Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Manic Mock Draft Monday: Patriots are on to 2020 - 3/16/2020

Episode Date: March 16, 2020

The NFL is moving forward. Neither free agency nor the start of the league year will be postponed. Host Mike D’Abate breaks down the keys to free agency for the New England Patriots. He also offers his analysis on the latest submissions for the #MocksOfMarch and #MockDraftMonday via TheDraftNetwork.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, you are now locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. I'm going to show you how to make a beautiful and beautiful flower. I'm going to use a small flower pot. I'm going to use a small pot Hello to all of you Foxborough football faithful. It is Mock Draft Monday. It is Manic Monday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Still your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your

six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And as always, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, your feedback, always welcomed and greatly appreciated. Send any and all feedback on this podcast by following me and reaching out to me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there roaming around on that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow

the Lockdown Patriots Twitter account at LO underscore Patriots. Patriots fans, first and foremost, I hope wherever you're listening to Lockdown Patriots today, you're doing so safe and sound. Without question, the news continues to remind us that we're living through some serious times right now. We will get through it. And today's episode will definitely not be a lecture, folks. But keep in mind that the sacrifices that we're all called to make right now are not

just about helping yourself. It's about helping and protecting those around you. Please continue to take those precautions, listen to medical professionals, and if at all possible, folks, please stay home and away from large crowds. That's the one thing that we can all collectively do at this point to help prevent this pandemic from being as severe as it could be. So again, folks, remember to stay safe, stay healthy, and not to sound condescending, but stay smart. And with that being said, there is tons to talk about here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast today.

It definitely is Mock Draft Monday, and Benjamin Salik of thedraftnetwork.com is this week's expert, and he has an interesting scenario for the New England Patriots when it comes to the 2020 NFL Draft. Some trading going on, and I think it will be intriguing for you. And also, don't forget that we're still in the middle of the Mocks of March exercise here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And I sincerely want to thank those of you over the weekend that took time to submit some trade scenarios for this week's call to action.

I continue to be impressed with the analysis, the ingenuity, and the creativity of some of the proposals you submitted. I'll talk about those, give you my thoughts, and I'll also compare them to the trade scenarios submitted by Benjamin Salek this week. But Patriots fans, in terms of content, we haven't even scratched the surface yet. That's right, the 2020 NFL season is about to kick off. Things are in full swing today, Monday, March 16th,

12 noon Eastern Time. The deadline for NFL organizations to use the franchise tag, and the beginning of the legal tampering period to kick off free agency in the NFL. Both very significant for the New England Patriots, and I'll get into how that shakes out in just a moment. But wait, there's more. Two key members of the Patriots roster, two lifelong New England Patriots, will once again be calling Foxborough home when the 2020 NFL season begins.

And fear not, folks. Last but certainly not least, I'll let you know how all of this pertains to the Patriots' chances of retaining Tom Brady. So settle in, folks. Today and every day this week here on Locked On, Patriots, it will be a frenzy of NFL news. I will certainly do my best to keep you updated on the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough. I have some special guests lined up for the week.

So keep it locked into Locked On Patriots, folks. And as always, I sincerely appreciate your support. But before we get to the latest news surrounding your New England Patriots, folks, including some breaking news right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, we start with the news that the NFL has a new collective bargaining agreement. On Sunday morning, the NFL Players Association announced that its members had voted to ratify the CBA in advance of the beginning of the 2020 NFL season. Now, there is a lot to digest when it comes to the NFL's new CBA.

There are a lot of implications when it comes to player salary, the league's salary cap, team scheduling, and even the NFL playoffs. In the shortest term, the biggest implication is that it prevents a work stoppage, which if this vote wasn't ratified, could have been a real possibility next offseason. But for the foreseeable future, there is a chord between the owners and the players. But it doesn't necessarily mean that there's an overwhelming sense of peace. Statistically speaking, the CBA passed by a pretty narrow margin. 1,019 votes for approval, 959 for rejection.

