We start with Quinton Williams, interior defensive tackle from Alabama. Might be one of the most solid all-around players in this draft. I think it's pretty much a given that he's coming off the board in the top two or three. Then Ed Oliver. I know that he's slid down boards perhaps a little bit, but I think as people start to revisit his film as well as his usage at Houston, they realize this is an incredible talent.

And yes, I do have the Ed Oliver bobblehead. I'm staring at it right now, but still, I think he's one of the premier defensive tackle prospects in this draft class. Very athletic. I think you get him more of a shade, sort of a three-technique type guy. You're going to have great production from him. And so Ed Oliver at two. Jeffrey Simmons at three.

Yes, there's the medical issue, but I do think that he's a top 10 talent type player. And so if you're a team with not a lot of needs, say the Chargers, say the New England Patriots, he's got to be in consideration for you if he's there at the end of the first round. Christian Wilkins from Clemson at four. I love some options,

perhaps with Grady Jarrett in Atlanta, I think that would be an ideal sort of situation. I think he'd be a great run and mate for a couple of more nose tackle type players around the league. Maybe the Chargers if he gets there as well. And then finally, Tillery from Notre Dame and Dexter Lawrence from Clemson. I think Tillery is probably the better all-around type defensive tackle, more in the mold of where the league seems to be trending. But if you want that nose, that shade nose technique type player that the Patriots and Bill Belichick have seemed to value over the years Lawrence may make a ton of sense left off the top five but a guy just on the outside looking in versatility Charles and many who have talked about him at length on the

show and length is probably an appropriate word to use let's go to the edge. Nick Bosa, I think, is a clear number one. Burns from Florida State, edge two for me. I like the athleticism there. Josh Allen, Kentucky, he's sort of the edge three guy in this class. He probably comes off the board to the Jets. I've mocked him to the Jets a couple of times. I would have Burns over Allen, but I could see Allen coming off the board first. Clinton Farrell from Clemson, I still like him. And the name that's dropping a bit is Montez Sweat. Now, I do think that there's a lot to like about him, but the heart issue has me concerned, and it seems to have the league concerned.

Let's go to the linebackers. Not a huge position of need for the Patriots up front, but there are guys near the end of the draft, including the two guys that we'll talk to in my five spot. I've got a tie for five that I'm probably higher on than most. We'll start with the two Devins, Devin Bush, Devin White there. One, two for me. I like Bush's athleticism.

White probably the better all-around player, might have the better floor of the two. But two very solid prospects. Blake Cashman from Minnesota. He is rising up boards. We've talked about him some. He's linebacker three for me. Mack Wilson, linebacker from Alabama. Solid steady player. Maybe could have stayed in school,

but he didn't. Finds himself third spot here. I mean the fourth spot, excuse me. And then the two guys I have at five that I'm probably higher on, but I like some of what they do as well. Some of the intangibles. Drew Twankwell from Notre Dame and Johanny Tavai from Hawaii. I really enjoyed watching him play this year.

I think he's just a very high-motor type player. Hawaii moved him around a lot. One of my favorite games of his to watch was that game against Army, going up against that sort of triple option offense. They put him down on the edge at times to help contain that pitch, man. Some versatility to him, so I like him as a player. Corners. A lot of people say this is a down-corner class, and I kind of agree with that.

I agree to Williams. One, I think he's sort of the prototypical man, press-type corner. Byron Murphy, too. He's more your zone-type guy. If you're a zone-heavy team, he's probably a player you're looking at. Maybe a team like the Carolina Panthers if they decide to go corner early instead of edge or offensive line. Julian Love. I think he's a heady type player. A lot of people have him more in the 7, 8, 9 spot, but I really like him. Sivion Smith and Sean Bunton round out my top

five corners. I'm excited about both those players. I like Bunton and sort of his athleticism at times. Seems to be, you know, similar, kind of like a poor man's Greedy Williams, and perhaps has the ability to flip his hips and run, can carry some vertical routes. And so we've got Bunt in there, my corner five in this class. Finally, the safeties. Remember, these are mine, not New England's, so the rankings will be a little different. I know we ranked safeties earlier. I still like Nasir Adderley.

I've liked him since I started watching him. I love his ability to go sort of sideline to sideline, but the way he'll run the alley and fill down at the line of scrimmage. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, all-around versatile type safety, down in the box one year, more of a deep safety the next year. Can sort of do it all. I love the way Florida used him over the past couple of years. I think these two guys are both first-round prospects.

The French first-round guy for me is Juan Thornhill. I still like him. Got the cover skills of a corner, but the versatility to play deep safety. I like that package. Maybe a Devin McCourty type of player. I know others don't like him. I do. I think he might slip into the first round. Deontay Thompson and Darnell Savage rounded up for me. I know Jonathan Abram is a name that's getting some first-round buzz. I kind of like Savage, and part of that is you might have to get Abram in the first round, but you can probably get Savage late second, early third, and I kind of like the value aspect there. And so there you go.

