Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots February 19, 2017 - Offseason Positional Reviews: Offensive Line with Luke Inman

Episode Date: February 19, 2018

Mark Schofield looks at the New England Patriots' offensive line unit heading into the offseason, and then talks draft options with Luke Inman from The Draft Rap podcast and Zone Coverage.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good morning and welcome into Locked On Patriots for Monday, February 19th, 2018, a President's Day edition of Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield here with you in the big chair as I will be all year and off season long. Reminder to check out the work over at insidethepylon.com. Got a piece up today. The return of my check with me column where I kind of dive into a bunch of topics, usually quarterback related. I've got a lot of thoughts as the combine is just around the corner. Also check out the YouTube channel over at youtube.com backslash inside the pile and you'll see all the first sound videos. Also a reminder

dailymockdraft.com doing a Patriots mock draft every other day along with Doug Moore. Check those out as well. Today's show we're going to dive into off-season previews. They keep rolling on as well. We're going to talk about the offensive line. Patriots face some decisions with some guys up front. And later in the show, I'll be joined by Luke Inman, who's one of the hosts of the Draft Rap Podcast. Also writes over at Zone Coverage. Most of his work is focused on either the Minnesota Vikings or the NFL Draft itself.

And Luke is one of the best guys in the business. Really, really good guy. Love spending time with him down in Mobile. As you'll see, just a joy to talk to. Knows the draft inside and out. He and I even go through some potential early round mocks for what the Patriots might do on the first and second days of the NFL draft. But before that, let's get into some of the decisions facing the Patriots up front. And we start with the big one. That's Nate Solder. Patriots left tackle, currently 29 years old. He is an unrestricted free agent. And the Patriots are probably going to have to give him a raise. The AAV on his 2017 contract was just a hair over $10 million. According to SportTrack, you're looking at an AAV on his next deal for about $13 million. But there are questions there

because as you know from the podcast appearance by Nora Princiotti, she did a great story on Nate Solder and his family. Obviously, his son is battling cancer. So the Solder family, there have been rumblings that he might sort of step away from the game. Spend more time with his son than with his family as they're dealing with this than their son's illness. But if they can get him

back, obviously I believe plan A for the New England Patriots is to get Nate's shoulder back because despite the fact that he was 29, despite sort of the slow start to this season, he is still a very solid left tackle for the New England Patriots is to get Nate Shoulder back because despite the fact that he was 29, despite sort of the slow start to this season, he is still a very solid left tackle for the New England Patriots. And as we'll discuss with Luke here in a few moments, if Tom Brady's still your quarterback, job one has to be protecting him.

So you want to make sure the guy on the left side is going to be there down in, down out, game in, game out. And as well as Brady moves around in the pocket, you still need to make sure that his blind side is protected. So I'd imagine that if he wants to come back, the Patriots will do everything they can to get Solder back. But they've got some question marks with some other guys. Cameron Fleming enters free agency. He's only 25.

Adrian Waddell enters free agency as well. He's 26. So you've got your left tackle, Nate Solder, entering free agency. You've got two guys that spent a lot of...

that saw a ton of snaps at the right tackle spot. Cameron Fulman and Le'Adrian Waddell enter in free agency. Obviously, you'll get Marcus Cannon back healthy. Patriots will also get Antonio Garcia back healthy. Garcia missed all of the 2017 season, his rookie season, with an injury. So they'll be getting some guys back. They also returned Joe Dooney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason, the interior of that line. But given those question marks and given, you know, I don't want to say the interior of the line was bad at all this season.

But you always should look to upgrade. Again, with the goal being protecting Tom Brady and keeping him upright. So there are a couple of reasons why the Patriots might sort of be in on an offensive lineman at some point in this draft. If Solder walks, they'll definitely need to get another tackle in here. You lose both Waddell and Fleming, you're going to need at least some depth there. Maybe you like one of the interior guys, one of the guards in this class, some interesting guards in this class. So maybe you look to see if one of those guys can sort of wrestle away a starting spot, get some competition in for camp. I've talked about Isaiah Wynn. I think he's an interesting sort of guy to look at because of his versatility. And in terms of free agents, there's not a ton out there in terms of free agents.

Greg Robinson, left tackle. Chris Clark, another left tackle. He's 32. Not sure you're really going to see teams make a big run at him. The tackle market out there isn't that great. Michael Schofield's 27, but I'm not sure our team's going to make a run at him. It's just not a great sort of year for free agent offensive linemen.

