Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Locked On Patriots March 19, 2018 - We Can Calm Down Now!

Episode Date: March 19, 2018

Mark Schofield breaks down New England's recent acquisitions, has reaction to the Jets' trade, looks at some big names still available in Free Agency and has his instant reaction to the Patterson trade.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good morning and welcome into Lockdown Patriots for Monday, March 19, 2018. Mark Schofield back in the big chair. Reminder to follow me on Twitter at Mark Schofield. Follow the work over at InsideThePylon.com. Get a new check with me. Peace out. Talking about some of the quarterback movement that we've seen. Some of the stuff that I expect.

Answering some reader questions. Also, follow the videos over at YouTube.com backslash InsideThePylon. Going to be rolling out a couple of new videos this week. Hope you had a wonderful weekend, whatever you did. If you chose to partake in some St. Patrick's Day related festivities, I hope you're recovering well. Maybe this off season, sometime during the summer, I'll drop the Hanover Cure on you guys. It's science, people. Pure science.

What we're going to do today, we're going to talk about some of the free agent names that are still out there. Some shoes waiting to drop. We're going to talk about the Jets making a move towards the top of the draft. But first, everybody come on back from the edge of the Tobin. Okay? It's okay now. Things are happening. Obviously, last we spoke, there was some consternation in Patriots Nation.

People wondering, has the game passed Bill Belichick by? Yes, that was a legitimate tweet that I saw from somebody. But as we see every offseason, the Patriots slow roll their free agency moves because what happens is what usually happens. When there's a free agency opening, when there's perhaps a hot new product that hits the market, everybody rushes and pays a premium,

but the smart consumers hang back and look for the deals. And that's what the Patriots have done, and it's the way that they've done this for years now. Let's talk about some of the additions that they brought in. First, Jason McCourty joins the Patriots. Obviously, defensive back, last year cornerback with the Cleveland Browns, and of note to most Patriots fans, the twin brother of free safety Devin McCourty. In terms of the deal, Patriots acquire McCourty as well as a seventh round draft pick in exchange for New England's

sixth round draft pick both of those picks are in this year's draft and what's interesting about this move is McCourty had a very good season last year for the Cleveland Browns you look at some of the cumulative stats on them 65 tackles two forced fumbles three interceptions last season. PFF had graded him as a fairly good corner. Again, as with all data points, take the PFF grade with a grain of salt. It's not the be-all and end-all, but it's a piece of evidence. Give it all the weight you wish to. You look at instant reaction around the league to this, around the football media world. Bill Barnwell over at ESPN gave this trade an A-plus for New England.

And I would tend to agree with this. This is a very good move for the Patriots because they needed to replace Malcolm Butler. They do that with a veteran corner who's played the position well, who stays in the AFC, has some familiarity with some of the teams he'll be seeing, obviously has a familiar running mate behind him, and his twin brother. So I think this is a very good move for the New England Patriots.

Helps replace what they lost with Malcolm Butler. Gives them a veteran presence in that locker room. So I think this is a very good deal for the New England Patriots. A smart move for them, and that was the first move that came in. Next one that came in. Next one that came in, Patriots signed defensive edge player Adrian Claiborne from the Atlanta Falcons, who's coming off a nine and a half sack season. He was a first round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2011 draft, played for Atlanta from 2015 to 2017. Obviously, he's faced the New England Patriots twice over the last

couple of seasons. Saw them in Super Bowl 51. Saw them again last year in the regular season back in week 7. You know, I think what this does, you know, it gives you a boost on the edge. You've got Trey Flowers.

You've got Dietrich Wise. Now you're bringing Claymore. That gives you a little bit of boost there. I don't think it rules out the fact that the Patriots address edge in this draft. I think, as I've talked about, as we saw in the Super Bowl, you need to have depth at the edge spots. You need to have that for those sub-packages. You need to have the versatility to

kick guys on the inside to get guys like Dietrich Wise, guys like Trey Flowers, guys like Adrian Claiborne kicked inside on third and long. Get them working against guards. The eventual sort of shift in how people view offensive line play and the importance of pass blocking for offensive guards it's coming we've seen some of it with isaiah win through this draft cycle an sec left tackle who's being asked to sort of kick inside because it matters you know gone are the days where the only pass russian spot was against your left tackle now you need guys that can pass block across the entire offensive line. As an aside, I saw a great comment from, I forget who it was, was asked about, you know, shifting from left tackle to right tackle. And it was an offensive

