Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mock Draft: New England Patriots Offensive With #31 Pick | Round 2 Trade

Starting point is 00:00:00 We're less than a month away from the NFL draft, and we have a mock draft for you that should make you stand up on your feet and clap those hands. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked on Patriots. Your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattels. One of the most popular names in this draft for Pat's fans is there for the taking in the third round of our.

Starting point is 00:00:35 our first mock draft. In our second segment, we pull off a trade to draft one of the guys who stood out to us during Combine Week. But first, a surprising best player available selection at number 31. The needs we know, edge, wide receiver, tackle. I would say those are your top three needs heading into this draft. And specifically, those are the positions that I would be eyeing at number 31. Now, the defense events, I did this, mock.

Starting point is 00:01:05 draft in the first round, more on this a little bit later, but the first round was done via pro football focus. And when I'm looking at who's available, who's not available at number 31, no trade up, no trade down, no trades were available to me in this first round, the defensive ends that were gone by 31. And I'm looking at the guys who are most realistic, not the dudes getting drafted in the top 10 to 15. Keldrick Falk was drafted by Minnesota at 18. Akeem Mesidor was drafted by the Chargers at 22. Cassius Howell was drafted by the Browns at 24. T.J. Parker was drafted by the Chicago Bears at 25.

Starting point is 00:01:46 So there's no Keldrick Falk, Akeem Mesedor, Cassius Howell, or T.J. Parker, available to us at number 31. How about the wide receivers? There's been some talk about Jordan Tyson maybe falling to the Patriots at 31. In this mock draft on pro football focus, Jordan Tyson went 19th to the Carolina Panthers. How about Omar Cooper Jr. from Indiana, somebody who a lot of people like. He was drafted by Pittsburgh in this mock at 21. Offensive tackles that were gone.

Starting point is 00:02:16 Caden Proctor, we talked about him late last week. He was drafted by the 49ers at number 27. Max Ihanachor, someone that we're going to talk about more this week, given what happened over the weekend at Arizona. state late in the week over the weekend. Mike Vrable's showing up, but Max Ehenichore gone to the Miami Dolphins at number 30, one pick before the Patriots at 31. Again, there were no trades available to me, to us in this mock simulator for pro football focus. And I am not going to force trades. If they're not there for this mock draft, I'm not going to force it. I'm not

Starting point is 00:02:57 going to force a trade to be done. So the top defensive ends, the edges that are there at number 31, Zion Young from Missouri, R. Mason Thomas from Oklahoma, the wide receivers that are sitting there at 31. Denzel Boston, we talked about him going back a week or so ago, Denzel Boston out of Washington. We've talked about this guy an awful lot. KC. Concepcion is available in this.

Starting point is 00:03:27 mock draft at number 31 out of Texas A&M. Then we look at tackles. Blake Miller from Clemson, Big Wright tackle, is available. Caleb Lomu from Utah is also available. So those are the names that have been drafted. Those are the names that are available to us. If you go by the pro football focus rank system here, the average draft position, the best players available,

Starting point is 00:03:54 would be in this order. Blake Miller, average draft position at about 25, Denzel Boston, an ADP of about 30, in KCC, an ADP at about 33 to 34, 33.7. So if we had our board stacked, best player available, it would go Blake Miller, Denzel Boston, Casey Concepcion, guys like Zion Young, R Mason Thomas, below those names. Now, for this first mock draft, I am going to go off the idea that the Patriots are going to trade for A.J. Brown.

Starting point is 00:04:37 That this June 1st, June 2nd trade is actually going to happen. So that is part of my thought process sitting here at 31, that we are going to trade for A.J. Brown. That is the plan. We have somewhat of a framework that we've worked with Philadelphia on. And I'm looking at this and saying to myself, okay, we're going to deal for A.J. Brown. So if I'm going to deal for A.J. Brown, if that is in the back of my mind or maybe even in the forefront at this point, wide receiver at 31 makes less sense. And if I'm going to trade for A.J. Brown inevitably down the road, drafting someone like Denzel Boston also makes less sense.