We talked about Justin Pugh. I mean, he's a swing guy guard slash tackle maybe the Patriots kick the tires on him but depending on how things shake out I'd imagine that there will be at least looking at

one or two offensive linemen through the draft and up ahead we're going to talk with Luke Inman about some of those guys and who some of those guys might be. That's ahead with me, Mark Schofield, and Locked On Patriots. Welcome into Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you here. We outline sort of the lay of the land when it comes to the offensive line issues

as the Patriots head into the offseason. Now to talk about some draft prospects, one of my favorite people in all of football media. He is at Luke underscore Spidman on Twitter, host of the Draft Rap Podcast, among many other things that he does. Luke, my friend, how are you, buddy? Boy, high expectations, man. Appreciate the generous intro. Always love coming on and talking anything draft and maybe some Patriots today too, huh?

We're going to get into some Patriots talk here at the outset. And I think since this is kind of an O-line show, what we're doing, I talked about it a little. But, Luke, I want to get your thoughts. Obviously, the big decision up front for the Patriots is Nate Solder heads into free agency. As a guy that outside looking in, you're a Vikings guy. Patriots bring him back, right? You think that's what they would do? 100%. outside looking in you're a vikings guy yeah patriots bring him back right you think that's what they would do 100 i mean i know you know just looking again on the outside looking in vikings guy kind of a draft guy but looking at the patriot situation mark i think they got close

to around 15 million you do whatever you can to bring back nate soldier i think in a league that's just thirsty for good offensive tackles, guys that can pass protect against some of these elite pass rushers that come out every single year. You look at a guy like Tom Brady nearing the end, a pure pocket guy. If you want to make a couple more Super Bowl runs here these last two, three years, you've got to keep them upright. You've got to protect them. Do whatever you can.

And if that means letting a guy like Malcolm Butler go, which it sounds like maybe the writing's on the wall after that Super Bowl, maybe a guy like Deion Lewis or Rex Burkhead, again, you bring back. The guys are going to help protect Tom Brady because Brady's going to make everybody else look good. And I think, again, if you can't keep him upright, then you're going to have problems. Yeah, Luke, I think that's a great point about Brady.

And as somebody that's been watching this team, speaking with somebody on the outside looking in, I think it's great to get your perspective on it because Solder was kind of questioned early in the season. Brady was getting hit, but it seemed like the protection sort of got better as the season went along. And I'm with you. I think the Patriots do whatever they can to get Solder back in the fold.

I think that makes sense. We're going to get to some potential other moves that the Patriots might make and maybe mock some picks later. But if the Patriots do decide to address offensive tackle, offensive guard in this class, there are some guys that you're interested in that I want to ask you about. We talked before the show, some guys that you suggested we hit. And I want to start on the inside.

You've got Joe Tooney. You've got Shaq Mason. They're pretty good guards, although Tooney got beat at times during the season and pass protection obviously we saw shack mason get beat on a critical play in the super bowl if new england addresses the guard spot there are two guys you've got in mind and i want to start with isaiah win an offensive tackle convert kicking inside for the senior role for the university of georgia i like him but luke what are your thoughts on this guy i love love this kid, Ben.

You mentioned we saw him down in Mobile, Alabama for a week. The guy just dominated consistent. Some guys flash at the end of the week. Some guys flash at the beginning. This guy flashed every single day, and he was dominant. Again, you mentioned it. Swung inside what was a four-year starter at left tackle. You love to see that, but kind of the shorter stature,

squatty frame if you will powerful rumbucker i think it's going to translate great inside of the next level um don't think again even though just a shorter stature don't think he'd be able to handle the speed of some of these nfl rushers on the outside but at guard you put him in a phone booth man some tight spaces uh i think he's a plug and play kind of guy for the next you know hopefully eight years and i think again i think the only thing that you're hoping or praying for will he be there at what pick 31 i think you guys have so will he be there i mean if the vikings are sitting there and they're looking at an interior and he's on the board hate to say it but i would

hope they would pull the trigger on isaiahynn because he's that good. Realistically, after such a good senior bowl, I would even have him projected as a top 25-28 player, hands down. I've talked to a few guys that maybe said the Atlanta Falcons make some sense there, maybe as high as 23-24 in that range. But certainly, again, Combine's going to play a big factor here in the next two weeks. We certainly know that stocks will rise and fall, but I think right now Wynn's got a ton of momentum on his side, and I think you're just rolling the dice hoping he would land there at 31. If he is, it's a no-brainer. Yeah, it's amazing, Luke, kind of seeing the rise of Isaiah Wynn over the past couple of weeks because going into the Senior Bowl, there were a lot of questions. Can he really sort of kick inside? Will he be able to do it?

