Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - McDaniels, Mayhem and Mock Draft Monday - 1/13/2020

Episode Date: January 13, 2020

The New England Patriots are turning their attention to 2020. An important step in that process is preparing for the 2020 NFL Draft. Locked On NFL is partnering with The Draft Network to bring you Mock Draft Monday. Host Mike D’Abate breaks down what the Pats might be planning with the 23rd selection. He also gives his take on the latest news surrounding Josh McDaniels and Julian Edelman.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful and welcome to your Mock Draft Monday episode of Locked On Patriots, as always your daily home for news, notes, analysis, and the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate and I am your host of Locked On Patriots, which of course is a part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Feel free to reach out to me and follow me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter at L-O underscore Patriots. Fats fans, today's show is packed with information.

Might be the offseason here in New England, but there is plenty to talk about when it comes to your New England Patriots. Josh McDaniel's not heading to Cleveland. Julian Edelman, well, he had an interesting weekend. And you heard me say today in the intro that it is Mock Draft Monday. That's right, folks. It's time to start looking ahead to the 2020 season, and that means the draft. And here across the entire Locked On NFL footprint, we are partnering with our friends at the Draft Network.

Each week, they issue a new mock draft. And starting today and for each and every Monday leading up to the NFL Draft, we'll be taking a look at what the prognosticators over at the Draft Network have in store for the Patriots. For this week, you might like this one, folks. They have the Patriots thinking offensive-minded. An offensive skill position. Well, I'm not going to give away a whole lot because we're going to get to that in a little bit.

But again, as I'm sure you're all aware, it's AFC Championship Week, and usually it's a pretty good week here in New England. This is when the excitement really starts to amp up a little bit. That big game fever is starting to creep in. You're getting excited about watching the AFC Championship game, but you got one eye on the Super Bowl already. Well, this year it didn't quite work out that way. And I know, folks, it still feels weird. To, this year it didn't quite work out that way. And I know,

folks, it still feels weird. To be honest, it feels weird for me. Entering the middle part of January without a Patriots game to cover and analyze is definitely a new experience for me. I can imagine it is for you as well. Since 2011, the Patriots have been a fixture in this very game that we're about to watch on Sunday. But even though the Pats won't be participating in this game, there is still an AFC Championship game to be played, and it's shaping up to be a great one. Anyone that watched both divisional round matchups in the AFC this week knows that this has the potential to be a very good game. We saw two great games over the weekend. The Tennessee Titans. Remember them? Yeah, I know you remember them. I remember them. They were just here a few days ago, and they ended the New England Patriots season. Well, they weren't done there, folks. They ended the season of another highly touted team, the number one seed, Baltimore Ravens,

the juggernaut that was supposed to rip through the AFC. Well, they got stopped and derailed by those Tennessee Titans. Derrick Henry, another masterful performance, great performance by the Tennessee defense, finding a scheme that seemed to work to keep Lamar Jackson in the pocket, limit his effectiveness in the running game, and it worked on both ends. And look, the Ravens came into this game looking like they weren't as prepared as they should have been. Ultimately, it ended up in a Tennessee victory, and the Titans have punched their card to

the AFC Championship game. Old friend Mike Vrabel has taken this team from the doldrums earlier on this season, and he's resurrected them into a team that is on the cusp of a Super Bowl berth. I can't praise Tennessee's defense enough. Former Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pease has done a tremendous job with this team. Their front seven and their linebacking core has been excellent in being able to stifle the run.

Their secondary has been very good against the pass. Kenny Vaccaro is really emerging as one of the better safeties in this league, and he's doing a tremendous job. Tennessee is for real, folks. They took it to the New England Patriots. We just watched them do it. No one should be overlooking this team. They beat the Patriots, they beat the Ravens,

and they're going to face another juggernaut this Sunday in the Kansas City Chiefs. What a wild one it was on Sunday afternoon in Arrowhead. The Chiefs rallied from a 24-0 deficit to come back and eventually obliterate the Houston Texans, 51-31. Patrick Mahomes, nothing short of amazing in this one, folks. You have to give credit where credit is due. 23-35 passing for 321 yards, five touchdowns. Mahomes even led his team in rushing yards, seven carries for 53 yards. Travis Kelsey, hell of an effort as well. Ten receptions, 134 yards, and three touchdowns.