And before I get into my analysis on why so many players either approved or opposed the CBA, let's start with the basic bullet points of what you need to know. Other than stopping the threat of a work stoppage, the CBA provides for a 20% increase in salary year over year. Now, for the higher profile players, which also tend to be the most vocal, this was probably considered a to be the most vocal, this was probably considered a step in the right direction, but most of those higher profile players probably looked at this and said that they were leaving too big of a slice of the financial pie on the table. But keep in mind that 65% of NFL players last season made the league minimum.

For them, that 20% increase is pretty significant. When you talk about a sport that already has its issues with guaranteed contracts, playing through the cloud of uncertainty when it comes to injury, and then some financial insecurities that might stem from what is widely expected to be an economic downturn after the COVID-19 crisis, your average rank-and-file NFL star is probably going to look at this and think that it was a pretty good deal. But still, there were a lot of players out there and a lot of fans as well that still believe this was a bad deal for the players. I think the jury's still out on this one, and I think it's going to take a lot of mending offenses between the NFLPA and the NFL before we truly find out just what type of a deal this ended up being for the players.

Now, for the fans, this is phenomenal news. For the next 10 years, you most likely don't have to worry about the threat of a work stoppage. It means that once you're able to again, you'll be able to invest your emotions, your time, and some of your money into your favorite NFL franchise. For the owners, well, folks, they designed the deal. It's a great deal for them. It usually is. But to really understand how good or bad of a deal this really is might take two or even three seasons. And that's because the other two big key points are related to NFL scheduling. And for this upcoming season, folks, for 2020, there will not be any wide-sweeping changes to the preseason or the regular season.

You still have four games in the preseason, still have 16 in the regular season. The changes will be enacted come playoff time. That's when each conference will add an additional wildcard team, meaning that one additional team gets into the playoffs, and there'll be another game on wildcard weekend. Now for that extra team, this is great news. They now get a playoff berth when otherwise they would have been sent home. Where a team might be at a disadvantage is at the top of the conference. In years past, each conference had two first round buys, but this CBA eliminates that. Only the top seed gets a

first round buy this time around. And for a team like the Patriots, folks, this is actually significant. Don't forget, the Patriots seem to annually be in that top echelon of teams that's in contention for the conference's top spot every single year. However, more often than not, even if they fail to get the number one seed, they usually got the second seed, and that means a first round buy. This year, that's no longer the case. If they want a buy in the first round of the playoffs, they need to earn the top seed. And with teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, and of course, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, that may end up being a lot tougher this year than

it has been in years past. So I would continue to keep an eye on that this season. Might not be all that relevant right now, but as we march toward the playoffs in late December and early January, that could end up being a bit more relevant. And of course, the most high-profile update of the new CBA is the fact that eventually the NFL will be adopting a 17-game season. Now again, folks, that won't happen this year, but they have to do it between the 2021 and 2023 seasons.

Now on Sunday afternoon, the NFL Network pointed out that 2022 was the most likely season in which they would enact the 17 games. The biggest reason for that is that the television network contracts are due, and it'll make it much easier to negotiate long-term broadcast deals. Now, with this new 17-game season comes a lot of updates when it comes to player development. And while we don't know the parameters of how these are going to be enacted just yet, some of them could actually show up on the field immediately. Once the 17-game regular season does start, teams will be limited to only 16 padded practices during training camp and no more than three in a row. And that's a big change from the current padded

practice limit of 28. So expect the coaches are going to have some thoughts on how that's going to impact their preparation. Per the tenets of the CBA, there will also be a five-day acclimation period that will limit the kind of work that's done at the very start of training camp. Now, no practice is going to be allowed longer than two and a half hours, and players can't be at the team facility for more than 12 hours per day. And, very importantly, there will be a bye week after the third and final preseason game before the start of the regular season. That's right folks, the concession here was that there would be 17 regular season games, but one of the preseasons will be taken away. So the players do get some additional rest

