Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mailbag: Could New England Patriots Trade Up? | Arizona Cardinals Deal?

Starting point is 00:00:00 If the opportunity is there, I think the Pats would be willing to get aggressive and move up in the first round. That and more in the mailbag. This is Locked-on Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattles. On today's episode, with Elliot Wolf mentioning being open to making a deal to improve the team,

Starting point is 00:00:34 we throw out some non-A.J. Brown names to think about. In the second segment, Arizona's on the phone with an offer. But first, the Pats moving up and a whole lot more. Let's get to the first question. Paul in the cave asks, do you think the Pats move up one to three spots to get, quote, unquote, their guy, throw in a six and swap somewhere? Well, this draft, we've been saying it now for a number of weeks, really the past couple of months. This draft is crazy, unpredictable. Lots of movement the last two to three weeks on big boards. If you look across all the pundits, the experts, they're breaking down this draft. And you see a number of dudes moving up, moving down. So the first thing is the Patriots, I think, would be interested in moving up for the

Starting point is 00:01:23 right guy. If you shot Elliot Wolf and Mike Vrable and Ryan Cowden with Trude Serum and John Stretched Stryker, if you shot all those guys with Trude Serum, I believe they would tell us, Yes, we would move up for the right guy. Now, if you shot him with Truth Serum, they'd probably even give you the names of those guys. But does that team, that team that's sitting there above the Patriots, where the player could fall to, does that team want to actually trade with the Patriots? And are there other teams involved? Are other teams interested in the same guy the Patriots are interested in?

Starting point is 00:02:02 and do those teams have better draft capital than the Patriots. It's always easy to look at a draft and say, oh, just move up two, three, four spots. Get your guy. Easy peasy. Not always. Not always because there are other teams involved in this draft. Other teams might just want to stick and pick. Other teams might be willing to give up a whole heck of a lot more than you are to move up on the board.

Starting point is 00:02:27 And so, of course, the question is, if there is a team that's willing to trade their pick, If you are battling other teams to try to acquire that pick to quote unquote get your guy, what would it cost to move up? Well, one spot up is the 30th pick. That's the Miami Dolphins. I do not think Miami would deal with the Patriots. I don't see that happening. The 29th pick is Kansas City because of the Trent McDuffie trade.

Starting point is 00:02:55 That was originally the Rams pick. Now it's the Chiefs pick. Would the Kansas City Chiefs be willing to help you? as a fellow AFC team that is competing for a championship. I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Houston at 28 might be the most interesting. Yes, they are a fellow AFC team.

Starting point is 00:03:14 You just beat them in the playoffs this past season, but we know the ties, the connections, Nick Casario and this organization. So if you look at the Rich Hill trade value chart, to move from 31 to 28, you need to make up 19 points. The fourth round pick you have, you've got two of them. Number 131 is 18 points. So if you wanted to move up from 31 to 28,

Starting point is 00:03:42 you're looking at giving up one of those two fourth round picks. And inevitably, the question is, is that too much to give up? Is that too rich? Well, I think it could be too rich depending on who's there. Because what is truly the difference between 31 and 28? in this draft. I don't think there's a lot of difference at all. So you would have to be infatuated with the player, I would say. If that person is quote unquote your guy, you're obsessed, you think that player could be so

Starting point is 00:04:14 much better than anybody else you can get at 31, then yeah, you probably move that fourth round pick. But outside of that framework, I just don't see it happening. All right. Next question. Dirty sweet Clint. How many of the Pat's pre-draft visits were actually. actually selected. Is it possible the draft preferences listed are just disinformation in order to

Starting point is 00:04:37 pick someone who they covet? I will tell you, sweet Clint, that this question made me go down a wormhole. And it's going to probably be a two to three minute answer when I actually look this stuff up for a good 15, 20, 25 minutes. It's really tough to find clear and accurate information as far as top 30 visits because you've just got a bunch of people tweeting stuff out, a bunch of people writing stuff. So I researched this for a while, okay? I don't know if this is officially official, but I feel pretty good about who has visited the Patriots over the past couple of years.