Is he just a guy that's going to be a guy without a position really in the NFL because he can't make the switch? But the rise of Isaiah Wynn over the past couple weeks, I'm sitting here thinking the Patriots might be able to get him with their first pick in the second round. But when you talk about the way he's risen, and you're saying, like you're saying, Vikings might get him early, that shows you that this guy, he might move into the top 20 top 15

when all is said and done yeah and again it goes back to again the nfl marks just so thirsty for good offensive linemen i think the real epidemic in the nfl is all these kids out of high school these top recruits and i can't blame them and nor should anyone else but they'd rather you know play the sexy position of a defensive end, an edge rusher, an interior lineman that can post a lot of sacks, post a lot of tackles for loss, makes the splash plays, as opposed to sitting there and quote-unquote being that boring blocker. So I think that when you get a guy like Isaiah Wynn coming out, I know interior, like an offensive guard, isn't super highly rated just in general, kind of the stereotype in

the NFL. We saw teams miss on guys like Jonathan Cooper and Chance Wormack in the top 10. But then you see teams like the Cowboys hit on Travis Frederick, the center, at 31. They took a lot of heat for that. But my gosh, what a great pick when it's all said and done. So I think Isaiah Wynn, yeah, unless something goofy happens at the Combine, which we've seen some weird stuff lead up even to the draft, unless something goofy happens, I got him as a top 25, 28,

somewhere in that range, Atlanta at 26. I don't know New Orleans' setup right now, but it seems like they would do the same thing as New England and try to protect Drew Brees these last two, three years, a pure pocket guy. Maybe Carolina if they lose Andrew Norwell. Just shaking the dice, though, hoping that he can fall to pick 31. If they miss out on one, another guy that you like, a guy I know absolutely nothing about,

so I'm going to learn along with the listeners, Wyatt Teller from Virginia Tech. Luke, make the introductions to Mr. Teller. Well, Teller is kind of a goofy project because he's actually at his best earlier in his career. And what I mean is he came out of Virginia as the defensive player of the year. He actually started and was recruited for Virginia Tech as a defensive lineman. He flipped the script. He went on the offensive side of the ball. He looked great. And he looked great because his functional strength, his play strength, is off the charts.

You're not really going to find too many guys that are stronger and, again, play with those heavy hands and can really move a lot of guys at the point of attack than Wyatt Teller. Now, where things get a little weird or kind of the wild card situation is he sort of slipped off this year. And now you've got question marks because it's kind of like the Harold Landry, the tape on 2016 Harold Landry was phenomenal, but all of a sudden 2017 wasn't that great. So you're scratching your head going, which guy am I going to get? I think at the end of the day, you have to be confident in your coaching staff, your ability to develop guys because Teller's got the raw size and, again, play

strength that you dream of as a coach. But why did he slip off? It looked like he was almost a little checked out towards the end. But I say that, and then I look at PFF's grades, and we were talking about this the other day. PFF has him as the top pass-protecting guard in the college football last year, allowing only one pressure and 396 snaps. Don't necessarily agree with that, but it gives you a general idea though that Wyatt Teller can be and was actually pretty productive last year as well. So he's a guy, Combine's going to be huge. There's a lot of other guys that kind of the draft twitter or

general draft surface fan has like will hernandez above them uh billy price depending on where you like them uh again we just talked about isaiah win obviously quentin nelson's maybe a the best player in this whole draft but wyatt teller uh very intriguing if you're a team that has multiple seconds or maybe multiple third round picks, I certainly would love to take a stab at him if he's still sitting there on day three. Again, if you're confident in your coaching staff that you can develop this kid because, again, he was outstanding coming out of high school, really good right away, maybe slipped off in 2017, but even PFF says, well, there's still plenty to build off, especially in the

passing game so i like wyatt teller i just think he's a name we should start to get to know now going into the combine do you think you know any sort of guesses as to why he might have slipped off this past year was it a scheme thing you know offense or what it's a good question mark and unfortunately i don't really have a an answer i can't pinpoint it. But again, just the reports and the things that I've read and anybody else can go read this stuff, I don't have an inside source at Virginia Tech. But it just seems like he looked and played like he was kind of checked out. I don't think there's a scheme switch. I don't know if maybe sometimes there's a coaching gap.