time here, particularly when it comes to practice and mostly in the preseason and training camp. But keep in mind, an extra regular season game might end up being a wash in terms of the physical wear and tear that the players are going to put themselves through on a season-by-season basis. Also, from a league scheduling standpoint, they're still working out the parameters of exactly how that 17th game is going to work in terms of a balance of home schedule, away schedule, or possibly even playing it at a neutral site. But with the exception of the playoff structure, the biggest impact that the new CBA will have on this season comes in terms of player salary and a change to the league-wide 2020 salary cap. So in just a moment, we'll stop taking a macro look at the NFL CBA and we'll go

micro in terms of a Foxborough microscope and determine exactly what this means for your New England Patriots as the 2020 NFL season gets set to kick off. Patriots fans, again, it is Mock Draft Monday and Manic Monday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. But before we open up the Mock Draft machine, courtesy of our friends at thedraftnetwork.com, there has been a flurry of roster activity all throughout the NFL, and it really started over the weekend and continues to build each and every day.

And even though all of these moves technically have impact on all the NFL franchises, this is Locked On Patriots, and we'll be taking a Patriots-centric look at the flurry of activity that you've seen all throughout the weekend and continue to see even right up to the minute that you're listening to this podcast. And it really started shortly after the NFLPA announced that they had approved the new collective bargaining agreement. Shortly thereafter, the NFL didn't waste any time. They issued a statement confirming that there would be no further delay

of the start of the 2020 NFL season. The franchise tag would remain today, noontime, March 16th. Almost immediately, the NFL's tampering period would begin for free agency, and the league year would not be delayed past Wednesday, March 18th. And as expected, this opened the floodgates. Several teams started making moves with their own free agents. We saw some teams agreed to trades. And we even saw some news about who might be interested in certain free agents,

certain free agent quarterbacks, that is, and who wasn't interested. I'll tell you what, we'll get back to that one in a moment. But before we cut back to the news of the weekend, folks, probably would be a better move to start with the news of the day. And that is breaking news today on Monday. And I will be the first to admit this surprised me. Here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, myself and several of the guests that I've had on here all seem resigned to the fact that Joe Tooney, Patriots starting left guard,

was so much expected to be in line for a huge payday that the Patriots would not be able to retain him. Well, the one wild card in all of that was the franchise tag. And don't forget, the deadline to tag Tooney was today at noontime. And guess what, folks? The Patriots did just that. In a move that sent shockwaves through Patriots social media, including the most ardent and objective beat writers,

the Patriots placed the franchise tag on Joe Tooney. And as a result, that keeps Tooney off of the free agent market. Now folks, this does one of two things. The Patriots could elect to keep Tooney on the roster. If they do, the tag is likely to pay him approximately $14.78 million for 2020. That is a lot of money to commit to a guard, even one as talented as Tooney. And don't forget, they're already paying Shaq Mason at a pretty hefty price. With the Patriots already strapped for cap space, and I'll have more to say on that in a moment as well, to me it just seems like bad business that the Patriots

would eat up all of their remaining cap space to both franchise and keep Joe Tooney on the roster for 2020. In my estimation, this one has the makings of a tag and trade, which means that by applying the tag, the Patriots retain Tooney's rights, it keeps him away from a divisional rival like the Jets or the Dolphins, both of whom were heavily rumored to be interested in Tooney's services, and it allows the Patriots, via trade, to be able to recoup more than just the third-round pick that they would have gotten as compensation for his free agent departure. But ultimately, the Patriots, and maybe Tooney himself,

are the only ones that truly know what their intentions are when they place the tag on him shortly before noontime on Monday. Could this be a precursor to a bigger deal? Well, as of the time of the recording of this podcast, the franchise tagging of Joe Tooney means he is still a New England Patriot. Exactly how long he will be a Patriot is anyone's guess. But one thing is certain, the speculation machine will be in full effect for the next few days. And yes folks, I know,