Starting point is 00:05:16 We've discussed Casey Concepcion and how I feel like Romeo Dobbs, that acquisition via free agency, to me, makes KCC less likely for the Patriots. So if I'm going into this, thinking that I'm going to trade for A.J. Brown eventually, wide receiver at 31, either it's, you know, whether it's Denzel Boston or Casey Concepcion makes less sense to me. Now I look at Edge, which I think is the number one need for this team if you were going to rank the needs as we did a week or two ago. Zion Young is an interesting prospect.

Starting point is 00:05:52 He's big. He's got all the measurables. but he's not necessarily explosive. And you have to believe that he's going to become a really good pass rusher at the NFL level on the outside to draft him at 31. I'm not so sure I buy that because the lack of explosivity. As a matter of fact, many people have written that Young probably has to slide inside to get the most punch from his pass rush. So Zion Young to me, not quite the fit. R. Mason Thomas, very explosive, undersized guy, is more of a second round talent.

Starting point is 00:06:34 If you look at the pro football focus average draft position, R Mason Thomas is at 48.5. That's a reach. That's a reach at 31. I'm not reaching. I'm not reaching. And I'm not drafting somebody who's not super explosive off the edge at 31. on. So I've already eliminated wide receiver thinking about AJ Brown and I've eliminated the edge position. In this specific scenario, fascinating how this unfolded because of what we talked about

Starting point is 00:07:04 on Friday's show. But in this specific scenario, I'm trading for AJ Brown down the road and I'm drafting Blake Miller right tackle from Clemson. That is the pick. Best player available. Again, average draft position on PFF of 25. I'm getting him at 31. Many of you might hate this word because of the connotations and who it's connected to, but that's great value. And I really feel like Blake Miller is a Vrable guy. His compete level, he posts, as they say, 54 career starts at Clemson, 6-6-317, very athletic, with a 9.94 relative athletic score. Evan Lazar wrote this about Blake Miller on March 2nd,

Starting point is 00:07:52 one of the cleanest projections at tackle in this range of the draft with 54 career starts. Miller is the first Clemson offensive line to start every game across four seasons without a red shirt year. He is a polished pass protector who was quick out of his stance to cut off angles to the quarterback, throws heavy punches, and is a good lateral mover to reach blocks on the line of scrimmage. Now we're going to tell you about the concern. Lazar writes, my one concern is that he doesn't really fit the whole quote-unquote get-stranger mantra. Miller plays with high pads, doesn't generate much movement in his run blocks, and needs to improve his functional strength.

Starting point is 00:08:31 Having said that, there's a ton to like about his athletic profile, experience, and overall game. Blake Miller is my pick at number 31 of my first 2026 mock draft. You're right tackle out of Clemson, right tackle of the future. You hope to get 10, 12 years out of him. If Morgan Moses goes down in 2026, you slide Blake Miller in with tons, tons of experience. All right, coming up, we pull off a draft day trade to help address one of the Pat's biggest needs. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now, the number one sports podcast network, your team every day.

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Starting point is 00:10:26 Speaking of Everydayer, don't forget to check out the Everydayer Club for ad-free episodes and access to a group chat with other listeners of this show. Tap the link in the show notes to find out even more or go to lockdownpatriots. Supercast.com. We have surpassed 9,250 subscribers here on the YouTube channel. If you're watching us on YouTube, don't forget to press that like button, hit that like button for us. Throw a comment in. Do you like?

Starting point is 00:10:53 Do you like? Do you hate Blake Miller at number 31 given this specific scenario? Let me know. So don't forget to like, comment. And don't forget to subscribe. Again, the goal is 10,000 subscribers by the time we get to the draft. We got a lot of work to do. I believe we can get there.