Starting point is 00:05:13 I wanted to focus on the last couple of years, 24 and 25, because frankly, Bill Belichick, he did things uniquely, as we know. And so he's no longer in New England. That regime is no longer there as far as how they run. the draft. So I wanted to focus on the guys that are actually there. Elliot Wolf, Mike Frable. You look in 2024, Elliot Wolf running the front office. Drake May, Caden Wallace, Layden Robinson, Javon Baker, Marcella Stile, Joe Milton, and Jehine Bell. All of those seven guys made visits to Gillette. The only pick in 2024 that was not a top 30

Starting point is 00:05:51 visit from what I found was Jalen Polk. In 2025, last year, it was different. Will Campbell, Kyle Williams, and Joshua Farmer were the three guys that I found that took a top 30 visit. So you go back to 2024, seven, seven of the picks. When you go back to last season, only three of the picks. A total, those two seasons combined in the draft, 10 out of the 19 picks that you took were a top 30 visit. So almost 50%. Now, of course, there are lots of reasons why you have pre-draft visits and meetings, medical reasons, off-field red flags. And yes, to spread and create a disinformation campaign to make teams believe that you might be interested in a certain player.

Starting point is 00:06:45 But judging by last year, I wouldn't get too wrapped up in the top 30 visits. But of course, you never know. Maybe this year we see a bunch of guys that were. top 30 visits that are drafted. I mean, the Patriots have 11 picks. So I'm sure there's going to be at least one, if not a few. How many? We'll have to wait and see. Let's get to Mr. Ed 315. What team areas should the paths be focusing on to get younger and cheaper while fulfilling needs? So we're talking about team needs. I think this depends on the next 365 versus the two to three years, right, that window. But I want to focus, because we've spent a lot of time talking about

Starting point is 00:07:28 team needs, we've talked about, you know, BPA. I want to focus on the cheaper and younger part of this question. Beyond 2026, if we look beyond this upcoming season, one of the positions that you're looking at to get younger and cheaper while filling that need is right guard. Michael Wenow, free agent after 2026. He is a $25 million. cap hit this season. He turns 29 of December. So I would look at right guard as a position. Outside cornerback number two. Again, we're focusing mostly on the younger and cheaper part. Carlton Davis has an out after 2026. You can look at the, you know, $22 million cap hit that he has in 2026 this year and next year. And you also have to account for the Christian

Starting point is 00:08:18 Gonzalez extension that we all think is going to inevitably happen. Are you going to pay Carlton and Christian Gonzalez, I find that very unlikely. So outside cornerback, too. We've talked about linebacker, don't need to get too much into that. Spillane, Robert Spillane, Christian Ellis, both looking at the final years of their contracts, possibly. Spillane has a contract out. So linebacker would be on that list.

Starting point is 00:08:42 We've talked about Edge. You know, Harold Landry's last guaranteed money was this year. He also has a contractual out after this season. so the Patriots can move on. Landry turns 30 in June. He has an injury history. Interior defensive line, the last guaranteed money in 2026 for Christian Barmore, has a $23.6 million cap hit in 2027.

Starting point is 00:09:10 I'm almost there at the point where I'd be surprised if Barmore is with the Patriots next year. And then you have Milton Williams contract situation. Williams also has an out after this season. I don't think the Patriots are going to let him walk, but that means most likely a contract restructuring or an extension is going to be signed with Milton Williams. He gets 12 million guaranteed in March of 2027. He has a $30 million cap hit next year.

Starting point is 00:09:39 So those are some of the positions, but there's a lot. There's a lot. You know, right guard, outside cornerback, number two, linebacker edge, interior defensive line. a Patriots because they did not draft great for a number of years where in this kind of situation where like almost every single off season you have to replenish a number of positions. And that's going to continue to be the case until you stack up good drafts.

Starting point is 00:10:06 You have another good draft this year. Now it's going to be less of an issue next off season. But you're still going to have to try to draft a couple of dudes to impact your team in 2027. And that's just the case because you've built up so much. many bad drafts and you built up a very weak roster. Arizona's on the phone and they want to make a deal. But how much is too much to sacrifice?

Starting point is 00:10:31 That and more next. This is Lockdown Patriots. It's part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. If you've ever opened your bank account and thought, where did all the money go? You're not alone. Keeping track of subscriptions, spending and bills can get overwhelming fast. That's where Rocket Money comes in, helping you take control of your finances all in one single place.