We all knew that the Kansas City offense is a powder keg, and look, the Houston Texans did a whole lot to help out the Kansas City Chiefs as well. Don't forget, they were up 24 to nothing at one point, but the call that everyone is going to second guess is in the second quarter at their own 31-yard line and trying to protect a 24 to 7 lead because Kansas City had driven down the field, they had scored, and they were trying to get some momentum back7 lead because Kansas City had driven down the field, they had scored, and they were trying to get some momentum back. Bill O'Brien made a call that I just cannot reconcile, folks. I know some people have tried to make excuses for it. I, for one, cannot make an excuse for this. He calls for the fake punt, tries to catch Kansas City off guard. They were ready for it. They stuffed it, gave the offense a short field, great positioning,

three plays, 33 yards, sets up Mahomes to Kelsey, and the Kansas City Chiefs never looked back. That made it 24-14, but you could see the momentum just melt away from the Texans, shift to the Chiefs, and they took off and running. As a result, it will be, this Sunday, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City Chiefs host the Tennessee Titans. Kansas City's feeling really good about putting up 51 points. They're confident, but again, I'd be very cautious about being too confident. This Tennessee team can win. They're not going to be intimidated by that Kansas City offense.

Again, their playoff victories came against the Patriots in New England, against the Ravens in Baltimore. If you don't think they can beat the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead, probably haven't been watching football or any postseason football this year. Tennessee is for real. Kansas City can absolutely win this game, but so can Tennessee. I look for a really good one coming up on Sunday. And of course, the NFC matchup is set as well. The Green Bay Packers, they're headed to the Bay Area. Aaron Rodgers connected with Devontae Adams eight times for 160 yards, two touchdowns. Green Bay's defense stepped it up big time, fending off a late rally by the Seahawks. 28-23 victory on Sunday night.

They reach the NFC Championship game. And again, they're going to the Bay Area. Because old friend and my paisan, Jimmy Garoppolo, throw a touchdown pass on his opening drive as a playoff starter and then watched Frisco's defense and his running game take over from there. 27-10 victory for the Niners over the Vikings in the divisional round on Saturday. Big effort from the defense. Dee Ford, Nick Bosa each took their turns in sacking Kirk Cousins.

Richard Sherman came up with a big interception. On offense, Jimmy finished 11-19, 131 yards, one touchdown, one interception. Big day for the Niners. Rushing attack. Tevin Coleman was spectacular in this game. 22 carries, 105 yards, and two touchdowns. And again, the 49ers will host the Packers in the NFC Championship game coming up on Sunday. And again, folks, I know it's a little lackluster without the New England Patriots participating on this weekend. But there is still plenty of New England flavor in this one.

From a Patriots fan's rooting guide's perspective, you're probably looking at this game and saying, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers. A lot of Patriots ties between these two teams. Obviously, the Mike Vrabel connection with the Tennessee Titans. Let's not forget Deion Lewis. I know he burned some bridges last year with some of the social media comments he made after the Titans' victory over the Patriots, but he was still a big-time contributor here. It should be noted that he's been seeing little to no snaps in the postseason,

so you may not see all that much of Deion, but he's still a former Patriot. Of course, Logan Ryan, we know. He ended the season with the pick six on Tom Brady. His contributions here in New England were always stellar. He's a very highly respected teammate among a lot of the guys that are still in the Pats locker room, so there's that connection. Earlier I mentioned Dean Pease, the current defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, used to hold that position here in New England. He's definitely doing a great job with that unit. And of course, folks, Malcolm Butler is a member of the Tennessee Titans. He is on injured reserve, so he's not suiting up in this one. He's out for

the year. But Super Bowl XLIX will forever be his greatest moment as a Patriot. When all is said and done, it will probably end up being the greatest moment of his career. For that reason alone, I'm sure you smile every time you hear the name Malcolm Butler. But the Niners have a pretty strong Patriots connection as well, and it's at the most high-profile position. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, I'm sure you remember number 10 patrolling the sidelines here in New England, started a few games, did very well. Jimmy, after missing almost the entire 2018 season after a torn ACL, has bounced back pretty nicely this year. And even though I think it's a massive stretch for people to say the Patriots made the wrong

decision by keeping Tom over Jimmy, I still think they made the right decision there. I think anybody that looks at this objectively and is not out to fuel an agenda will see that. It still doesn't hurt to admit that Jimmy has put together a really nice season in San Francisco. I had the opportunity to cover him briefly before his trade to the 49ers and he plays the game with class and does it the right way. I for one am glad to see him having the success he's having in San Francisco and I think most of you Patriots fans would agree with me. When you're watching the games this weekend, try to do your best to take my advice in saying, don't let the hot takers win.