lineman who basically said, that's like trying to learn to wipe with your other hand. A little bit of colorful language there, but it's not the same. And it matters because look at all the great guys that attack right tackles in the National Football League. Khalil Mack, Vaughn Miller. Names off the top of my head. You need guys that can have block, that can pass block, all across your offensive front. But for the Patriots, this gives them the ability to have some depth there, have somebody that can possibly kick inside. They still probably add one or two more edge pieces,

either in free agency with another flyer, and definitely during the draft, we've talked about some possibilities, Marcus Davenport, Kameko Torre, Sam Hubbard. But the Claiborne signing, a very nice signing as well. I know some Atlanta Falcons fans, Charles McDonald, at four verts on Twitter, a little disappointed by that move. So they add him. They add Jeremy Hill to the running back group.

Jeremy Hill sort of seeing his carries diminished while in Cincinnati. But depending on what kind of player they get, what kind of production they get out of Hill, this could be a very good move as well. Because what do you get in Hill? You're just three seasons removed for a 1,000-yard rusher. Two years ago, 2016, 222 carries for 839 yards as well. Last year, he only appeared in seven games.

Obviously, his role diminished out there with the Bengals, they bring in Joe Mixon Hill suffers an ankle injury decides to have season ending surgery gets put on IR gets called out a little bit by Marvin Lewis so that relationship didn't end well but you lose Deion Lewis

you bring in somebody to replace him and given the fact that they brought Rex Burkhead back, they still have James White, they still have Mike Gillisley. I think this pretty much solidifies the running back group. Maybe if somebody falls to them, they take a flyer late in the draft. But I think now, running back group seems pretty set. Finally, Matt Toobin, reserve offensive lineman from the Seattle Seahawks. They signed him as well.

With the loss of Nate Solder, they're going to need to address some questions up front. They do get Antonio Garcia back. They'll need to re-sign one or both of Cameron Fleming and Adrian Waddell. Toobin gives them some depth there. Depending on how this all shakes out, I still think the Patriots are in the market for an offensive tackle in what's not the greatest offensive tackle class, but you could find some good value sort of in that day two range. We've talked about Kappa. We've talked about Colton Miller, some other names in the mix as well.

So big picture here. It's time to relax a little bit. Patriots made some moves, sort of that late part of free agency that we're into now. The big names, some big names are still out there as we're going to get to, but some of the bigger names are gone. But this is now a good time to be a buyer. It's a good time to be a team looking for somebody. Up next, we're going to talk about the New York Jets for a minute.

Jets making some noise over the weekend. That's ahead with me, Mark Schofield, in Locked on Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now, and let's talk about the New York Jets. A little AFC East rivalry discussion here, and the Jets made some moves over the weekend, getting themselves into the top five of the NFL draft because they executed a deal, the Indianapolis Colts. The Jets get Indianapolis' pick in the first round,

that third overall selection. In return, the Jets give up their pick, which is the sixth overall pick, as well as two second-rounders, the 37th and the 49th, as well as a 2019 second round pick. One of those second rounders this year, they had already acquired in a deal with the Seattle Seahawks. So three second round picks, one a year ahead from now. And their first round pick. To get up to number three, obviously the move here is to go get a quarterback so a couple of things to discuss a couple of things to consider one is getting to

three going to be enough i've seen some people wonder why make this move now why make this move now is it too early to do this it isn't if you're worried that you still might have to get to two. You know, because Cleveland's going to take a quarterback at one. Take all the smoke screens and stuff and take them with a huge grain of salt. Cleveland's going quarterback at one. I think now that we've seen this, they have to. You know, it would have been a massive roll of the dice anyway to take another position and wait to hopefully get your guy at four.

And as I said on this show, Cleveland going quarterback at one creates a nice little market for themselves, creates a little bit of a demand here for that number four pick, especially if the possible scenario of QB at one, QB at two, QB at three now plays out. And we're much closer to that playing out right now. So I think if you're the Jets, you get to three and now you at least have to talk with the Giants at two because I'm sure the Giants now are entertaining offers for that second overall pick.

If you're a team like Arizona, like maybe Denver, some other quarterback needy teams like the Buffalo Bills, you now need to get to two to make sure you're going to get maybe your guy or maybe even your plan B. Because the Jets are now looming at three. And this was sort of the move that we've been waiting for. The Colts were sort of in the catbird seat. Now it's up to the Giants.