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Starting point is 00:12:28 Again, it's at Nick C. Radio. Let's get to the next question. Gary Langlis, you're on the clock at 31. Arizona calls. He says to draft Ty Simpson. I should note that Ty Simpson, final day of visits, visited the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday. So Arizona and Gary's hypothetical here offers pick 65

Starting point is 00:12:52 and a 2027 first round pick. Yes or no. Difficult question. Because what I would want to know, and I think it's probably impossible to know this if you're going to pull the trigger in real time at 31, can you move up in the second round? If you're confident that you can move up in the second round using now two second round picks, you would have 63 and 65 with this hypothetical. If you can move up in the second round towards the top of the second round using 63 and 65, then it's worth at least having this conversation. Now, let's break that down a little bit. 63 and 65, again, to use the Rich Hill trade value chart, 63 and 65 gives you 160 points. Houston at number 38.

Starting point is 00:13:48 Again, we go back to the Texans, the ties, Casario. Houston has the 38th pick in the second round. That pick is worth 157 points. So almost matching perfectly. So if you could trade 63 and 65 to move up to 38, now really in totality, when you look at the big picture, you traded the 31st pick and the 63rd pick for, the 38th pick in this year's draft and a first round pick next year.

Starting point is 00:14:26 Now, what you would have to ask yourself is whether or not the gap between that 38th pick and your next pick, which would be the 95th pick, is that way too large of a gap given needs. Now, of course, you have two fourth round picks, which you can play around with. You could move one of those fourth round picks to go along with 95 to move up from 95. So it's not as big of a gap in this hypothetical scenario as 38 to 95 would be. There's a lot of ifs and there's a lot of unknowns. If you can't move up in the second round or you're not confident that you would be able to move up in the second round,

Starting point is 00:15:08 I would not sit out the first 62 picks of this draft, not with the needs that you have. No, thank you. So I would have to have a pretty high level of confidence that if I pulled that type of trade with Arizona getting their 65th pick in the draft in a 2027 first, I'd have to be very confident that I would be able to move up in the second round so I don't have to sit around until pick 63. And that's why if I'm discussing a deal with Arizona, I'm eyeing number 34 plus a sweetener. I think that type of trade would make a lot more sense. At Exeter Sports Guy, top edge, tight end, wide receiver you want the paths to take based on who might be available in rounds one and two. Mine are Zion Young, Eli Stowers, Sam Roush, and Casey Concepcion. This can change from week to week. You know, the true value of players ultimately is an unknown.

Starting point is 00:16:10 You might think a guy's going to go in the first to second round. He might plummet to the third round. Now, it could be unlikely in most cases, but that stuff happens. Based on big boards, if I'm looking at the big boards across the internet, right? If I'm looking at the athletic consensus big board, if I'm looking at the NFL mock draft database, NFL big board, if I'm looking at Dame Bruegler's big board, et cetera, et cetera. I'm going to base my answer off of those big boards. at edge. The guy I am getting more intrigued with day by day is Malachi Lawrence.

Starting point is 00:16:46 I am very intrigued with Malachi Lawrence. He crushed the combine, has terrific athleticism, has really good size for the Patriots needs. He has been productive, 60 pressures the last two seasons at the collegiate level. Last year at UCF, he had seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss. loss. So Malachi Lawrence, if they're going to draft an edge for a second round, Malachi Lawrence is growing on me more and more. I also like Cassius Howell. I know the questions. I like him if he's there. I also like T.J. Parker. If he's there, I think T.J. Parker is the

Starting point is 00:17:27 more overall defensive end out of those three guys as far as defending the past and the run. but I just, I really like Malachi Lawrence. I think there's some untapped potential there. I think he's a great fit. Tight end. Somebody we've brought up before Oscar Delp. And I know a lot of guys like Alex Barth loves Oscar Delp. I think Evan Lazar likes Oscar Delp.

Starting point is 00:17:51 Oscar Delp, super athletic. He's a good enough blocker. And when you talk about untapped potential, he wasn't used a ton in that Georgia offense. I would think he has a lot of. of potential, both as a blocker, frankly, but most of all as a receiving tight end. Wide receiver. I've talked a lot about Casey Concepcion.