Don't let this narrative of, they should have kept Jimmy and not Tom, diminish your ability to enjoy some great football. If you're a Jimmy Garoppolo fan, it's okay to say, you know what, I hope he succeeds. Of course, if you'd rather see the Packers win, that's your prerogative as well. There's a lot to like about that Packers team. Aaron Rodgers, the defense, a lot of the history behind it. But I've seen some negativity toward the 49ers, specifically with Jimmy Garoppolo saying, I'm a fan of his, I like him, but I don't want him to win because I can't stand the

nauseating narrative that is going to result from it. If you do that, you're only letting them win the battle. So all in all, enjoy the games with an objective eye, maybe with a little less of a nervous stomach, and remember, any football is better than no football. But of course, I don't expect you to forget that it's always better when it's Patriots football. As for Patriots football, don't forget there is still a lot on the docket to talk about, and I will get to that in just a moment. But first, we're almost in mid-January, and I know you all are trying to keep your New Year's resolutions. To get fit in 2020, which is a common one, you don't have to join a gym or pay a ton for pel—

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Patriots fans, once again, it is Mock Draft Monday here on the Locked On Patriots fans. Once again, it is mock draft Monday here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast across the NFL platform here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, partnering with our good friends over at the Draft Network. And we will be getting to their selection for the New England Patriots in this week's mock draft in just a moment. However, the Patriots still managed to make some headlines this weekend, even though they're not playing, still news surrounding the team. And you'll recall here on Friday, we talked about Josh McDaniels,

the current Patriots offensive coordinator, heading to Cleveland to interview for their head coaching position. We described it as his dream job. He had ties to the area. It seemed to be a hand-in-glove fit. And despite some of the naysaying takes that you'll hear out there, Josh reportedly made a pretty big impression on the Browns. His interview on Friday lasted almost five hours,

and it fueled endless speculation on social media. A lot of erroneous reports on Friday said that he was taking the job, but several reputable sources toward the end of the day said that Josh indeed was in the mix for the job, but that Cleveland was going to take its time with the hire, and that nothing was imminent. News on this front was pretty quiet on Saturday, and then on Sunday morning, news broke that

the Cleveland Browns had indeed made their decision. And Cleveland was indeed hiring offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski from the Minnesota Vikings. That's right, folks. They didn't hire the hometown hero Josh McDaniels. Now, some have speculated, and they'll continue to speculate, that this is payback for Josh for withdrawing his name from the Indianapolis Colts job a couple of years ago. Keep in mind, that's a position he had been offered and accepted,

and that because of that, Cleveland had doubts about Josh's credibility and decided to go in a different direction. But Burt Breer of SI's MMQB has pretty much been all over this story since the get-go, and he reported that indeed the Browns and McDaniels had a lot of mutual interest, but at the end of the day, McDaniels wanted, quote unquote, sweeping organizational changes to the football operations department. Apparently, it was this that was the deal breaker for Jimmy Haslam and not Josh McDaniels' past. And my friend and frequent guest here on Locked On Patriots,

Evan Lazar, pointed out in his column yesterday that McDaniels being reluctant to work under the current regime in Cleveland is pretty understandable. The Browns haven't made the playoffs for a league-high 17 seasons in a row. Josh is coming from a team that has been in the AFC Championship game since 2011. It's not a stretch of the imagination to understand why Josh would want to take a lot of his philosophies and his organizational approach to the job in Cleveland. Again, I said here on Locked on Patriots last week, specifically on Friday, that what Josh wanted, what was most important to him,

was that he would have a great deal of input in the organizational approach to the job he took. Cleveland looked like that gave him the best opportunity to do that, having a GM opening along with their coaching vacancy. But apparently, the level of that quote-unquote input that Josh wanted was a bit too high for Jimmy Haslam and the Cleveland Browns organization. As a result, they go with Kevin Stefanski. So what does this mean for the New England Patriots? Well, Josh McDaniels is still under contract here, folks.

