Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Making Sense Of The NFL Draft NOISE For The New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:00:00 We are one week away from the draft and we've got three big takeaways from all the pre-draft noise. That's where we start on this episode of Locked On Patriots. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked Oned Network, your team every d in New England. Your New expert host of the Everythi co host of the Greg Bedard veteran on today's episod we think is at the top of

Starting point is 00:00:44 that number four pick and there's way too much public urgency for the Patriots to draft a running back next week. But we begin by trying to make sense of all the pre-draft noise. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listener for being an everydayer. The Locked On Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account and use code, Lockdown NFL for $20 off your first purchase.

Starting point is 00:01:16 There is one unequivocal fact every single year as we get ready for the draft. The majority of what we hear, what I hear, what you hear, what we all hear, the majority of what we hear is noise. It's like static, it's just noise. Non-stop noise being leaked. Leaked by agents, linked by the teams, leaked by maybe the draft prospects themselves, leaked by scouts, I mean, it's just all over the place.

Starting point is 00:01:44 Leak, leak, leak, smoke screen, smoke screen, smoke screen. The majority of what you read, what you hear, what you watch as we get closer to the draft is just noise. But there are three things that we believe after reading, listening, and watching all of this noise play out, there are three things that we believe regarding this draft and the Patriots. Let's start with Shadr Sanders.

Starting point is 00:02:14 Nobody knows where he's going to go. I don't know where he's going to go. You don't know where he's going to go. All these pundits, analysts, experts, they don't know where he's going to go. All these pundits, analysts, experts, they don't know where he's going to go. I don't even think Chaudhry Sanders knows where he's going to go or his father prime time. I don't think anybody knows where Sanders is going to end up. He has become a very polarizing player. He is polarizing on the field because he doesn't necessarily have those elite traits that you look for from a top quarterback.

Starting point is 00:02:51 He is polarizing off the field due to some of the reporting that we've seen, how he might have rubbed some people the wrong way at the combine. His dad coming out every once in a while passively, every once in a while aggressively, saying that he's going to control where Chaudhuri goes, he's going to make sure he goes to the right place. And so very polarizing on the field, very polarizing off the field, confident young man, which is great, but confidence can be dangerous in the eyes of some people. You also have ownership groups. All it takes is one owner. All it takes is one owner to

Starting point is 00:03:35 walk into a GM's office and say, I want Chidera Sanders. I want the future quarterback. I want the guy who's going to be the franchise. I want QB one in this draft Let's not drag our feet. Let's not wait Let's not take it for granted that we can trade back into the first round. Let's not mess around Look at a place like the Giants. They took Daniel Jones Obviously did not work out after paying him Again, it didn't work out Now they're looking at Russell Wilson and Jamis Winston

Starting point is 00:04:08 John Mara already angry about the Saquon Barkley decision last offseason Watching the division rival win the Super Bowl. He can easily mosey on in Joe Shane's office and say Cheddar Sanders is going to be the guy. We need a quarterback. We need a franchise quarterback of the future and No more messing around We're not gonna sit around here and watch Russell Wilson and Jamis Winston win us maybe six or seven games That's not what we're going to do. We're gonna draft the young quarterback. You have your orders now take care of it and That's not just with the Giants the Cleveland Browns and Jimmy Haslam who walked in and decided to Sean Watson was a good idea

Starting point is 00:04:49 We all know how that played out So owners can always walk in and change the dynamics at any time day before week before night of Ten minutes before they could always do that. They run the show, they pay, that's what they do. The quarterback position as well is always the sexy position in the NFL and across all of sports in this country.

Starting point is 00:05:18 And you always have to leave the door open for a team swinging wildly at a quarterback. But nobody knows. Nobody knows where Sanders is going to go. Nobody knows if there is going to be an owner that shows up that night and changes the very fabric of this draft. Nobody knows. That's one thing I believe. Another thing I believe the Patriots, they would love to trade down.