Sometimes there's an injury that we don't know about. I mean, that's actually more times than not what it ends up being so um is he healthy again combine is really more so for um a lot of teams to do medical backgrounds and then obviously do a lot of the interviews try to try to gauge a kind of the mentality a lot of these kids but I think Wyatt Teller maybe was hurt we just didn't know about it but it's tough to put a pinpoint on that and it's anybody's guess I mean your guess is going to be as good as mine but again I just think that the body of work towards the beginning was there the play strength is off the charts and I think hey if you can get them in the third round maybe you're just getting a steal maybe you're getting a value it's worth a shot especially a team who's

got multiple day two picks let's kick it outside a little bit here and you know if the Patriots move on from Nate Solder obviously they drafted Antonio Garcia last year but they probably would add another offensive tackle to the mix one of the two guys you want to talk about is Mike McGlinchey from North from Notre Dame and you know I've seen him sort of listed at the top of the offensive tackle class I've seen him listed at the top of the offensive tackle class. I've seen him listed maybe 8 or 9 by other people. It seems like people are around the board on him. Where are you on the ND kid?

I love the kid. I think he's really reminding me the situation that he's in. You mentioned it. He's all over the board. Yes, one guy, he's the number one tackle on their board. In fact, I had PFF's Mike Renner on. Mike McGlinchey was his number one tackle as well as mine, so that made me feel a little bit better about myself. But I think, again, you're right. You ask some guys, he's seven or eight. He reminds me the situation, not the player type, but he

reminds me of Jack Conklin. And I think he's a guy, Jack Conklin, who's all over the board, ends up going, I think, 16 or those mid-teens to Tennessee, maybe even earlier, 12, 13, somewhere in that mix. They move him to the right side, and he's been lights out. I mean, maybe not a Pro Bowl level, but man, I mean, plug and play from day one, he's been great. And I think McGlinchey, if you go back and watch his original tape early on, I like him better at right tackle. Don't think necessarily you can't start him out at left tackle and just see what he's got. Certainly played there at Notre Dame for his entire career, but early on, his first few, I don't want to say years, but his first

few games, he was at right tackle and he looked phenomenal. I think Jack Conklin's a similar situation where he's a little bit safer of a pick than Connor Williams, who's going to have the dominating size. Orlando Browns, who's got the dominating size from Oklahoma. Connor Williams heading in the year was like a top five lock. He got hurt. Is he going to be healthy? Seems like a lot of people like those two names a little bit sexier, but Mike McGlinchey, a little bit safer, maybe not as high of a ceiling, but again, I think McGlinchey, yeah, go ahead, try him at left tackle, but if it don't pan out, I know I can play him at right tackle, and in today's day and age, I don't think there's much of a discrepancy between the left and right tackle as there used to

be, so you need both. I think they're very equal in how important they are. McGlinchey against Boston College, I mentioned Harold Landry, really shut him down this year, which was great. Harold Landry, although, maybe took a step back this year as well, but certainly not a guy who dominated every single snap or every single game, but again, in a league that's thirsty for some good, pure, solid offensive tackles, McGlinchey, I think in this draft, is as good as it gets. And I think, again, he's got good athleticism off the edge. He's got the feet to handle a lot of the

speed. We'll see if that's at the left side or left tackle in the NFL. But if not, I love the kid at right tackle. And that's more than I can say for some of the question marks about Connor Williams I have with his play speed and his feet. And then Orlando Brown and then Connor Williams I have with his play speed and his feet. And then Orlando Brown and then Connor Williams with his injury history. So McGlinchey gave me number one offensive tackle. Again, I may be on the outside looking in. I may be in the minority. We'll see what happens in the combine. Who knows a guy like the Western Michigan kid,

Okafor could come in and maybe splash at the combine and jump ahead of him. I think it's a very doubtful mark that McGlinchey falls to 31, but if he falls anywhere in that range, somebody's going to get a steal on Mike McGlinchey in those mid to late 20s. We'll see what happens. Since you mentioned it, I do want to ask briefly before we get to the next tackle we're going to talk about. Connor Williams, I saw thoughts of kicking him inside.

Is that just people starting to overthink stuff, or is there really a movement that Connor Williams should kick inside? That blew my mind when I saw it. Well, I'm with you, man. I don't know why you would, again, knowing you can get some better value. I always think value, positional value. Knowing you can get some great value in the second, third, fourth round at at guard or in the interior i don't know why you would want to plug connor williams at least right out the gate i mean hey if he struggles for whatever reason i don't

think he will uh but if he struggles that much sure i guess you could it's a situation like laramie tunsell in miami regarded as a top uh five pick obviously we know what happened with the bong mask and then he falls to miami there um and they've kicked him inside i've heard that he actually didn't play phenomenal i mean on the inside as well so it's never a guarantee you know it's not like madden where you can just plug these guys in on the inside and and their rating will go up because it's a quote-unquote easier position to play connor williams man heading into the year before these injuries, he was, again, I mean, I think I had him mocked to the Bears,

who I projected to pick third overall. So, I mean, he was as good as it gets, very athletic for the size, and I think, again, top to bottom, he was as balanced as it comes from a pass-blocking and run-blocking standpoint, and then the play strength as well. So injuries are a big concern now, especially with a big dude. You worry about knees, ankles, lower back, anything like that with bigger guys because probably the longevity is not going to be great. They're probably not going to get better before they get worse.