So for the time being, it means that he is once again the offensive coordinator in New England. As I record this on Monday, January 13th, there are no other head coaching vacancies available in the NFL, which means that if Josh is looking to move on, it would be a lateral move as an offensive coordinator, or possibly even an assistant head coach. Those two aren't impossible, but they're highly unlikely. Josh and his family are very comfortable here in New England, and a move to Cleveland would have made some sense considering the familial ties that he has to that region,

but ultimately, I don't see him going anywhere. So barring anything totally unforeseen, Josh will be back as the offensive coordinator in New England. That's very good news for New England Patriots fans. I can't for the life of me understand why some are considering this to be a bad thing. The Patriots offense struggled this year without question. There were some questionable play calls. I'm not absolving Josh from any of that. But at the end of the day, Josh McDaniels is a great fit for this offense. He knows the system, and when all is said and done, he is the best coach out there to get the most out of the players in the system.

You know who that includes, folks? Tom Brady. Because in the long run, Josh returning to New England is a very big step in the right direction to getting Tom to return to New England. Jay Soderbergh and I discussed on Friday the parameters of Tom's return, and we talked about the salary cap, some of the financial obstacles that could impede Tom from coming back for another run in New England. But something that I and a lot of others have talked about for the past couple of weeks is that Tom at this stage in his career probably isn't too eager to leave the

only offense he has known for the last 20 seasons. Now guaranteed, he's had different offensive coordinators, Charlie Weiss, Bill O'Brien, and of course Josh, for two separate tours of duty here in New England. All three have run the same hybrid type of offense. Of the three, I don't think there's any question that Tom is more comfortable with Josh than he's been with anybody running this offense. Don't kid yourself.

Josh is also very comfortable with Tom and that passing type of attack. In fact, there are even rumblings about that quote-unquote control that Josh was looking for from Cleveland. Well, his philosophies dealt more with Odell Beckham Jr. and an offense that was more dependent on Baker Mayfield in the passing game. The organization, they wanted to go in an opposite direction with Stefanski, who's groomed to be more run-oriented surrounding Nick Chubb. So Josh working for one more season with Tom would be a good fit for both sides. Of course, the wild card in all this is where the Patriots want to go. From an organizational

standpoint, if they were ready to move on from Tom, they might have been ready to move on from Josh as well. Again, money and salary cap matters could factor into the decision here. On Friday's show, Jay ran down the laundry list of free agents and holes that the Patriots have to fill in the 2020 offseason. Again, I believe this scenario is unlikely. However, if the logistics prove to be too great for the Patriots and Brady to work out a compromise, could it mean that Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots organization let not only Tom walk out the door, but allow Josh to follow him? Again, folks, I'm saying it's extremely unlikely. Again, Tom is in the latter stages of his career.

He's going to be 43 when he takes his first snap in 2020. Can't imagine him wanting to learn an entirely new playbook and new verbiage. If a team is going to lure him out of New England, they'd have to run his Patriots offense. And what would be the best way to do it? Bring his offensive coordinator in with him. Of course, Josh is under contract and he would have to be released of that contract by New England. I quite frankly just can't see that happening. That's why at the end of the day, I think the speculation about both Tom and Josh packing up and moving elsewhere is just that, speculation and unlikely speculation at best. With Josh coming back, to me, I think it's a lot more likely now that Tom looks at it and says, this is the best fit for me. They make a couple

of adjustments on offense, maybe bring in a veteran that can play on the outside to compliment a guy like Mohamed Sanu. They can also help the younger guys to develop like Nikhil Harry and Jacoby Myers. And all of a sudden, you're in business. But again, folks, there's that word again, business. And you know it's coming. It's my favorite movie. I'm going to quote it. It's not personal. It is strictly business when it comes to the New England Patriots. And that's how they're going to approach it. If Bill Belichick and the Patriots front office believe that teaming Tom Brady with Josh McDaniels gives them the best chance to win in 2020, that's exactly what they're going to do.

It won't be a reward for past performance. It won't be because of sentimentality. It'll be because it's quote-unquote best for the football team. So again, folks, when it comes to Tom's status for 2020, here's yet another thing to keep a sharp eye on as we head deeper into the offseason. And don't worry, folks, we've almost arrived at our Mock Draft Monday segment for this week. 2020, here's yet another thing to keep a sharp eye on as we head deeper into the offseason. And don't worry, folks, we've almost arrived at our Mock Draft Monday segment for this week. However, I wouldn't be doing my job unless I did mention the events of Saturday night into Sunday morning, and Patriots fans unfortunately got a bit of a rude wake-up call on Sunday morning

when they found out that wide receiver Julian Edelman was arrested on Saturday night in Beverly Hills, California, and cited for misdemeanor vandalism. This was according to the police report. According to that report, Edelman jumped on the hood of a vehicle on Saturday at approximately 9 p.m. That caused some damage to the car. He was arrested for that conduct, subsequently released for it, and according to the report, Edelman is scheduled to appear at Airport Courthouse in California on April 13th. Now, as more details began to emerge on this, it became obvious that