Starting point is 00:05:47 If there is no Abdul Carter, if there is no Travis Hunter on the board for them, they would love to trade down. And you might even argue, even if Carter was on the board, they might still want to trade down. Now, I wouldn't want that to happen. And I'm sure not everybody in the building would agree with that. But the feeling of Abdul Carter possibly slipping in this draft, it allows us to entertain the idea of the Patriots trading out of four if Carter falls to them, because a team is in love with him as a prospect and jumps up. Now I would believe that the

Starting point is 00:06:25 Patriots would end up drafting Carter but you never know. But the Patriots would love to trade down if there was no Carter, no Hunter. Mike Vrabel, we'll get into this in a few minutes, Vrabel said during his pre-draft press conference that they're looking at a handful of guys for the fourth pick. If you're looking at a handful of guys for the fourth pick. If you're looking at a handful of guys for the fourth pick, it's rather obvious that there is no clear cut decision. Now, Carter, Hunter, we understand that part of it, but usually, and of course, Vrabel might be playing games,

Starting point is 00:06:57 but I honestly believe the Patriots have been looking at this draft, and once you get past Carter, Hunter, you're asking yourself who's the guy we want to draft at number four. It could be this guy, it could be this guy, it could be this guy. There's no really clear cut answer if you're looking at it objectively. Everybody has questions. Everybody has questions at that spot in the draft. Cam Ward has questions. But once you get past Carter and Hunter, and we know Ward's going number one, we've talked about this the last couple of weeks, there are questions about

Starting point is 00:07:32 pretty much every single prospect. And I know there's questions about prospects every year, but when we're talking about top four, we're talking about top five, there are more questions about prospects that are going to be at the top of this draft Then there have been questions about prospects at the top of prior drafts And the patriots they look at it And I would imagine that a lot of the guys that they could draft at four are graded pretty evenly All the way down to maybe eight nine, maybe even as far as 10

Starting point is 00:08:04 I wouldn't go beyond 10. But the Patriots, I believe, would love to trade down, love to trade down and still land one of those four, five, six guys that they've been looking at. Because you trade down, you get more assets, which is never a bad idea. Here's my final thing, my final thing that I believe after hearing all of the noise the

Starting point is 00:08:25 past several weeks. Embrace this, the Patriots are likely reaching at four. They're reaching. This draft is about starters, not necessarily stars. We have to embrace the idea, acknowledge, appreciate. That might be a little bit too far down the road. But we have to look at this and say to ourselves, the person the Patriots draft at number four is likely going to be seen as a reach. Will Campbell will be

Starting point is 00:08:57 seen as a reach. Mason Graham maybe not so much, but there are going to be enough people who say they picked Mason Graham. They they've got Milton Williams and they've got Christian Barmore and Kian White. You're picking that guy at four. Jalen Walker. I heard from people saying, Oh, Jalen Walker. What a reach. Are you kidding me? Jalen Walker top five. Some people wanted Tett Macmillan. Now people believe Tett Macmillan is going to fall to 15 to 20 at somewhere maybe even into the 20s according to Burt Breer. Tet Macmillan will be seen by many people as a reach at four. So just embrace it. This is a starter versus stars draft. Not to say there won't be more than a couple of stars out of this draft. There always are. Puka Nukuwa out of the fifth round a couple years ago. There will be more stars than people expect. But

Starting point is 00:09:51 you still look at this in the majority. Generally speaking, we're talking a starter draft, not a star draft. So whoever gets picked at number four, it's going to be an eye of the beholder type of situation. There are going to be people that hate it, it's going to be an eye of the beholder type of situation. There are going to be people that hate it. There are going to be people that love it, like it. But we all have to understand the person who gets picked fourth, unless it's Carter or Hunter, is going to be seen as a reach. It's as simple as that. As we mentioned earlier, Coach Raebles says the Pats are looking at a handful of guys to take at number four.

Starting point is 00:10:27 We give you our list of five next as we continue with today's episode of Locked On Patriots, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. There's nothing like the atmosphere of an NBA playoff game. Every bucket, every defensive stop, every moment feels huge. It's electric in the arena. And with game time, you can be part of it without the stress of last minute ticket hunting.

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Starting point is 00:11:51 Five guys, Mike Vrabel said the Patriots are looking at a handful of guys for that number four pick. Let's get too out of the way. It's the two we've already talked about. It's the two that you know about. It's the two that we all agree are the best prospects in this draft. And I'm talking about Carter. I'm talking about Hunter. So let's just wipe those two guys away from this conversation. So let's really just look at this

Starting point is 00:12:12 as a trio. Yeah, there's a handful of guys, but Carter and Hunter are two of those five. So let's just put them aside and let's look at the three that remain. Who do you think are the other three prospects that the Patriots would be looking at to spend that fourth pick on? Now what I would do is I would look at what Mike Vrabel had to say earlier in the week at that pre-draft press conference. We went over it on the prior podcast. You can check it out right here on Lockdown. I would use what Vrabel had to say during that press conference as a guide.