So Connor Williams, can't see him on inside at guard. I think you're doing yourself a disservice too if you're drafting him in the first round especially in the top 15 and and planning on moving him inside the guard I just wouldn't do it let's get now to the other guy you wanted to talk about and somebody that I think has generated some interest and that's Alex Kappa from Humboldt State another offensive tackle in this class Luke what are your thoughts on alan i love him i mean you were down there at the senior bowl i mean he showed up and he just you know sometimes mark i like to go in to that weekend mobile not watching some guys before i go and just getting my first eye test up close in person and kappa blew me away i mean he just looks like an nfl offensive

lineman you know he's built very big at the base. From top to bottom, he's got that play strength. And, hey, he's even got the man bun or the ponytail, the long hair, that just kind of that, again, gritty D2 kind of out of nowhere. Who is this guy? You know, and that's what I love about Senior Bowl, by the way, not to get too off topic. It's a great opportunity to see some small school

guys that dominated their competition rightfully so but to see if they can do it against top tier competition guys that ultimately they're going to line up against in the nfl as well and kappa checked every box for me six seven three oh five uh again d2 but uh dominated the guys that you know he was put up against. And again, just looked the part of an NFL offensive lineman. Sure, maybe a little bit more of a project. At the end of the day, there's going to be some things that you need to work on and refine like there's going to be for any prospect,

especially a small school guy. But certainly, again, I don't mean to sound redundant, Mark, but in a league that's just so thirsty for offensive tackles and good offensive line play, you find a guy like Kappa. For me, after the Senior Bowl and going back and watching the tape, in this class, he's a top 50 guy. I had him pegged to the Colts at the beginning of round two, but that certainly doesn't mean that that's where he's etched in and going to go. If the Patriots want to go with Malcolm Butler, like leave, want to go corner, let's just say, for their first pick, and Kappa's there with that first,

second-round pick that they own, I think that's pick 43. Kappa's still there. I love that. And that's even if they do sign Nate Solder because Kappa's a guy that, first of all, you always need a great sixth man or swing tackle, but maybe you want to kind of let him learn from a guy like Solder. You never know what's going to happen. Injuries always take place.

Again, if you want to go on one or two more of these Super Bowl runs if you're New England, you have to keep Brady upright. You have to keep the pocket clean, and I think a guy like Kappa is certainly going to help you if anybody were to go down. And then again, maybe after that rookie year, he can start to really start to take place and earn one of those starting roles. I really like Kappa as a top 50 guy. All right, Luke, let's close this out with a little bit of an exercise. I'm going to ask you to dive into a scary place, and that's inside the head of Bill Belichick.

As we sort of talked about Patriots have you know they've got a pick at the end of the first they've got two picks to the second how do you see sort of game out what you think the Patriots might do with those three picks then I'll do the same yeah I think again you know just looking uh real quick on sports track before I jumped on looks like you got about 15 mil um we've already you know talked about you gotta go get solder and that means if you gotta got to let Butler go, which sounds like the writing's on the wall, and maybe a guy like Deion Lewis or Rex Burkhead,

then it is what it is. I mean, thankfully, running back is a position that's a little watered down in the NFL, and every year I say this, this running back class gets better and better. I love this class of running backs. So you can get those guys later. I think if you're sitting there at 31, I think I'm looking for in this class, I think I'm looking for one of these phenomenal

cornerbacks to fall in my lap. And really there's about four or five of them that I have in the top tier. Denzel Ward, which I'm doing a video cut up as we speak, should be out later on ZoneCoverage.com. Josh Jackson from Iowa, Isaiah Oliver from Colorado, Jair Alexander from Louisville, and then really the sleeper or the wild card that's getting a lot of love now, as he should, Mike Hughes. Starting to fall in love with this Mike Hughes from UCF. Can do a little bit of everything. Maybe a little undersized, but can do a little bit of everything. So I'm looking at a guy like Mike Hughes.