Starting point is 00:11:10 Like, comment, and sub. All right. So transparency is critical. I messed up. I messed up when I sat down to do a pro football focus mock draft because I did not select a three round draft. I thought that was just going to happen on its own, apparently. And with pro football focus now, unless you're going to pay,

Starting point is 00:11:34 you can only do one simulated draft per day. It's a bit much, but it is what it is. So the first round, pro football focus. I had to change. I had to change for the second and third round. So I jumped to the NFL mock draft database website. That's where this second and third round come from. Now to keep it, to keep it 100,

Starting point is 00:11:58 I drafted Blake Miller at number 31 in my mock draft database simulated draft. So same pick in the first round, wanted to keep it. nice and simple. So Blake Miller was still there at 31. The pick was 31 with Blake Miller. All right. So established. We've established this.

Starting point is 00:12:21 In my first mock draft, we're going to trade for A.J. Brown eventually, right? We're going to trade for A.J. Brown. We're going to use picks in 2027, whatever. We're going to make that deal. So that is part of this mock draft scenario. We didn't draft a wide receiver in the first round. We're looking at A.J. Brown as the answer.

Starting point is 00:12:40 at that position. So I'm not going to use a first round pick on a wide receiver. I'm also not going to use a second round pick on a wide receiver. I already took the tackle. Blake Miller, he is your newest patriot. That's done. I'm not drafting another tackle in the second round. So I look at the other needs.

Starting point is 00:12:58 The other needs, edge, tight end, linebacker, interior offensive line, and free safety. Those are the next five needs that I would have listed if I would were the Patriots. And drafting an edge or a tight end or a linebacker or an interior offensive lineman free safety, they would all make sense, arguably. But I feel like free safety can come later. I feel like I can get an interior offensive lineman later in this draft. So I'm really looking at edge, tight end linebacker. Those are the three positions I'm looking at with the 63rd pick of the second round. Edge to me is still, it was the case when I was

Starting point is 00:13:40 getting ready to pick 31st, Edge is still the number one priority in my book. But this time we got a trade. That's right. There were trade offers. There were trade offers. But I wasn't going to wait for trade offers from somebody else. I was going to be aggressive. Mike Vrable, Elliot Wolf, we're going to move up in this second round.

Starting point is 00:14:01 We're going to move up in this second round because there is a defensive end that is available that we think is a great fit. it would be a awesome, awesome pick if we moved up a few slots. And I'm not sold that this particular player would be sitting there at 63. So we've got to move up. Who's willing to trade? As we have it, the Los Angeles Chargers are open to dealing their 55th pick. So we're going to move up.

Starting point is 00:14:31 We're going to move up from 63 to 55. How do we do that? The trade details from the mock. draft database simulated draft. We trade the 63rd pick. So our second round pick, we trade number 63, and we trade number 125, which is one of two fourth round picks you have in this draft. We trade 63 and 125. You still have 131 in the fourth round. So we take that extra fourth round pick to move up eight spots to 55. So 63 and 125. to the Chargers for pick 55 of the second round.

Starting point is 00:15:15 And with the 55th pick in the 2026 NFL draft, your New England Patriots Select, defensive end Malachi Lawrence from UCF, Central Florida, 6'4, 253 pounds. And you want to talk about explosivity. I mentioned Zion Young being there at 31. And the reason why I did not draft Young was because he's not necessarily an explosive edge player. You might end up having to move him inside.

Starting point is 00:15:49 Well, Malachi Lawrence is explosive. You look at what he did at the Combine, and he was one of the top guys that stood out to me during the Combine. We discussed it Combine Week. This is not revisionist history. This is in real time. We said Malachi Lawrence jumped out at us watching that Combine a month plus ago. 64-253, as I said, his vertical leap at the combine was 40 inches, a 40-inch vert at 6-4-250-plus. His broad jump, 10-foot, 10 inches, almost an 11-foot broad jump.