Starting point is 00:12:49 I think there is a lot of useful information in what Vrabel told the media at that presser to pull out and guide you to find the three names. Let's begin with Will Campbell. There's no doubt. There's no doubt in my mind that Will Campbell is on this list of three. If the Pats have five guys on the list, you've got Hunter, you've got Carter, and then you've got Will Campbell. Let's go back to what Vrabel spoke about at the presser. He brought up positional value. Will Campbell is seen as the top tackle in this class by many, not all, but by many pundits, by many experts, many analysts.

Starting point is 00:13:32 They will tell you that Will Campbell is the best left tackle in this draft. Now that's looking back at his days in the SEC. He was certainly a tackle at LSU, as we all know. Positional value, though. Positional value though, positional value will give the offensive tackle the edge versus other players that you're looking at. Because the left tackle is needed. It's a gigantic hole. It's the biggest hole on this team. You could argue maybe wide receiver one, but at least Stefan Diggs is now in New England

Starting point is 00:14:05 and he's not a number one anymore but at least you feel like you improve the room. You're still staring at Venarian Lowe at left tackle as we know it. So that positional value the highest value is left tackle for the Patriots. Then I think about something else that variable spoke about during that press conference, positional versatility. Will Campbell, you draft them, you say he's going to be a left tackle, 33 inch arms, 32 and five eights, 32 and seven eights, all the measurements we've heard. I'm going with 33 inch arms. Yeah, he's got 33 inch arms. Yeah, people are making T-Rex jokes. I get it. I understand. But we think he's a left tackle. We're going to draft him as a

Starting point is 00:14:52 left tackle. We're going to develop him as a left tackle. Doug Marrone is going to be working with him day in, day out at left tackle. But if he doesn't work as a left tackle, we feel really confident that we can just slide him in to left guard. And we're talking about one of the best left guards, one of the best offensive guards, period, end of sentence, in the entire league. Positional versatility. Vrabel also talked about maturity, talked about makeup. He said that drafting somebody at number four, you have to think about that person being able to handle being the fourth pick, being able to answer the questions from the media. If they don't play well, answering those questions and taking the heat, taking the criticisms,

Starting point is 00:15:42 being a leader in the positional group room if needed. Talking about maturity and makeup and character. Check check check for Will Campbell. And when Mike Vrabel was introduced as the new head coach of the New England Patriots, he talked about two things, effort and finish. Campbell has both. On the field, effort and finish, he has both on the field. Effort and finish. He's got a mean streak. Will Campbell literally, literally ticks off every single aspect

Starting point is 00:16:16 of a player profile that Vrabel has talked about publicly. Positional value, positional versatility, makeup, maturity, character, mean streak, effort, finish, Campbell's on the list. Second guy on the list. I'm going to give you Jalen Walker, and that might surprise some of you. But I think Jalen Walker is on the list of the other three quote-unquote. Once you get past Carter and Hunter, I've got Campbell, then I've got Jaylen Walker. I believe Mike Vrabel would love Jaylen Walker. Versatility. Positional versatility.

Starting point is 00:16:58 He played inside at Georgia. He played outside at Georgia. He played pass rush defensive end at Georgia. So which position do you want? Pick one and roll with it. And then you can throw him at the edge on third down if you want. You play him off the ball early and then on third down pin your ears back Jalen and go to work. You have to believe that Vrabel loves that positional versatility on the defensive side. And Walker is somebody who produced, produced at a very high level in the SEC. He had 34 pressures. His win rate was over 17%. And he also fits the size profile. Six foot one Harold Landry, six foot two. Walker's 243, Landry's 252.

Starting point is 00:17:47 Walker has 32 inch arms, Landry has 32 and seven eight inch arms. Now people will tell you the pundits, the Todd McShays of the world will tell you that Jalen Walker plays quote unquote longer than his 32 inch arms in a similar way that people bring that up regarding Will Campbell. And Walker just wins the room. By all accounts, he has been incredibly impressive in every single interview that he's had. The team loved what they saw and loved what they heard from him. And he's got a high ceiling. He's got questions, but he's got a high ceiling. He's got questions, but he's got that high ceiling.