it's been a long time since I've mentioned Tom Brady's name. I'm getting to the GOAT in just a moment. But once the myriad of moves started in the NFL, the Patriots did add a couple of eye-openers of their own. And no, these weren't shocking eye-openers, they were more heartwarming in nature. That's because two beloved New England Patriots, two fan favorites, will once again be calling Foxborough home for the 2020 season. It started on Friday evening when Patriots special teamer and beloved fan favorite, and somebody I hold within the highest regard, Matthew Slater, was the subject of a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter that said that Slater would be returning to the Patriots on a two-year deal. Building on that report later in the weekend, MMQB's Albert Breer would later detail that Slater's deal is worth $5.3 million. In 2020, he has a $1.6 million base, a $750,000 roster bonus,

and $400,000 in per games. In 2021, that annual salary jumps to $1.75 million in base, $400,000 roster bonus, and $400,000 in per games. But this is one deal where the finances were simply inconsequential. Slater had to return. Besides being one of the most skillful and gifted special teamers that's ever put on an NFL uniform, Slater's presence in the Patriots' locker room is invaluable. From a logistical on-field standpoint, from a mentoring standpoint, and of course from a spiritual standpoint, there is no one that's respected as much in the NFL as Matthew Slater. I'll admit, this is one that made the fan in me smile. And it's a great move for the Patriots.

Again, Slater is far from being just a good locker room presence. He's a pro bowler. And when there's a play to be made on special teams on the field, Slater's always there. That's not happenstance. That is by design. And keeping Slater in the fold is a win for the Patriots in every sense of the word. But that was not the only feel-good story of the weekend. Because on Sunday, this Patriots free agent took matters into his own hands and decided he was going to break his own news. Safety Devin McCourty, who we've chronicled many times here on the Locked On Patriots

podcast, took to his own podcast titled Double Coverage alongside his twin brother Jason, who had his tender picked up by the Patriots last week, and said that he would be returning to New England to play alongside his brother once again for the 2020 season. Shortly thereafter, NFL insiders started to report that this would be a two-year deal worth $23 million and that Devin would be receiving $17 million in guaranteed money. Much like Slater, McCourty is one of the most well-respected and well-liked players in the Patriots' locker room. The way he continuously conducts himself makes him a leader by example. But again, on the field, McCourty had one of his statistically best seasons of his career.

Whether it be interceptions, tackles, or breakups, McCourty is another one of those Patriots that consistently finds himself in the right spot at the right time. Again, folks, this is not about luck. It's about skill. And the skill and the leadership and the knowledge that Devin McCourty possesses made him, in my opinion, a must sign. So, with two cornerstones of the locker room now in the fold for 2020, Matthew Slater on special teams, Devin McCourty on defense,

the question beckons, what about the cornerstone on the Patriots offense? And for the last 20 seasons, folks, we have not had to worry about this. But as I am recording this podcast, the NFL's legal tampering period has begun, and that means Tom Brady is free to negotiate with any team he likes. Now, for those of you that just need a little bit of clarification, the NFL's legal tampering period just allows other teams legally to begin the process of negotiating with free agents that technically are under contract until Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Now, again, folks, during this period, no contracts can be signed or no deals can be made official. Rather, the teams and the potential free agent are able to discuss what both sides are looking for in these negotiations, and they are allowed to construct the framework of a deal that can be then signed when the free agency period officially begins. And that's where we are right now, folks. Tom Brady is able to negotiate with any team that would like to contact him and show interest in signing him. Something that needs to be reiterated is that includes the New England Patriots. This was not a deadline for the Patriots to sign him.

The fact that negotiations got to this point does not mean that he is absolutely gone from Foxborough. In fact, I think it's just the opposite. Once the CBA got put into full effect, a couple of teams, pretty prominent potential suitors, dropped out of the Brady sweepstakes. And that began when the Tennessee Titans re-signed their incumbent quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, to a pretty monster-sized deal. Again, this being locked on Patriots, I'm not going to get into the intricate details

of Tannehill's contract. Let's just say if you review it and you see the amounts that are being put out, it's clear that he was the Tennessee Titans' number one priority all along. And another interesting nugget of information came out on Sunday afternoon when Chris Sims of NBC Sports indicated that a source very close to the San Francisco 49ers, Brady's hometown team, and the only one, quite honestly, that really worried me about being a potential suitor for Brady, said that they did not have interest in Brady and that they planned on moving forward in 2020 and beyond with Jimmy Garoppolo.