Edelman was out for a night on the town with some friends, some high-profile friends. Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce and former teammate, now current Detroit Lion Danny Amendola apparently joined Edelman. Pierce, in fact, posted a picture of the three of them together just moments before all this happened on Instagram. And I know the first reaction is some of you are saying, oh, well, he was just out. He was having a good time. He got caught up in the moment. And there might be a small element of truth to that. But look, folks, Julian Edelman is a very high profile athlete. He sets an example for the New England Patriots organization. You can't condone behavior like that. It's not defendable. He was arrested for it. He'll likely face some sort of fine or punishment. And at the end of the day,

it was a very stupid thing to do. But it also wasn't the reprehensible criminal act that some are making it out to be. Of course, because it's Edelman, because it's the Patriots, it's going to be magnified. That's why I might be laying the blame on Julian a little bit thicker than usual, is because you have to be smarter in these circumstances. Always be aware of your surroundings. Because you're a high profile athlete, because you're a New England Patriot, there are going to be that many more people that just can't wait to document anything they can use to paint you in a negative light.

At the end of the day, it was a foolish move, the damage will be corrected, and everyone will be free to move on. This shouldn't be something that permanently damages Julian's character, and I've seen that take out there. I've seen some, who will remain nameless, equate this act to the actions of some other high-profile athletes that have been downright vile, disgusting, and reprehensible. That's irresponsible, and that clearly comes from an agenda. But let's not forget that Julian is still a very valued teammate in New England. He played through shoulder, knee injuries, and reports broke on Monday morning that the chest injury that he had was actually the result of torn cartilage in his rib cage, and he played through that for the

majority of the season. That's painful, folks. Just last week, he was named the team's 2019 Ed Block Courage Award recipient, which according to the parameters of the award, is provided to a player on each team that best exemplifies the principles of courage and sportsmanship while also serving as a source of inspiration. What happened on Saturday night should not change any of this, folks. Julian still very much deserves this award, especially with all the adversity he played through this year, and I think I could speak from Pat's nation when I say he's still a player that you should be very proud to have on your team.

But who will be joining him on that team in 2020? Well, right now, there are a few college players that will be calling Julian Edelman a Patriots teammate. And again, folks, this being Mock Draft Monday, our friends at the Draft Network have offered their weekly take on which college football standout might be joining Julian Edelman in the wide receiving core in 2020. Who is it?

I'll get to that, folks, in just a moment. However, before I proceed with that, I just wanted to say that we at Locked On here are proud to say that this episode is sponsored by Blue Chew. Guys, now you can increase your performance and get that extra confidence. Listen up. BlueChew.com. That's blue like the color blue. Blue Chew brings you the first chewable with the same FDA-approved active ingredients as Viagra and Cialis. You can take them anytime, day or night, even on a full stomach. And since they're chewable, they work up to twice as fast as a pill,

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further ado folks here's the moment you've all been waiting for mock draft monday finally lives up to its name and once again i want to thank the great team at the Draft Network for always putting together some stellar mock drafts and keeping fans of both college football and the NFL up to date with the latest information and evaluations that you'll find anywhere when it comes to the 2020 NFL Draft. Like I said earlier on in the podcast, each and every Monday, right up until the draft, Mock Draft Monday will be a segment here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, and it will be in conjunction with the D the draft. Mock Draft Monday will be a segment here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, and it will be in conjunction with the Draft Network's Mock Draft. Usually on Sunday evening or at the very latest Monday morning,

the Draft Network, that's thedraftnetwork.com, will publish their weekly Mock Draft. So each and every week, they're going to have a new player or a new group of players that will be selected as the Patriots' choices. I definitely encourage you to check that out. It's going to give you a great basis for listening to this podcast. And as we move closer to the draft, I'll be having guests in from time to time to talk about some of their selections.

And also, I want to hear what you, the listeners, have to say. Keep a sharp eye on my Twitter feed and the Locked On Patriots' Twitter feed. Going to be introducing some interesting segments that will allow all of you to have some interactive input when it comes to mock drafts leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft. It's an exciting time. I can't wait to delve into it. And to partner with a great organization like the Draft Network only makes it even better, folks.