Starting point is 00:18:26 If he fulfills his potential, he could be a big time player. So now we're down to the final guy. And this one's tough. You can go a number of different directions here. I'm not super confident in this one, but I'm going to throw it at you anyway. Mason Graham. Mason Graham fits the size of what Vrabel looks for in an interior defensive lineman. We'll get to that in a minute. Also the style of play. Graham

Starting point is 00:18:53 fits very well with Terrell Williams and Vrabel and what they envision from a guy in the middle of their defensive line. But let's get back to the size. Because Mason Graham, there's no doubt that he is undersized if you're looking at interior defensive linemen across the league. He's 6'3.5", he's under 300 pounds at 296. But here's the thing, and his arms are 32 inches, again, the arm length. But here's the thing. Much like I just compared Jaylen Walker to Harold Landry, let's compare Mason Graham to Milton Williams. Graham is 6'3 1⁄2, Williams is 6'3. Graham is 2'96.

Starting point is 00:19:30 Williams, the combine was 2'84. Graham has 32 inch arms. Williams has 31 1⁄2 inch arms. And you can look at hands, Graham has a 9 1⁄ look at hands, Graham has a nine and one eight inches hands. While Williams has nine and three quarter inch hands. So Mason Graham is built. When you look at height, weight, arm length.

Starting point is 00:19:59 He's actually bigger than Milton Williams, and we just saw what the Patriots paid Milton Williams to be the star of their free agency. And Mason Graham plays with TikTok. He got major TikTok, non-stop motor. You talk about on the field effort, as I just mentioned, effort and finish effort, effort for days. Graham does not quit. He will not stop. He's got unbelievable tick-tock when he's out there. And you can talk about versatility. Now I think he's mostly going to be an inside guy, but Wink Martindale spoke

Starting point is 00:20:39 with Mike Reese recently and Martindale noted that Graham's versatility allows him to play all over the line from a five technique, which is head up on the tackle to a shade on the outside or inside shoulder of an offensive lineman. And Reese writes because of that, Wink views Graham as a matchup option that defenses can isolate against an opposing offensive line's weakest link. Mason Graham is a former wrestler. That's all you need to know. You want to talk about grit, you want to talk about effort,

Starting point is 00:21:10 you want to talk about motor, wrestlers. Wrestlers have those things for days. So that's what I think, the five. Hunter, Carter, Campbell, Walker, Graham. I would not, speaking of the draft, I would not overspend on a running back next weekend. My reasons why coming up next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. As a small business owner, your work doesn't end when the clock hits five. Your business is always on your mind, which means when it's time to hire, you need a partner

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Starting point is 00:22:35 post your job for free. LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL terms and conditions apply. Some of you are way too excited, way too excited to spend a top 50 pick on a running back this year. Me, I have less urgency. I'm not freaking out. I see people talking about the Patriots drafting a running back at 38. I see some people saying draft Ashton Gentry at number four. I'm not running out and drafting a running back in the top 50 unless there are good reasons for it. That's why I have less urgency. Let me count the ways. Let's begin here.

Starting point is 00:23:20 Who do you have on the roster? I know Ramon Dray Stevenson had a lot of fumbles last year. I understand. I understand that he was disappointing and all of that, but I still believe Ramon Drey Stevenson is a good NFL running back I think Antonio Gibson is a very good NFL running back Alex van Pelt underutilized Gibson last year in my opinion and We also have to appreciate that Josh McDaniels is going to be the offensive coordinator, not Alex van Pelt. I don't think there's going

Starting point is 00:23:51 to be confusion about which run scheme you're going to go with. Josh McDaniels understands what Ramon Dre Stevenson does best. Stevenson, duo, downhill, run game scheme. That's what I anticipate. McDaniels will get the best out of Dre. Gibson, hopefully, will also be utilized more, and he will be utilized correctly. Former wide receiver in college, but for some reason, Van Pelt hardly ever threw the football to Gibson,

Starting point is 00:24:24 unless he was a safety valve or a screen pass every once in a while. Antonio Gibson can run legitimate routes. I was excited about him signing last year and I thought he was one of the better players on the team last season. And I believe that McDaniels will get much more out of Gibson than Van Pelt ever did. He understands what Gibson does, the strengths, the weaknesses, and he will get him out on the field and he will get him into space at

Starting point is 00:24:50 times as a receiver. He will line him up at the line of scrimmage as a receiver. And you will see a different dimension to Antonio Gibson more often in 2025 than you did in 2024. And do you want to go crazy and spend a top 50 pick on your third running back or a third down back? Is that where this team is right now? Back to back four win seasons, spending a top 50 pick on a running back. That's going to be a third down guy and a third guy on your roster at that spot.