My top five defensive players at every position. Up next, we'll do some of the offense. We'll probably split this up into two because there's more position to cover. I know we just did wide receivers there's a couple of variations as my rank it's as opposed to what i think the patriots might value these players we'll obviously have some quarterback talk and at the end of the show we'll probably get into the frank clark news we'll have to deal with that at the end but still it is the final countdown here locked on patriots up next my top five up front as well as some of the other

offensive positions. That's ahead here at Locked on Patriots. I guess there is no one to blame We're leaving ground Will things ever be the same again? It's the final countdown Mark Schofield back with you now on this Wednesday installment of the Locked on Patriots podcast, getting closer and closer to the final countdown

to the 2019 NFL Draft. Some of you might be wondering what we're going to be doing once the draft is over. Well, of course, we're going to start talking 2020 quarterbacks, right? Just wanted to let that linger out there for a little moment yes i have already started watching 2020 quarterbacks there will be 2020 quarterback takes coming sooner than you sooner than you might want to hear them but we're not going to really get into that we'll do some sort of you know draft recap type pieces we'll look around division by division talking about what i liked

what i didn't for each of the teams that will probably be the next week or so after the draft. Then we'll probably do some recap stuff. And then at some point in June, at some point, we'll dial things back a little bit because June is, after all, the quiet month. Long-time listeners probably remember that last June we were doing things like counting down football movies and things like that. And so we'll take the foot off the gas pedal a little bit in June. People are going to be at the beach. People are going to be vacationing. And then coming into July when training camp kicks back up

and things like that, we'll start revving back up for the 2019 season. But that's sort of the plan post-draft. But as for the draft itself, let's continue our rankings, looking at first the interior offensive line. A lot of similarities here between how I view the board and how the Patriots. I thought the Patriots might view the board. We've got Bradbury, Chris Lindstrom, Dieter, McCoy, and then Jenkins.

That's kind of the way I looked at them. Very similar to the Patriots. You've got Elgin Jenkins, the interior offensive lineman from Mississippi State. Michael Dieter from Wisconsin. You've got Garrett Bradbury at the top. I think he's a great player. Followed by Chris Lindstrom in the middle there at the three spot. Eric McCoy from Texas A&M.

I really think Lindstrom might be the pick at 32. That's what I did in the last mark. And so it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Prince Lindstrom just moving down the street, basically. Down, you know, 128 or so down to Foxborough. Offensive tackle, Jordan Williamss i still like him i think he's offensive tackle one you play offensive tackle in the sec for alabama you're no slouch ed don't give me this arm length stuff i think he's a fantastic player so he's one andre dillard is two juan taylor is three dalton risner love the way he plays the game um i wouldn't would not cry it off he finds his way to Foxborough somehow.

And then Cody Ford rounds it up. Again, Cody Ford, people are saying he can kick inside. I still think he can play tackle in the National Football League. This whole, oh, this is a guy that's played offensive tackle, but at a pretty high level. Let's kick him inside. Not a huge fan of that. Maybe it's because I spent some time with Offensive Line Twitter. Offensive line Twitter are a feisty bunch. You better believe it.

Let's go to the running back spot. Patriots aren't going to go running back early. I know some sites might think that running back is in need. I'd be stunned if they go running back early. I think it's more of a day three type guy. How many times have we mocked or seen other mocks have LJ Scott or maybe a Bryce Love sometime late on day three to the Patriots? That kind of pick might make some sense. As far as the top of the board, I still like Josh Jacobs. I think in today's NFL, you need a running back that can give you something in the pass game. And I think Josh Jacobs is that guy. I think he's probably the only first round running back that comes off the board I like his fit in Oakland I think his fit in Philadelphia might make some

sense and so Josh Jacobs Jacobs is one for me a two I've got the one and only Darrell Henderson from Memphis I think he's got some good speed I think he's got some good speed. I think he's got some good contact balance. I think he's got decent enough vision for a zone type scheme. But his explosiveness and his cut and go ability might make some gap type teams happy with him. So there's some schematic diversity with him. Some schematic scheme versatility with him. So I like him. Steady guy.

Damien Harris. He comes in the three spot for me. Maybe he's not sort of the all uber athletic type guy. But I think he's a better guy in the past game than he gets credit for. He's got sort of a north and south style to him. So whether it's inside zone

where he's one cut read and go or gap in power when he's going to just cut through the hole, I think he can do that well. I think he's more your traditional type back, the guy that can tote the ball a bunch of times, 20, 25 times and make a team happy that way. And so I like him that way. I think he's running back three for me. Miles Sanders, he's four. A lot of people have him as running back one. I'm a little bit downer on him than most. Obviously, he's stuck behind Saquon Barkley.