And Gettleman could go in a number of different directions here. He could decide, look, we've got Eli. We have Davis, Webb. Although I'm personally not a fan of Webb, wasn't a big fan of him coming out. You've got two guys there. Maybe you load up, you make another run with Eli. You draft Saquon Barkley at two.

You draft Quinton Nelson at two. Maybe you trade down. You know, maybe Denver tries to get to two. Maybe Buffalo packages what they have to get up to two. You know, Gettleman's going to have a nice little hand to play here. Maybe you can really sort of rake the Jets over the coals here because if the Jets catch wind that, look, somebody else is coming to two, we've got to make sure we can get to two to get our guy. Especially if, you know, we're going to see how the Jets catch wind that, look, somebody else is coming to two, we've got to make sure we can get to two to get our guy. Especially if we're going to see how the Jets have,

we're going to get an insight into how the Jets have stacked their board. Because if they've got a 1-2 of, say, Rosen and Darnold, and Darnold comes off the board at one, now you've got to worry. If we see the Jets trying to get up to two, especially in a scenario like that, that tells you how their board looks. So for me, I don't think the Jets are necessarily done moving.

They might still have to get up one more spot somehow. Obviously, watch the Buffalo Bills. You know, because by getting up here, Adam Schefter, I believe, is the one that pointed this out on Twitter. By getting themselves to three, the Jets effectively, in a way, started to leapfrog even more the Buffalo Bills. Yeah, they were ahead of them already. But now they've gotten themselves to three. Now there's really only one spot where the Bills can go to get their guy, to get ahead of the Jets, and that's two. Then sort of the question becomes, can the Jets even get to two?

Having just said all that, again, the trade value chart, it's just one factor, one little set of guidelines to perhaps look at. But looking at it here, the value of that third round pick, they've got it valued at $2,200. Value of that third overall pick, excuse me, $2,200. That second overall pick, $2,600. Well, what could the Jets put together? They'd have to trade basically their entire draft, at least according to this, they'd have to trade basically their entire draft this least according to this they'd have to trade basically their entire draft this year to the Giants to get to two or they could do with some future picks, but You know might be asking a lot to really sit on mortgage that future

Could the bills get there You know, they're sitting at 12 and 22 right now. That's in the first round. So they could put that together, you know, plus one, if not both of those second rounders they've got to get to two. Maybe that does it. But we're getting close to a scenario. And I talked about this on Twitter over the weekend. We're going to see, perhaps, whether the NFL views this quarterback class as a big four or a big five.

Because if we see quarterback, quarterback, quarterback, quarterback, let's say this draft plays out where it's cleveland goes qb at one the giants or somebody maybe buffalo goes qb at two jets qb at three and then cleveland gets out so denver or maybe arizona goes qb at four which could happen then you wonder if there's a gap. Maybe the team's just saying, okay, well, I'm not going up to five to get Lamar Jackson. Or if teams view this as a big five quarterback class like I do, they say, okay, well, look, we can't sit here and wait for Lamar Jackson. We've got to go get him. So that's something we might see in short order as well.

So we'll see how this quarterback class is viewed. We're going to learn that in short order. Up next, we're going to close out the show talking about some of the free agents that are still out there. A couple of names to consider that might be in the mix for a trip to the Patriots. That's ahead with me, Mark Schofield and Locked On Patriots. Mark Schofield back with you now for this Monday edition of Locked On Patriots. Before diving back in, I want to give a plug to all the great work being done

across the Locked On Podcast Network. There's great work being done on the NFL itself with Matt Williamson and Locked On NFL. Locked On NFL Draft, one of my favorite shows. Listen to it every day. Travis Sikama, John Ledyard, they do great stuff there. Fan Friday shows are fantastic. You should hit them up for questions. But across

the Locked On Podcast Network, there's just great work being done. You should definitely listen to some of the other shows. Locked On Browns, Locked On Falcons, Locked On Bengals. There's just great work being done across the network. Closing it out now with some of the names that

are left in free agency. Three names that I'm going to focus on here that have yet to be signed. First is Eric Reid, safety for the San Francisco 49ers, who you would expect, given the way that he plays the game, how he plays the safety position, he would attract some interest here in free agency. But it's been extremely quiet

with respect to Eric Reid potentially signing with a new team. You know, you do sort of wonder, and he's intubated out of himself, you know, that maybe his career is over. That could be a possibility. But you'd have to think that a team like perhaps the New England Patriots that, you know, obviously they just re-signed Patrick Chun to a nice new deal. You know, they've got Devin McCourty

obviously. They used a lot of three safety looks with Harmon. Maybe they address it in the draft. I've thought about the Patriots addressing safety in the draft, given the fact you want to add some youth to that position because you're not going to have these guys forever. But if Eric Reid is out there, maybe they would at least make an inquiry.