Starting point is 00:25:27 Is that really what you want the Patriots to spend a top 50 pick on? That's a pretty heavy investment to me. That's a heavy investment for that position, a heavy investment for that role. This is not a situation where you've got your wide receivers figured out, your offensive line figured out. You got a young defensive end. you don't have those things. So to leapfrog those positions, dismiss those positions, ignore those positions,

Starting point is 00:25:55 however you wanna put it, and draft a running back in the top 50, man, it's gonna be your third down back unless you're gonna get rid of Ramadre Stevenson. Now, of course you could cut Gibson, but I don't know why you would. He's on a very manageable contract. And I think he's somebody who can play good football for you. And if you're going to use a top 50 pick on a running back, if you're going to

Starting point is 00:26:17 draft a running back at four 38, you have to understand one thing. The, this draft is incredibly deep when it comes to that position. Incredibly deep. Many analysts out there will tell you there's upwards of 30 guys in this draft that are draftable. There are 30 running backs that could get drafted. Maybe even more than 30 running backs could get drafted in the draft next weekend. And what does that mean? That means you're going to be able to find starters in the third round, fourth round, maybe even the fifth round. Let's look at Dame Bruegler's list from the athletic of running backs.

Starting point is 00:26:57 Here are guys that are likely going to be there for you starting at picks 69. And you could probably go into the 100 range with these guys. Not all of them, but let's say the range is from 69 to 100, just over 100 in the draft. Dylan Sampson from Tennessee took a top 30 visit with the Patriots. He could be there at 69. R.J. Harvey from UCF, he's likely going to be there. Trevor Etienne just actually took a visit with the Patriots, one of the last visits, if not the last top 30 visit in Gillette Stadium. Trevor Etienne from Georgia. How about LaQuin Allen from Syracuse? Kam Skattaboo from Arizona State, on and on and on and on and on. There are so many running backs in this draft that I just don't know why you would have

Starting point is 00:27:52 that kind of urgency to spend a top 50 pick at that position. You can land a guy at 69, 77. You can land a guy in the early 100s, the low 100s. And I'm not just talking about a Jag. I'm talking about somebody who can eventually be. You're starting running back. There are going to be guys in this draft, plenty of them at that position. They're drafted in the third, fourth, fifth round. There might even be guys in the sixth round drafted that end up starting. There could be UDFAs that end up being pivotal pieces to the running back puzzle for multiple rosters across the league. Positions just so deep in this draft.

Starting point is 00:28:33 If you want to sit there and talk to me about, oh, we can draft the fourth or fifth running back. Okay. Do you want to draft the third or fourth or fifth running back? Or do you want to draft the fifth or sixth defense event? Do you want to draft the fourth or fifth running back? or do you want to draft the fifth or sixth defense event? Do you want to draft the fourth or fifth running back? Or do you want to draft the third or fourth wide receiver? Do you want to draft Trevion Henderson or do you want to draft a Mecca Bucca? That's the conversation at 38. So I would not be losing my mind if I were the Patriots to try to find a running back in the top 50.

Starting point is 00:29:10 You are going to have the opportunity to draft somebody who can make an impact on your roster day one at that position. You're going to have plenty of opportunity to find that guy later in the draft. And if you do draft somebody at 38, that's a running back. That guy's talent has to significantly trump the talent of other players at premium positions that are sitting there at 38. If you're going to draft a running back at 38, you better tell me, let's say a Bucca is there at 38, which he might, might not be. You could throw Jalen know there as well. Maybe Luther burden.

Starting point is 00:29:48 You have to tell me that Trevion Henderson is so much more talented than those wide receivers to take Henderson at 38 NFL teams are going to wait. Teams are going to wait in this draft for running backs because they know there are a lot of options Which means I think guys are gonna slide towards the late Second round early third round. I would not be rushing at 38 to grab a running back. I think that would be bad business All right that wraps up this edition of lockdown Patriots Tomorrow on the show, certainly more draft talk.

Starting point is 00:30:28 Let me know your thoughts on today's topics. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio and don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today for your second listen. Check out the Lockdown NFL Draft with Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez. You get the latest draft rankings, rumors, and news every day. Find Lockdown NFL Draft on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day.

Starting point is 00:30:53 I'll see you tomorrow. END

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Making Sense Of The NFL Draft NOISE For The New England Patriots

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