So on its face, folks, it looked to be a race between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that really tipped their hand prior to these negotiations and indicated that they would be, quote, all in on Tom Brady. And in no way am I sleeping on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or lessening their ability to sign him. All I'm saying is that with less suitors on the table, it looked more likely that the Patriots could be a much more appealing option for Tom at this point. But none of this would have been possible without the ratification of the new CBA, because the ramifications of the CBA's approval really are going to be felt in a more personal and profound manner up here. Because

simply put, folks, it allows for an easier path for Foxborough's favorite son to return and follow the winding road back to Gillette Stadium. Well, what do I mean by that? Well, I'll explain. By voting in favor of the new CBA, the NFLPA allowed that the NFL no longer has to operate under the quote final league year rules. This was a positive step for the Pats. In essence, as stated here before by my good friend Miguel Benzon, a.k.a. the Pats cap, who you absolutely should be following throughout all this, folks, because nobody does it better. At Patscap, you won't regret it.

But Miguel had stated earlier that the new CBA essentially nullifies the quote-unquote 30% rule. And for those of you needing a refresher course in what that is, here is the actual text of the rule. Quote, no NFL player contract extending into a season beyond the final league year may provide for an annual increase in salary, excluding any amount attributable to a signing bonus of more than 30% of the salary provided for in the final league year per year, either in the season after the final league year or in any subsequent season covered by the

player contract. Everybody got that? Good folks, I didn't either. I may have to call in Miguel to translate, and you know what? I think I just might this week. To help us make sense of all the comings and goings when it comes to the Patriots' salary cap and their free agent wants, needs, and capabilities. But back to the issue at hand.

How does this rule help with the Brady negotiations? Well, another one of my good friends, Bernd Buchmasser of SB Nation's Pat's Pulpit, published an example over the weekend, and I think this might help to provide a little more clarity for you. And that is, please assume for a moment that a player, for the sake of argument, let's call him Dom Grady, let's say Dom signs a contract this offseason that pays him a salary of $10 million in 2020. Without the new CBA, that deal would have had to work under the 30% rule. Dom signs a contract this offseason that pays him a salary of $10 million in 2020. Without the new CBA, that deal would have had to work under the 30% rule. Consequently, the salaries in the subsequent years of the deal would not have been able to rise more than 30% on an annual basis.

That means good old Dom would therefore have to receive a maximum salary of $13 million in 2021, $16 million in 2022, and so on. However, with the new CBA in place, teams will be permitted to structure contracts as such during regular seasons and off-seasons. In short, salaries may increase without any stipulations in place to limit the increase to 30%. From the Pats' perspective, this means they can again backload those contracts like they're very good at doing, and this will help alleviate a portion of the strain on their salary cap. Now this could be

particularly significant within the coming weeks. The NFL Management Council didn't take too long on Sunday to inform teams that the salary cap for 2020 would be $198.2 million per club. Now, my good friend Miguel Benzon expected that the Patriots would have approximately $25.43 million in cap space as the season began. Of course, the tagging of Joe Tooney, the McCourty deal, and other parameters has lowered that cap number significantly. In fact, if you're checking Miguel's cap number on Twitter as we speak, it's probably in the $5 million range right now. And when you see that, your eyes are going to bulge and say oh my god what are they doing how can they afford Tom but folks even with the move they made for Tooney this afternoon the CBA still increases the likelihood and makes it a lot more palatable

for the Patriots to sign Brady than before the CBA was ratified prior to Sunday we heard some reports swirling around out there that the Patriots were only willing to offer Tom a one-year deal worth $13-15 million annually, which was less than what he made last year, and that it significantly upset him. Now this may surprise you folks, but I'm actually not going to debunk those reports. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise me if that's exactly what happened. But what none of those little social media nuggets actually told you over the weekend is that the reason why the Patriots were probably strapped to offer Tom only a one-year deal at only between $13 and $15 million per year is because of the restraints of the current CBA. Now that they have the ability to back end the deal, all of a sudden those negotiations could open up a little bit more,