If some of those other top guys are gone, hey, if Isaiah Oliver's there from Colorado or Jair Alexander from Louisville, punch it. Then you come back. You try to grab a guy like Alex Kappa with that first pick. There's some other names there, too. You know, Jamarco Jones, Ohio State. You know, we've heard our boy Jeff Risen talk about Tyrell Crosby from Oregon. Haven't watched his tape, but that seems like kind of the right sweet spot or landing spot

for him. So now you've got your corner to replace Malcolm Butler. You've got your offensive tackler, offensive lineman to start to get into the mix as a six-man or maybe your future replacement for Nate Solder. If and whenever that is. And then you come back and try to get your Deion Lewis or Rex Burkhead kind of replacement. And that you can do either at the end of the second or in the third round. Kalen Balazs, Arizona State, ripped it up at the Senior Bowl. Kind of that dual-threat David Johnson type of traits. Great in the passing game. Pretty solid in the Senior Bowl. Kind of that dual threat David Johnson type of traits. Great in the passing game.

Pretty solid in the running game. Maybe a carry in Johnson, Auburn, Ito Smith, Southern Mississippi. There's a ton of them, man. Naheem Hines, North Carolina State. Guys in the third round that should be just sitting there. Rashad Penny, San Diego State. I don't know, and you would know better than I do, the traits that they're going to look for in those positions. Couldn't speak about that off the top of my head.

But I certainly think, again, when you're just looking at positional value, cornerback, there's going to be one or two of these studs sitting there falling your lap at the end of round one. And Alex Kappa type with that first pick in round two. And then eventually, whether you want to wait until the third round or even the fourth, there's going to be a few good running backs sitting there too. So it depends on, again, the traits that they look for.

I always said this to it, and back when New England was kind of the originator of stockpiling a bunch of draft picks before the draft. Do you remember that? Eight, nine years ago, every year they had two like, two firsts or three seconds or three thirds. And then everybody started to copy them. But, you know, they would always draft a guy that was highly regarded right where he should be. And then their next pick, very, very close to that pick, they'd draft a guy that, like, nobody had heard of. And you'd sit there and it's like you'd kind of make fun of him.

But in three or five years, the guy that was highly regarded is cut, and the guy that nobody had heard of, Bill Belichick, turns into like a pro bowler. So you never know what kind of traits they're looking for. I'm always surprised at their drafts, to be honest. It seems to be from the public and draft Twitter, people like that. It seems to be one of the lower-rated drafts year in and year out. Every year.

Every year, but again, Bill Belichick doesn't care what the public thinks we know that he drafts guys that he thinks are coachable you know my first mock draft I had Marcus Davenport at the end of round one and and forget about the top 10 buzz for Davenport that's ridiculous but he is a great ball of clay that you could mold and I think Bill Belichick gets his hands on him, and I think he turns him into maybe a Chandler Jones type down the road. So maybe they want to go that route, end of round one. Maybe then still a Mike Hughes is sitting there early round two, then maybe an Alex Kapp at the end of round two. So I think having that extra second-round pick is huge for the Patriots this year,

but first and foremost, you've got to go sign Dates Older. You've got to make sure Tom Brady's protected in the pocket these last few years. Yeah, and I think, first of all, Belichick's probably going to trade all these picks down anyway. That's kind of his MO. Right, which is fine. Which is fine, but to sort of game it out the way you did, I think they go edge. I think it's Davenport, Arden Key. If those guys are there at the end of the first.

Harold Landry maybe. Yeah, Landry if he's there. Because, you know, pass rush is such an issue for these guys. Then I think they address a need with that, you know, first pick in the second round, whatever, you know, 43 or so. You know, if they need to get a corner, maybe it's Hughes or somebody like that that falls. If not, if they've, you know, if they're going to wait on corner, which they might because there's kids like Levi Wallace, the kid from Bama, that he'll have some familiarity with their team. It's a deep class.

It's a deep class. I love the corner class. Then maybe they do get a Kappa there or tell her if he checks out what they want to do. Crosby from Oregon, yeah. And then at the end of the second, if he continues to rise, and I've mocked this a couple of times already, but Kyle Lalletta, the Richmond quarterback, because they need to figure out the next guy after Brady.