That doesn't help things. Very athletic player. You can bank on his athleticism. He can do some things for you in the pass game as well. And speaking of the pass game, a player that I really like that I've liked for a while, Miles Gaskin. I think he might be a James White type player.

A zone type runner that can do a lot in the pass game. Who can be used as a slot at times. Great receiving back both in the slot and out of the backfield. I think if the Patriots want to sort of say hedge with Myles Gaskin for a James White hedge, he might make a great deal of sense for to sort of say hedge with Miles Gaskin for a James White hedge, he might make a great deal of sense for them. So I like Miles Gaskin.

Maybe other people don't like him as much. I'm a big fan of his. Let's go to the tight end spot. My tight end board. This is my board. TJ Hawkins in one. Fan from Iowa two. Two Iowa guys there. One and two. I think most people have them one and two. Some might have fan2. Some might have Fan first,

some might have Hawk first, but I think both of those guys are the top two tight end talents. If one of those guys falls perhaps into the 20s, it wouldn't drive me crazy to see New England trade up and go get them. I don't think it happens,

but it might. Three, I have Jay Sternberger I think he fits in New England and I think he fits for most teams I'm sort of banking on the upside over the steadiness of say an Irv Smith who's my tight end for I think Irv is that steady type of player he's more of a well rounded

type guy where Jay I think is more of your move type guy so you can sort of split these guys in sort of your all around type tight end and your move type tight end So you can sort of split these guys in sort of your all-around type tight end and your move type tight end. You might have Hawk one and Irv two, the sort of all-around guy, and then Noah Fant one, Jace two, sort of the move type tight end. And so you start thinking about potential parents. My tight end five, a guy that I love, Dax Raymond. Ever since I watched him, love the way he plays the game, plays angry, plays pissed off. I just love the way he approaches the position.

So up next, we're going to do the rest of the offensive positions, the wide receivers again, and we'll round it out with, of course, the quarterbacks. We'll kick that next and final segment off, though, with a little bit of talk. Actually, you know what? We'll close the show with a little bit of talk on the Frank Clark move. So that's what's ahead on this Wednesday installment of Locked on Patriots. The Final Countdown It's the final countdown. It's the final countdown.

Mark Schofield back with you now, closing out this Wednesday installment of the Locked On Patriots podcast. For the rest of the week ahead, we've got a special show planned for draft day. More on that when it drops. Also, as I said, when the Patriots make picks, I will record snippets. There will be a Friday show sort of recap in the first round, my quick thoughts on it. Also, I'm going to be part of the Football Guys live first round broadcast live show with Sigmund Blum, Matt Waldman.

I've been on it the past couple of years, so please do check that out on Thursday night as well. You can watch it. You can put it up on the screen and have NFL Network or wherever you're watching the draft on mute in the background and watch Sig and Matt and the rest of us sort of break down round one. Let's finalize here. My top

five rankings at each position. We'll go to the wide receiver position. We're again splitting up X, Z, and slot. We'll start in the slot. Hollywood Brown at one for me. Michael Hardeman at two. I know I had Hunter Renfro at two for the Patriots. I kind of flipped these in my own rankings.

Maybe I sort of, I'm kind of rethinking that now, but for me personally, Hardeman is wide receiver two. Very flashy guy. Could fit in with a lot of offenses in today's NFL. Then you get Hunter Renfro at three. Greg Dorch at four. And yes, I'm still keeping my Penny Hart flame alive. Slot five for me in my rankings.

Going to the Zs. A lot of people love the idea of A.J. Brown to the Patriots at 32. He's Z1 for me. Then Debo Samuel is two. Paris Campbell three. Stanley Morgan is four. I just keep coming back to this kid. I love him. The widebo Samuel is two. Paris Campbell three. Stanley Morgan is four. I just keep coming back to this kid. I love him. The wide receiver out of Nebraska.

Then number five at the Z spot, Andy Isabella rounded it out. A lot of people have some concerns about him at the catch point. Some of those were alleviated seeing him in person down in Mobile, but I still think it is somewhat of an issue. But again, if they draft him sometime on day two, I would not be disappointed. And then finally the X spot, wide receiver one for a lot of people dk metcalf then to kelvin

harman i keep coming back to him i know a lot of people aren't as high on him as i am um perhaps i'm out over my skis a bit but i do like kelvin harman then jj are saying a white side at three i was boykin at four and hakeem but at five, rounded out my top five, my top five wideouts at the X-Box. Then finally, the quarterback position. And longtime readers of my work, followers of my work, know who the top five are by now, but just to sort of run through it again, you've got Kyler Murray, QB1 for me this year, probably a departure for the norm for me. I'm more of a classic pocket passer type guy. You look at my rankings over the years. A guy like Connor Cook was QB4 for me, for example.