and the Patriots could afford to offer multiple years. This would be able to give Tom a significant contract, but also lessen the cap hit. Now, I will tell you to be careful. This does not, on its face, pave a smooth road that leads to Tom's return to Foxborough. As they usually do, the Patriots are going to have to get creative with the cap. They're going to have to work out extensions with existing players, probably cut a few beloved players, and then there's the tag on Tooney. Something I didn't mention before in my explanation of the Tooney situation

is that the Patriots may actually look to work out a long-term deal with Tooney. The way they could back end Tom's contract, they could do the same with Joe Tooney. But keep in mind, even though the legal tampering period never got a chance to be productive for Joe Tooney, he had a pretty good idea of what his worth was going to be on the open market. He might not be so amenable to work out a long-term deal, especially one that might delay him on collecting on a salary that he would have gotten had he gone to free agency. But again, folks, it all comes down to Tom Brady, and really there's no way to get around this.

And this is what snaps those social media nugget reports that I talked about from last week. This is what snaps them back into focus. While the previous cap restrictions may have limited the Pats' creativity, they now have greater amount of flexibility to offer a deal closer to market value, only this time, their counteroffer can simultaneously fit under the cap in 2020. Should the Patriots be amenable to offering a second year to their proposal, well, Tom's salary in 2021 is now able to increase beyond 30% in 2021, as well as any additional years.

So structuring that long-term contract seems a bit more possible than it did just mere hours before the announcement of the new CBA going into effect. But even though both sides have a little bit more financial wiggle room, folks, the white elephant in the room remains the willingness of both sides to convene and agree to a deal that's mutually beneficial now it is true that the cba provided the necessary clarity on the financial rules and regulations but whether we want to or not we're all about to find out the level of resolve that both tom brady and the new england patriots have to continue what has been the most successful franchise and athlete pairing in nfl history now the consensus among most of the new england fan base is that the patriots and brady are much has been the most successful franchise and athlete pairing in NFL history.

Now, the consensus among most of the New England fan base is that the Patriots and Brady are much better together than they are apart. Those that despise the Patriots are waiting for the destruction of the dynasty with bated breath. And sadly, folks, some just remain addicted to the speculation to help drive their own brand. But here's what it comes down to. The decision of where Tom Brady will take his snaps in 2020 equates to this inescapable fact. He has to want New England, and New England has to want him. If those two things come together, I still don't see Tom Brady signing anywhere else. As of the time I'm recording this, I still believe that Tom Brady's preference is to play in New

England. I believe that the Patriots' preference is to have him as their quarterback in 2020. Because of that, I still don't see him leaving, folks. And at the end of the day, I still think an agreement gets done. But things are changing minute by minute, hour by hour. And until Tom's return or his departure becomes official, everyone, including myself, is going to be hanging on every moment. So folks, as Brady Watch 2020 enters the 11th hour, keep a sharp eye on my Twitter feed

at MDABATEFPC, as well as the Locked On Patriots Twitter account at LO underscore Patriots. I will be doing my due diligence to bring you the very latest on Tom Brady, New England free agency, and all the moves that are going to be coming in and out of Foxborough. And that includes the NFL draft, because don't forget folks, it's still Mock Draft Monday. And in just a moment, I will take you into the world of Benjamin Salik of thedraftnetwork.com, and we'll explore a little draft day trading, including your Mocks of March, right here on the Locked On Patriots Podcast. Patriots fans, NFL Free Agency has us in a frenzy, but let's not forget that it is Mock