Kenny Vaccaro, a former first-round pick for the Saints, he's out there. Tyron Matthew did just sign. So we see him come off the free agency shopping list to the Houston Texans. Earl Thomas is out there. Seahawks have been shopping him for a first and a third is the rumor. But Eric Reid, he's 26. He's been to a Pro Bowl. He moved to linebacker when the 49ers needed it at times. A versatile player. A flexible

option. I'd have to think that Bill Belichick would at least pick up the phone on him. Another player, Eric Ebron. Tight end. Cut by the Lions. Only 24. He was the 10th overall pick. Now, it was a miss by the Lions, I think, especially when you see

some of the names that came off the board after him. It never worked out in Detroit, but tight end has been a quiet position of need for the New England Patriots. And I think Ebron would be a nice little addition. Jeremy Hill has tried to get Ebron out to come to New England. He's been trying to recruit Ebron to the Patriots.

That would be a nice piece to have, I think. Especially if you're wondering about Gronkowski, who was apparently spotted at a bachelor party out in Nashville. Jokingly told somebody that asked that he was going to be playing for the 69ers next year. Nice. So, Eric Ebron, Kenny Vaccaro, Eric Reid, potentially Earl Thomas,

some names out there. Finally, Ndamukong Suh. And we've talked about him some on this show. Su is still taking visits, met with the Titans, met with the Saints. Apparently, Su is chasing the money here, and that's probably not going to be something that's going to attract Bill Belichick, that's going to attract the New England Patriots and get it in on him. But more than anything, if he heads to New Orleans, if he heads to the Titans,

you're getting him out of the AFC East, which might be more important than anything else for Tom Brady. You don't have to face Ndamukong Su twice a year. Feel a little bit better about things from a pass protection standpoint, at least in those two games. But that will do it for today's show. We'll probably see some more free agency news made over the next couple of days.

Looking ahead this week, we're going to talk a little bit about, again, that scenario of quarterbacks at 1, 2, 3, and 4. We're going to talk a little bit about what other teams, other than the New England Patriots, might be addressing that QB2 spot, as well as breaking some free agency news when it comes until next time keep it locked right here on me Mark Schofield and Locked on Patriots wait whoa whoa whoa stop the presses here everybody was literally just finishing recording this bad boy when we get news that the Patriots have made another trade. Patriots acquiring Coradel Patterson from the Oakland Raiders kick returner, punt returner,

wide receiver. Rap Sheet reporting that the Patriots have traded for Patterson while swapping a fifth-round pick for a Raiders sixth-round pick. Got a plug here. Dave Archibald, at Dave Archie on Inside the Pylon wrote a piece a couple years ago about why Bill Belichick hates fifth round picks. Here you go. He never uses them. He always uses them in a different way. And here we see New England sending a fifth round pick to the Oakland Raiders for Cordell Patterson again in

the sixth round pick and return. By the way, this trade was first broken by the guys over at pardon my take which is incredible anyway that was just breaking as I was finishing up recording so I figured why wait some quick takes on this look you lose Dion Lewis you need a wide receiver that can return kicks? Patterson's a very capable kick returner. I was also intrigued by him two years ago when I was studying wide receivers for Bleacher Report for the NFL 1000 Project. I was kind of intrigued by some of the stuff he did as a receiver. It was a little bit stronger than I expected him to be.

Also, look, and this is an underrated thing. He's been used as a gunner with Matthew Slater taking some visits. Maybe this is a little bit of protection just in case Slater leaves, you at least sign Patterson who has been used by a gunner in the past. That's my literally in the

moment reaction to the Corridor Patterson trade. Another interesting decision for the New England Patriots. Now we can call it a day until tomorrow keep it locked right here to me Mark Schofield hey don't say I'm not breaking news here kids

I'm not really breaking this but hey news happens we react to it fast until next time keep it locked right here to me Mark Schofield and Locked on Patriots dreams.