So let's kick off Mock Draft Monday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And once again, a reminder, the Patriots do hold the 23rd pick in the NFL draft. They're locked into that. No matter which teams win from here on in, it will not change the Patriots draft status. They could trade that pick. We know Bill Belichick's not afraid to trade first round picks, but for the sake of argument, the draft network is assuming that the Patriots held on to their first rounder. And with the 23rd pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the New England Patriots have mock-selected T. Higgins, wide receiver out of Clemson. And folks, this actually comes at a good time. Clemson is playing tonight in the National Championship game. You'll get a

chance to see Higgins up close. So there you have it, folks. According to Benjamin Salik of the Draft Network, who submitted this week's mock draft, the Patriots will take a wide receiver in the first round for the second straight season. According to Solek, Higgins will be a nice compliment to Nakiel Harry, who they took last year. He has ball skills, contested catchability, and size. Solek goes on to say that the choice of Higgins at this point would allow Harry to play more on the slot, which is where he's more comfortable and where he spent a lot of his time in Arizona State. But ultimately, in Solek's opinion, the Patriots go with Higgins here because it gives them one of the more athletic and controlled players in the draft

at the receiver position, and it's the type of receiver that the Patriots are currently looking for. I like Higgins as a player, and I think he'll make a fine NFL wide receiver. However, I think there are a lot of factors working against this being a great pick for the Patriots. It's true that Higgins is a very athletic wide receiver. However, one of his biggest areas of struggle is getting separation while running his routes. If there's one thing that the Patriots really struggled with this year at the wide receiver position, it was young rookie wide receivers not running the correct routes, or running incomplete routes. When Higgins releases into his routes,

his adjustments in his timing and attacking the football aren't always on schedule. If you're trying to entice Tom Brady to come back for one more season, Higgins is probably not the pick that's going to do it. Brady is probably looking for more veteran leadership at the wide receiver position. But again, I don't want this to be a knock on Higgins. He's a solid player. One of the things that impresses me the most about him is his ability to block. That's an area where the Patriots got little to no production this year, especially out

of the wide receiver and tight end positions. At 6'4", 215 pounds, Higgins has a good amount of size, and he blocks like it. Almost tight end like it times. Because he has long arms and a long torso, he goes up to get contested catches. For those reasons, he's described as having a large catch radius, meaning he's capable of reeling in catches that a lot of other wide receivers just can't. So again, I like Higgins, and I think he's going to make a dynamic pro. But to me, so much of the Patriots passing game is predicated on precision routes. Higgins has had some issues with misreads at Clemson. And if in fact Tom Brady is your quarterback for 2020, a player that adjusts a little bit

late to the football and then alters his path to the reception is probably not the best fit for this offense. The wild card here is if the Patriots do in fact move on from Brady, Higgins would actually be a great value then at the 23rd selection. On that basis, this pick wouldn't be shocking. However, with Brady in the fold, I think the Patriots would shy away from taking a wide receiver here. Also, Bill Belichick took a wide receiver in the first round last year.

Hard to believe he'd do the same thing again. However, Bill Belichick, again, folks, will always do what's best for the football team. And if he feels that Tee Higgins is the best value for the team at pick 23, might just be time to welcome him into Foxborough. And perhaps that's what Benjamin Salik was looking at when he made this selection. Ben is one of the most solid draft analysts you'll find anywhere, and his work for the Draft Network is always stellar. And at the end of the day, folks, I may not agree with him this time, but it doesn't mean he's wrong. And if you're interested to see what Ben has in mind

for the other 31 NFL teams in the first and second round, keep in mind, folks, I didn't mention the Patriots in the second round because as of right now, they don't have a second round pick. His takes on all the other picks in the NFL draft are available now in his Mock Draft 4.0, available at thedraftnetwork.com.

And I hope that you've enjoyed the first of many Mock Draft Monday segments that will come at you between now and April's draft. What are your thoughts on Tee Higgins? Do you like the pick? Do you not like the pick? Have you thought about who the Patriots might take at number 23? I would love to hear from you. Drop me a line at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C on Twitter or reach out to the Lockdown Patriots Twitter

account at L-O underscore Patriots. I always enjoy discussing topics like this with you, and again, folks, keep a sharp eye out. I'll be introducing some new interactive draft segments here on Lockdown Patriots, and I'm going to need all of your help. As always, please be sure to join me each and every day here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Subscribe and download via your preferred podcast provider.

Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank the Draft Network for their amazing contributions to today's podcast. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Have a great day, everyone.