I think Lalletta could do 95% of what they do offensively with the arm strength that he has. Obviously, it's not a power-on, but he can give you basically what you run they do offensively with the arm strength that he has. Obviously, it's not a power arm, but he can give you what, basically what you run right now offensively. And they can have time to develop him. So that's kind of the way I'd go. I'd say Davenport. Then they hopefully, you know,

they go offensive line with, you know, maybe Kappa there, like you talked about him and talked him up or Teller. And then Lolleta. That's what I'd like sitting here right now on, you know, mid-February. And I love that too, Merck, because again, you didn't touch on running back. And that's that's what i think sitting here right now and you know mid-february and i love that too mark because again you didn't touch on running back and that's okay because again then

still it's so deep man every year it's so deep and and i think i talk about this at least for two minutes on every single podcast i've done so far this year that positional value yes you usually get what you pay for if you want to go grab Zeke or Fournette or Gurley in the top 10, but you can go get Kareem Hunt, Stelvin Cooks, Jordan Howards on day two and three. And again, I just think the positional value, similar to interior offensive line, you just don't necessarily need to use early picks on those. Use them at the positions that are going to drop off real quick if you don't get one in the first round or two.

So I like that scenario as well, Mark. And you touched on it. I don't know the cornerback situation as well as you do for the Patriots. I don't know their depth. I think, again, somebody's going to be sitting, one of those five guys are probably going to be sitting there and falling on their lap. But if they don't want to go their own, they want to go edge.

The kid from Oklahoma that I still can't pronounce his name is probably sitting there marcus davenport again i loved i would love to just see a guy like belichick get his hands on davenport because he's going to need to be coached right he's going to need to be developed and so many times we see these guys go to the wrong team or the wrong coach that just can't get the the most out of them or maximize your skill set and ends up being a waste. You know, Tano Passano I loved last year from Villanova. Long, lanky, was at the Senior Bowl. Don't know how well he's developed in his first year at Kansas City,

but similar to him in the traits. So we'll see what happens. If you want to wait on corner, though, there's so many guys I like in the second tier. MJ Stewart, North Carolina. Cameron Kelly, San Diego State. Mike Hughes is pushing himself again into that first tier. And you mentioned Levi Wallace. I was really impressed with Levi Wallace down at Mobile, Alabama.

I know he's undersized. He doesn't look the part. But, hell, Trey Waynes is undersized. I mean, that guy looks like a 10th grader out on the field. And I'm telling you, the dude can ball. So, I mean, you can wait on corner, I think think in this class with one of those two second round picks so that's a great oh Carlton Davis Auburn oh right run any any type of zone scheme at all he might be the best maybe press or guy at the line and then running any type of zone scheme so there's a ton of them

is my point and then of course you mentioned it you can wait on running back all day so I certainly like that scenario as well. Having that extra second is going to be huge for the Patriots. I think so. Before we wrap this up, an interesting sort of analogy popped into my head. I want to get your thoughts on it because we heard a lot going into Mobile. Early in the

week, we saw Daniel Jeremiah had Davenport in his top 10, had him coming off the board 7 and a mock to the box. A little high, but raw, talented guy. Obviously, we'll need some work, some development, but the raw tools are there. And we're all on the outside saying, look, he needs to slide.

He needs to go to a place where he can develop. I feel like he's the edge analogy to Josh Allen because it's a similar sort of argument because i led raw tools you need somebody that can mold that lump of clay that he is right now into something great so we need him to go to the right spot so if you're talking josh allen in the top 10 i'm not on board but if you tell me josh allen comes off the board at say 25 you know something more like they're even 31 to new england i'm fine with, it's a great analogy. You're right.

I mean, apples to apples there, just different positions. And I think the thing that's going to separate those two, and this is obvious, everybody knows this, is the positional value of quarterback. I mean, quarterback, if you don't have one, you have to go try to get one. You can't be complacent and sit there and say, oh, well, next year we'll try to go get our guy, and we'll keep building the defense. No, you have to continue to try to take stabs at these quarterbacks.

And that's why Josh Allen's intriguing. Certainly, again, you can't build them any better, I don't think, you know, the size, the build, the arm strength, everything else. But again, just inconsistent, inconsistencies all up and down the board. And people are going to say, and this is fine, people are going to say, he's missing a starting center, he's missing a receiver, he's missing his running back. And that's fair. But any time you have a completion percentage less than 60%, especially in a small program. I mean, Derek Carr came out of Fresno State and had like over 70% completion percentage. And, you know, people are always going to find ways to pick apart prospects. Garrett Carr came out of Fresno State and had like over 70% completion percentage.