Starting point is 00:16:24 If you look at the relative athletic score, and we use that all the time here, the relative athletic score, 13th, 13th, out of more than 2,000 defensive end prospects since 1987, using that metrics. Almost in the top 10 since 1987 from an athletic standpoint at defensive end. Pretty crazy numbers. We've discussed this idea of what is the sweet spot? If you are the Patriots, you're looking at a defensive end. What's the sweet spot? It feels like 255 to 260 is the sweet spot.

Starting point is 00:17:05 You got Harold Landry there. Dremont Jones, I think, said he played at like 260. 2265 last season. And Lawrence is 253. You feel like you can build a little bit more muscle, a little bit more meat on the frame. I think you can do that. So you get a guy who really fits from a size standpoint with that explosiveness that you're looking for. We've also mentioned before that Elliot Wolfe, he has said in the past, and this was around Combine Week,

Starting point is 00:17:34 one of the traits that the Patriots look for from a pass rusher is the ability to to win in multiple ways. So it's not just, you know, speed to power, for example. Can you win in multiple ways? And Malachi Lawrence wins in multiple ways when he pressures the quarterback.

Starting point is 00:17:56 And he was just also productive. And I know it's UCF, but the productivity was there. Field D.8s wrote about Malachi Lawrence. Lawrence screams off the edge as a rusher, creating 60 pressures over the past two seasons. He had two seasons with at least seven sacks in his college career. Mel Kuiper wrote about Lawrence right after the combine. And Kuiper wrote at UCF last season, Lawrence had seven

Starting point is 00:18:22 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. He can fly off the edge with really solid closing speed and overall agility. So what are the cons to Malachi Lawrence? Number one, he's going to have to improve against the run. But I feel like that's a pretty consistent concern for a number of these edges that are coming out. You know, a lot of these pass rushers, they get to the quarterback first and foremost. They've got to work on their run defense. And Malachi Lawrence would be one of those guys. He has to improve against the run.

Starting point is 00:18:54 Mike Giardy of Boston Sports Journal recently posted some highlights of Malachi Lawrence. And Giardy noted that he does have some tightness in his hips. So not as fluid, according to Giardy, as you would like, but the production is there. The athleticism is there. And Kuyper mentioned he thinks that Lawrence has enough overall agility to get the job done at the NFL level.

Starting point is 00:19:20 Then we found out last week, another con, Tony Pauline, reported that, you know, there were scouts that went down to the UCF Pro Day and Lawrence didn't work out. That should not be a huge surprise because he was excellent at the combine. But apparently, according to Tony Pauline, Lawrence also did not. take his sweats off and that apparently rubbed some people in attendance the wrong way. I'm not going to make a big deal out of that. So Malachi Lawrence is your pick at number 55. You trade that fourth round pick, one of the two fourth round picks to move up to 55 to get your guy

Starting point is 00:20:00 because your guy might not be there at 63. Now, of course, you could sit back and wait until 63. Maybe Lawrence falls to you. maybe there's another edge that you like at 63. But in this scenario, I'm moving up. I'm taking my guy. So first round pick, Blake Miller, second round pick, Malachi Lawrence. Offensive tackle and edge have been addressed.

Starting point is 00:20:22 Next, it's time to get Drake May another weapon in this Patriots offense. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. appreciate every single solitary one of you. Round one, Blake Miller, right tackle of the future in our first mock draft of this 2026 draft season. Round two, we moved up. We drafted Malachi Lawrence.

Starting point is 00:20:54 That sets up for you, the right tackle of the future, somebody who can easily slide in and take over for Morgan Moses just in case he gets hurt in 2026. He wears down, whatever happens. If he doesn't, you have somebody who has tons of experience at the college level. Big college program at Clemson. Definitely the ability to take over in 2027. You would hope that Will Campbell improves over 2026. And now you've got Campbell and Miller as your future tackles for the next 10 to 12 years.