Draft Monday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And this week, Benjamin Salik of thedraftnetwork.com presented his prognostications on what the Patriots might do with the number 23 pick in the first round and also into the second and the third rounds as well. But before we get into Benjamin's scenario, I just wanted to take a moment to once again thank all of you who participated in this week's Mocks of March exercise. With everyone overwhelmed and panicked across the country, for you to take the time amidst all that and still be able to dedicate some of your knowledge to this exercise, it truly humbles me. I'm so glad that you think enough of this podcast to participate,

and I hope that you continue to do that throughout the month of March. And those of you who submitted had some pretty good ideas. The first one that was submitted to me was by Christopher Landers at ArmchairGMNNH, and he said I'd like to see them use some of those sixth and seventh round picks to move up into the fifth round for a kicker or roll the dice on an offensive lineman. Now this could be a potential scenario, Christopher, especially if the Patriots choose to move on from Steven Gostowski. I know that's not a story that's gotten a lot of traction over the course of the last few weeks. Everybody's been focused on Tom and with due cause.

But if the prognosis on Gostowski's surgery is not as positive as the Patriots would like, considering his age, they may be looking to move on, and they may look to the draft to bring in a new kicker. If you think the Patriots wouldn't entertain this scenario, they used the late round draft selection on Jake Bailey, and he worked out quite nicely in his rookie year. As for the offensive line, they could look to beef that up in the later rounds. However, I think if the Patriots are offensive line-minded in the draft, and I still think they are, I think they go early. Of course, all of this could change if indeed the Patriots tag Joe Tooney with the intention of bringing him back for 2020. I still think that's

a real long shot, but it is a possibility. So in my estimation, keep a sharp eye out on Christopher's suggestion. He might be on to something more than most people might think. I appreciated this selection, and I think it has some merit to it. The next one is from my friend and former full press coverage colleague David Rogers, and David can be found on Twitter at TheDavidARogers. And David's suggestion was a great one, but unfortunately another team beat him to it. David wanted the Patriots to package the number 98 pick and the 195th pick and send it to Baltimore for Hayden Hurst. David, this was a great scenario,

and I would have made this one in a heartbeat. However, at the time of the recording of this podcast, it looks like the Atlanta Falcons had already beat us to it, and Hayden Hurst is in fact being traded to Atlanta from Baltimore. But David, I thank you for this suggestion, because it allows us to think outside the box. It's not a move to trade up or trade down, it's a move for an established player. And if you're trying to entice Tom Brady to return to New England, you need established talent on the roster to do that. And bringing in a tight end like Hurst is an immediate upgrade over what we had last year. But David wasn't done yet, folks.

He went on to say that in lieu of that, maybe the Patriots should think about packaging the number 23 pick to trade back and therefore pick up value in the later rounds, maybe at the tight end position. I'll tell you what, David, what if we actually took that number 23 pick and traded up with it? I'll get back to that in a moment. Because our next proposal, submitted by Anthony Aveyard, and Anthony, I do apologize if I'm mispronouncing your name, but he can be found

on Twitter at Anthony Aveyard, A-V-E-Y-A-R-D. And Anthony acknowledged that with the Patriots not having a second round pick right now, they were a bit handcuffed over the first couple of rounds. So his suggestion is that Bill Belichick trade down, much like David just said, trading back to get better value in the second round, and then maybe even trading back up into the third with some of the lower round draft capital. I really like where Anthony went with this. The Patriots currently have 12 draft picks going into the 2020 draft. It's highly unlikely that they're going to keep them all. So when you have a wealth of draft capital, it's smart to make it work for you. And both David and Anthony are thinking along the same lines as our resident expert Benjamin Salik did in his prognostication for the DraftNetwork.com's mock draft for this week. Benjamin definitely has the

Patriots doing some wheeling dealing, but it's not to trade back for extra value. This time, it's trading up. And Benjamin has the Patriots trading the number 23 pick overall, along with the 100th pick overall and the 125 23 pick overall, along with the 100th pick overall and the 125th pick overall to the Carolina Panthers. And the Panthers in turn send the 14th overall selection. With that pick, the Patriots select offensive tackle Jedrick Willis out of Alabama. Now Benjamin notes here that Bill Belichick hasn't traded up in the first round since 2012.