And, you know, people are always going to find ways to pick apart prospects. People said Carr threw a lot of bubble screens, you know, and short passes. Well, I just think that, again, you know, his 56% career completion percentage, Josh Allen, that is, it scares the hell out of me, Mark. And I think, again, you can't build him any better. But, again, if I need a quarterback, i can let josh allen sit even one year uh we see what what that can do it can do wonders i know everybody's impatient nowadays you gotta win now but i see what what wonders it does when you let a quarterback sit um you can go up and down the list aaron rogers uh to jimmy garoppolo i think that josh allen could be a franchise

quarterback but i certainly like that analogy marcus davenport same thing small school maybe a little inconsistent but everything's there i mean the stuff that you can't teach right the size the traits the length the burst marcus davenport's got it top 10 for me no way because top 10 you can't miss on a top you miss on top 10 pick um you know put in your two-week notice and just head out you know what i mean i mean from a front office perspective because that will set you back too far so um and there might not be besides chubb uh really a locked top 10 edge guy because landry's got his issues arden key super inconsistent in fact didn't he quit football for a hot second?

And Davenport's coming from a small school. So you got to take a stab eventually, but I can't do that in the top 10. I have to hit. And that's why, again, going back to Mike McGlinchey, I like McGlinchey more than the Orlando Brown and the Connor Williams because I know what I'm going to get. I'm not going to miss. Even if I have to put him at the right side like Jack Conklin,

I'm going to hit on that pick and I'm going to survive another day. That going to miss. Even if I have to put him at the right side like Jack Conklin, I'm going to hit on that pick, and I'm going to survive another day. That's fantastic. Luke, tremendous, tremendous stuff. Before we go, plug some stuff. Let people know where to find you, what to look for next. For sure. You mentioned at the top, at Luke Spinnman, underscore Spinnman on Twitter, ripping out new episodes of the DraftDraft podcast about twice a week.

Just had Joe Marino on, our boy from NDT Scouting. Absolutely killed it. We talked about how to fix the Cleveland Browns with all that ammo and the Buffalo Bills. Maybe the Bills. Check this out, Mark, just real quick. What do you think about that? Maybe the Bills want to use those two picks at 21-22

and probably a future pick and move up with either the Giants at two or the Browns at four and go get their quarterback. Do you think that's unrealistic for the Buffalo Bills with all that ammo to do that? No, they've certainly got the ammo to get up. And the Bills are definitely a team that needs to fix the quarterback position because obviously they've given up on Tyrod Taylor. They're going to move on from there.

We saw Nathan Peterman last year. He's clearly not the answer long-term. Maybe as a backup, sure, but they've got to get a guy in this offseason. Maybe they try to get Cousins. I haven't heard a lot about Cousins being linked to Buffalo, but they've got the ammo. They've got the ammo with those two picks, and then obviously a future first-rounder perhaps as well to go and get a guy.

Can they get to two with the Giants' move? I don't know. Maybe they say, look, we don't know I mean maybe you know maybe they say look we don't need to go quarterback a two we don't need to go quarterback this year because we've still got Eli for another couple of years we can stockpile picks make one last run with Eli and then get a guy next year for the life after Eli so maybe they could get to two if they do you're gonna get yeah that that's what i'm thinking too and i think again i think you gotta throw a player in there as well you give them the two first round picks and you get

them say the offensive lineman cordy glenn because we know they missed on eric flowers again similar to breeze and the saints similar to the patriots and and tom brady uh you got about three four years left with eli in my opinion you gotta upright, though. These pure pocket passers, they need a great O-line. I think Cordy Glenn, you ship him out because they hit on Deion Dawkins last year. You give them their two firsts, and maybe next year's first. I mean, that's a big jump from 21 to two. And the Giants are set up for two years there. They can go grab, you know, with Cordy Glenn,

they can go grab, you know a Tremaine Edmonds inside linebacker and a Derwin James if they want or you know the corners that we were talking about maybe Denzel Ward I don't think Eli Apples gonna last too much longer there maybe Josh Jackson you can do some some major damage in one draft and offseason for any team in the NFL as we've seen you can really flip a lot of things. I think they get Beckham back. I don't know where Marshall's at, but maybe you get Marshall, a veteran guy. We saw them hit on the tight end, the rookie last year. He's great.

And then Sterling Shepard. But Cordy Glenn is the secret in that whole mix. I think that would be the catalyst with a couple of firsts. We'll see what happens, but certainly going to be fun, man. That's why I love the draft. So check out those draft wrap episodes. You should check them out on my Twitter, again, Luke underscore Spinman, or on Zone Coverage, zonecoverage.com.

A lot of my draft work. I got a new Denzel Ward cut-up, video cut-up piece that I'm working on right now. It should be out later this week. Fantastic stuff. Again, please follow Luke on Twitter. As you can tell, just knows this stuff inside and out. One of the best guests we've had on this show. That will do it for today's episode.

I will be back tomorrow. Until then, keep it locked right here to me, Mark Scofield, and Locked on Patriots.