Starting point is 00:18:14 Another name, Denzel Boston. I would say Denzel Boston is growing on me. The two guys that are growing on me towards the end of that first round, Malachi Lawrence and Denzel Boston. The more I dig into those two players, the more I like them. Denzel Boston has great size, six foot four, 210 plus, really good hands, strong blocker, really good body control. All right, let's get to Cyperame, if I say that correctly.

Starting point is 00:18:41 I always ask that question. Do the Pats play chess and trade up for a wide receiver they really want? I don't rule anything out with this draft. I really don't rule anything out. If the Patriots think there's a difference maker and if the price is right, This kind of goes back to, you know, our first question of this mailbag about moving up one to three spots to get their guy. I do think if they are infatuated with a certain receiver, they would be willing to move up to draft that receiver. They would have to think he's a difference maker.

Starting point is 00:19:17 They would have to think that the price is right. Same could be said for a defensive end. Maybe they love Cassius Howell and they're concerned that Cassius Howell won't get to 31. So they've got to move up, you know, four or five spots. but we're talking wide receiver here. So how many true future lead wide receivers are there in this draft is one of the big questions I have? How many true number one guys could you see coming out of this draft? I've heard some experts say that Carnell Tate, who's the best receiver in this draft for many,

Starting point is 00:19:49 many of the pundits and experts don't even believe that Carnell Tate is a true number one guy at the NFL level. then you've got Jordan Tyson, the potential seems to be there. Is Denzel Boston really a true lead receiver or is he more of like a two? So how many of those lead receivers do you think actually exist in this draft? Could one of them fall enough to make sense for you? I do not think the Patriots would be willing to pay an exorbitant amount in draft capital. If you look at how they handled the trade deadline, if you look at how they've talked about their needs, and looking towards the future.

Starting point is 00:20:27 I don't see the Patriots giving up a bunch to move up eight to 10 spots to draft somebody. I don't see that type of trade on the horizon. So that kind of brings you back to trading number 63. If you trade 63, if you trade your second round pick, that's going to get you to around the 20th pick. Trading your third round pick, 95 could get you around number 20. So are you willing to give up your second round pick to land a pick around 20? Are you willing to give up a third round pick to move up from 31 to 25? I'd be more comfortable with the latter than the former.

Starting point is 00:21:07 But I mean, if they love Jordan Tyson, they love Denzel Boston, I could see them make that type of deal. I think they'd be more willing to give up 95 than 63 because they have those two fourth round picks. So if Jordan Tyson, Denzel Boston, they start to fall. they get close to 25, I could see the Patriots picking up the phone and offering their third round pick to move up to 25 to draft one of those two guys. And then you use one of those fourth round picks, another pick, to try to move into the third round.

Starting point is 00:21:38 I don't think they'd give up 63. Dame Bruegler, by the way, said on Mina Kimes' podcast this week, he doesn't think there's a lot of difference. There's not much difference between the guy you get at 17th and the guy you get at 40th in this draft. So some food for thought. Very interesting stuff. All right, coming up, guys, that could be available to the Pats via trade,

Starting point is 00:22:02 not named A.J. Brown. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. The NFL draft, it's upon us, where preparation meets opportunity, and every decision matters. It's all about being ready when your moment arrives, and that same mindset applies off the field, too. That's where Rougiet comes in.

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Starting point is 00:23:33 players Elliott Wolf talked about they could trade for except A.J. Brown. Which positions could they target via trade? Now, this goes back to Elliot Wolf's press conference this week with the media on Monday. I'm not sure Wolf was trying to open that door. I think he was generally answering a hypothetical question, which is, you know, if you're going to, would you be willing to make a trade for A.J. Brown, blah, blah, blah. And Elliot Wolf said that they'd be willing to do whatever it would take. I'm paraphrasing, to improve the team. That would include the player that was mentioned and even some other players.

Starting point is 00:24:12 I think that's a pretty generic answer outside of saying the player you mentioned, which was interesting to me because certainly it felt like that was Elliot Wolf telling everybody in the world that, yeah, we would trade for A.J. Brown if we can get that done. you know, you usually get a clearer picture of guys that will be available after the draft. Once, you know, certain positions are filled, you also get a better idea as you get closer to camp. You've got competitions at camp. So we might not see anything like that until June, July. But it's not out of the realm to think that somebody could get traded for during the draft.