The Patriots are typically a trade-down team, which David and Anthony already established, but the Panthers are in a strong sell mode, according to Benjamin, and the Patriots' war chest is teaming over with picks. However, when Benjamin made this selection, the Patriots had yet to place the franchise tag on Joe Tooney. Again, if by chance the Patriots did that with the intention of keeping Joe Tooney in New England,

then they're not going to trade that type of draft capital to trade up for an offensive tackle. However, if they do end up trading Tooney, then this trade might actually make some sense. I've gone on record several times stating that I love the Patriots' ability to get Cesar Ruiz at number 23. But Ruiz keeps moving his way up the draft board. The Patriots may end up having to trade up just to get a player that I thought was almost a surefire lock at number 23. So I wouldn't necessarily dismiss the Patriots using their draft capital to trade up into a higher position in the first round. It's not

something they typically do, but this draft in particular is more loaded at the top and doesn't really have a whole lot of value in lower rounds, especially where the Patriots need help. Offensive line, tight end, defensive line, or linebacker. These are all positions with a lot of value in lower rounds, especially where the Patriots need help. Offensive line, tight end, defensive line or linebacker. These are all positions with a lot of great prospects that look to be taken in the early rounds. So Benjamin might be on to something here. As a result, he also does not have them making a pick in the second round, ultimately giving up the type of draft capital they just gave up to get Willis, who as an Alabama product

would be a great fit in New England. They wouldn't be able to package more picks and get into the second round. But Benjamin does have them making a pair of selections in the third round. He has the Patriots trading up to the number 77 spot, where they would pick edge rusher Curtis Weaver out of Boise State. Now Weaver is not your typical pass rusher, but that's actually something that make him more appealing to New England. Benjamin thinks he'd be a pretty good value pick here, and I think so too, based on the fact that he's very coachable and possesses that type of versatility that the Patriots like to employ in their rushers. And last but certainly not least, at the number 98 pick, Benjamin has the Patriots taking tight end Bryson Hopkins out of Purdue. Now earlier this year, Hopkins was considered a

higher round pick than number 98. He had some cachet coming out of the senior bowl. But his combine performance was rather pedestrian, and because of that, it might drop him to this position of the draft where the Patriots can get him for good value. Again, folks, he's not going to come in here and be Rob Gronkowski, but he can generate explosive plays from the slot and win mismatches. That's really the name of the game for the Patriots' passing attack, regardless of who's calling the plays. Hopkins is definitely raw and will need work. So if it is Tom Brady that's the quarterback for the Patriots passing attack, regardless of who's calling the plays. Hopkins is definitely raw and will need work, so if it is Tom Brady that's the quarterback

for the Patriots in 2020, I wouldn't look for him to be a favorite target right off the bat. But there's a lot of potential there, and let's face it, folks, the greatest quarterback of all time has been known to make players look a little bit better. That being said, for the first time today, I'm actually going to disagree with Benjamin on this one. I think 98 might be a little bit high for Hopkins. With the lackluster tight end class, I think a lot of teams are going to be looking at other positions for value in the first three rounds. That includes the New England

Patriots. They have a glaring need at tight end, but I think they're more likely to fill that with a lower level free agent and maybe a higher third rounder for a guy like Adam Troutman out of Dayton. If they find themselves still in need of a tight end at the 98 position, I think they go with a different area of need and choose tight end a little bit later in the third round or maybe into the fourth, fifth, or sixth. So there you have it, folks. Free agents, mock drafts, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. I hope that you enjoyed all of them today on the Locked On Patriots podcast.

As for me, I will be back here tomorrow with a very special guest. That's right, folks. Miguel Benzon, the Pats cap himself, answers all of the questions, provides all of the wisdom, all of the counsel that you'll need to get through Patriots free agency. So keep both sharp eyes out.

I, for one, cannot wait for this one. As always, please be sure to join me each and every day right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe and download via your preferred podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank Christopher, Anthony, and David for their submissions in this week's Mocks of

March exercise. But most of all, I thank you all so much for listening and for staying locked into Locked On Patriots. And if you've enjoyed this episode, now tell your smart device to play the most recent episode of Locked On NFL. Stay safe, stay healthy, and have a great day, everyone.