You look at some of the other quarterbacks I've liked. Brad Kaya was high for me a couple years ago. And so Josh Rosen, QB1 for me, another example of that. And you can make the case that the two guys last year that I had won two, Josh Rosen won Baker Mayfield two, and then this year Kyler Murray won, Dwayne Haskins two. Traditionally, I probably would have had Haskins one, Murray two, and for great here. And I think one of the things to sort of put it over the top, there were two things really. I've got a numerical grading system, a formula that I use to grade quarterbacks.

After this draft cycle, I'm probably going to write about it now that I've tested it and reworked it and refined it over the past couple of years. I think I'll probably do something with it this summer

and sort of unveil it in a sense. But I used it as a stress test of sorts. I was like, okay, well, grading these guys out, Murray is one, Haskins is two. What would I have to do? How would I have to weigh categories, particularly the mental part of the game,

to get Haskins to be QB1? And I've said this on a couple of different shows here and elsewhere. If I weighed sort of the mental part of the game as like 92% of the grade, that got me to Dwayne Haskins number one. So stressing the formula by that much finally got me to Haskins QB one. And so, you know, trust in the eyes, trust in the numbers, trust in all of it. Kyler Murray's QB one, Dwayne Haskins QB two. We'll see how it actually pans out. Three is Locke for me. I know people like my good friend Matt Waldman aren't Drew Locke fans. I think there's something there with him.

I was very impressed with how he handled the Senior Bowl. He stepped up when others didn't. And so that coupled with what he's shown over four years as a starter at the University of Minnesota, I think Drew Locke is QB3. QB4 for me, you know him and love him, Brett Rippitt. I'm going to die on this hill when he's not drafted at all or drafted late on day three. I fought, I lost, and now I rest.

Little Sir Alistair callback there for you for the Thrones fans. And then finally, Will Greer, who is getting a ton of buzz for the New England Patriots, perhaps even at 32. I got a piece up on him that went up yesterday over Pat's Pulpit. You can check that out. But Will Greer for me, QB5. For5 for others Matt Waldman he's QB1 so a lot of people are all over the place on him kind of like his mechanics and footwork at times but he makes it work I love his appropriate aggression and so if they end up with if the Patriots end up with him anytime started on day

two I'm excited at 32 I think there might be better options in terms of value, but I would, similar to the Daniel Jones thoughts, I would get it. And if it's Jones at 32 or Greer at 32, I'm happier with Greer. Let's put it that way. Let's close things out with some quick thoughts on Frank Clark. The Seahawks making a move with the Kansas City Chiefs who needed some edge help. So the Seahawks and Chiefs, they make a trade, sort of our first draft type trade. The Seahawks agreed to trade Clark to the Chiefs in exchange for a first round

pick in this draft, a 2020 second round pick, and a swap of third round picks in this draft class. And immediately the Chiefs agreed to a new five-year contract worth $105 million with about 63 or so guaranteed. Now, I've said this before, the most important spot on a football field right now is the pocket. It's kind of been that way for a while now. You need a guy that can throw from there, you need guys that can protect from there, and you need guys that can attack that spot on the defensive side of the ball. So for a team that needed pass rush, for a team that's moving to a 4-3 type base,

if they needed it, Frank Clark is a good fit. The question becomes this. They've got some contracts that are going to be coming due soon. Tyree Kill is one. Patrick Mahomes is certainly going to be another. This kind of deal makes it tougher to bring, I think, Tyree Kill is one. Patrick Mahomes is certainly going to be another. This kind of deal makes it tougher to bring, I think, Tyree Kill back. The other thing is, yes, Frank Clark has an off-the-field history that you cannot ignore. And this is a team that moved on from Kareem Hunt.

Now they have issues with Tyree Kill. Bringing him into the fold. What kind of message does this send? And so it's a bit of a head-scratcher in terms of the move itself. Then when you add the contract, then when you add the off-field stuff, then when you add the trade, I think the Chiefs didn't get the better of this one. But they made the move.

Now we'll see how it pans out. I mean, I understand it from an X's and O's need type of situation, but there's a lot of X factors here that I think have to come into play. And it does send some mixed signals when you've got the Tyreek Hill situation still unfolding, the situation with

his son. You've got the Kareem Hunt thing in the past, and now you add him into the mix. It's a lot going on there. But that will do it for today. Tomorrow is draft day. I will be back with a special show teasing this one out a little bit, and then we'll be rolling through the draft,

doing shows, picks, all that fun stuff. We've got you covered here. So until next time, happy Draftmas Eve, and keep it locked right here to me, Mark Schofield, and Locked on Patriots. Until next time, happy Draftmas Eve and keep it locked right here to me, Mark Schofield, and Locked on Patriots.