Starting point is 00:24:56 That stuff could happen, certainly. So here are some names I'd throw out, okay? A few names I'd throw out, Toby. I'll start with Kavon Tibido, defensive end from the Giants. The Giants have both Brian Burns and Abdul-Carter. Those guys are studs. The Giants, you know, they're not going to pay Kavon-Tibode what he's going to want.

Starting point is 00:25:17 So it feels like Tibido would be available. And obviously, he's an edge, plays a position of need. Now, would you be willing to pay, whatever it would. take to bring in a Kavon Tibodeau if you're comfortable with Harold Landry and Draymont Jones as your starting edges. Do you just think you'll get, you know, a good edge or two in this draft? So it might not be worth it. But Kvon Tibado is a name I'd look at.

Starting point is 00:25:43 Devante Adams. And this has a premise to it. If the Rams use that 13th pick on a receiver, which might happen. If the Rams use that 13th pick in the first round, which is originally from Atlanta. If they use that pick on a wide receiver, I could see Devante Adams get moved. I'm not saying it's likely,

Starting point is 00:26:06 but the Rams already discussed Devante Adams this offseason. And Lesh Need, the GM of the Rams admitted as much. So they had conversations with other teams about Devante Adams, and that was at the same time they were talking to Philly about AJ Brown. Devante Adams, he's, you know, he's 33 years old. He's going to be 34, I think it's, in December.

Starting point is 00:26:29 And he is an unrestricted free agent after this season. So he's got one more year left on his deal. So Devante Adams could be a name that is out there. There's always the possibility that Max Crosby is revisited. You know, what kind of start does Vegas have in 2026? The Crosby trade might be a trade that happens in season because let's say Las Vegas gets off to a pretty bad start. You know, they might look around and say,

Starting point is 00:26:57 maybe we need to kind of revisit that that Crosby possibility. We've discussed Kyle Pitts, discussed them a couple of weeks ago, tight end from Atlanta. Fills a need. He's young coming off his best season. He is franchise tagged currently. And Atlanta sounds like they're at least open to discussing a trade involving Kyle Pitts.

Starting point is 00:27:20 So he's another name I would throw out there. All right, let's go to our next question here. Ramirez 1080. Do you anticipate more of an improvement? from Drake and year two of Josh's system or an adjustment from defenses to deal with him. How about that gift? How about both? What about both?

Starting point is 00:27:40 Defense, I think, look, defenses will adjust to Drake May and his strengths. They started to adjust late last year. They started to be more selective in their blitzing. They started blitzing when they pulled that trigger from unexpected areas on the field, unexpected spots positions. They were disguising coverages more and more as we went on, and they will continue to adjust. But also, yes, Drake May should be better within the Josh McDaniels system. He'll have more comfort with the language.

Starting point is 00:28:15 We've heard Mike Vrable say that, you know, the top improvement he wants to see from May is at the line of scrimmage. I think he'll be better at the line of scrimmage in the second season in this offense. I expect, you know, the run game to be better, which will help Drake May. I expect the game itself to slow down even more for May. He's going to get more comfortable with those disguised looks and those selective blitzes from different spots. You know, he should learn his work ethic, his football IQ, his processing should get better. He should make better decisions from within the pocket with more comfort in the system,

Starting point is 00:28:54 feeling like he has more answers. And hopefully you have a better wide receiver room when you get to July, when you get to August, because, you know, better receivers, more talent, better talent, upgrading those around Drake May and the offensive line playing better would also make him a better quarterback. So, yeah, I think both. I think defenses will continue to adjust. They'll create problems.

Starting point is 00:29:21 That's how the league works. and I think Drake May will continue to get better in this offense, the more and more he learns. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. And don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel, hit that like button and subscribe.

Starting point is 00:29:41 And if you never miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get Lockdown Patriots, ad free, plus members-only discord, access, and more. head to lockdown patriots.supercast.com or check the link and the show notes to learn even more. Have a great day and we will see you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mailbag: Could New England Patriots Trade Up? | Arizona Cardinals Deal?

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