Starting point is 00:21:24 Malachi Lawrence in round two as we moved up gives you a nice solid rotation, I think, at defensive end. You've got Harold Landry. You hope that he's healthy. You've got Draymont Jones, who you signed in this offseason. Of course, you're bringing back Elijah Ponder. but I would put, you know, Malachi, Lawrence and Ponder as your three slash four. And if Landry has to take less snaps, he's not the same guy, then Lawrence moves up and you've got Draymont Jones, Malachi Lawrence, and then you kind of rotate Landry to go along

Starting point is 00:21:54 with Ponder. I think that gives you a solid top four at defensive end in 2026. Round three, you have the 95th pick in the draft. I'm not going to discount taking a ride receiver. I'm not going to write off the idea of taking a receiver because as we discussed, Kishon Booty, I'd be open to trading Kishan Booty. I'd be open to trading Pop Douglas. So even if you traded for A.J. Brown, you'd have two going out maybe and one coming in,

Starting point is 00:22:23 which gives you an extra slot to draft a receiver. So I would not necessarily write off the idea of drafting a receiver at 95. It's not like you're spending a first round pick or a second round pick on them, but you would be drafting them in the third round. Wouldn't write that off. So if you look at the needs, wide receiver, linebacker, tight end,

Starting point is 00:22:44 interior offensive line, free safety. Now, using the NFL mock draft database website, we were offered three traits. Denver offered 108. Then they offered

Starting point is 00:23:00 a 27th, fifth, and a 27th, seventh round pick. I'm not dropping down from 95. to 108. I don't think it's worth it for a fifth and a seventh in next year's draft. So I said no to that. Minnesota offered 97. So you just drop down two spots for a seventh round pick in 2027. I think that's a waste of time. And if I move down two spots and I end up losing the guy that I'm eyeing to pick up a seventh round pick in next year's draft, that's absurd.

Starting point is 00:23:26 So I said no. Arizona is offering number 104, which is a fourth round pick and a fifth round pick. So 104 and 143, I said, no. Again, I don't think the fifth round pick at 143 when I have a fifth and four-sixths, I don't think it's worth it to drop down nine spots and maybe lose out on my guy. So who's available at 95? Elijah Surratt, wide receiver from Indiana. You've got Skylar Bell, wide receiver from Yukon. You've got Oscar Delp, tight end from Georgia. You've got Justin Jolie from NC State, tight end. At linebacker, you've got Harold Perkins from LSU. At safety, you've got Kamari Ramsey from USC,

Starting point is 00:24:11 Zaki White Wheatley from Penn State. Interior offensive lineman, Conno Lou from Auburn and Jalen Farmer, who is somebody the Patriots have been linked to this offseason from Kentucky. So those are the available guys at number 95. with the 95th pick in the 2006 NFL draft, our first mock draft of this year, I'm selecting for the Patriots, tight end Oscar Delp from Georgia, 6 foot, 4 and a half, 245 pounds. Again, we go back to that relative athletic score when you look historically,

Starting point is 00:24:53 teams that have guys higher up in the RAS and to be better teams. you want the athleticism in current football all over the field. Oscar Delp with a 9.82 RAS, which is 26th out of 1,388 tight ends going back to 1987. So the 26th most athletic tight end since 1987. We talked about Malachi Lawrence being 13th of more than 2,000 defensive. events going back to 1997. Blake Miller, 9.94 RAS, which is very, very high at tackle as well.

Starting point is 00:25:38 So we're drafting guys who are athletic, who are productive. So a 9.82 RAS for Oscar Delp. What does Delp bring to this offense? Short area quickness. He can get open relatively quickly, which should be music to the ears of Drake May and Josh McDaniels. You need somebody on third and short. Oscar Delp can get open quickly.

Starting point is 00:26:03 He's going to uncover. He's going to convert and get you that first down. But he's not just a short area guy because a Delp also has the speed to beat linebackers. Think about this. Delp at 6.4.5, 245, ran a 4-4940. He was sub-4-5 in the 40. He can get down the scene. He can beat linebackers with that speed.

Starting point is 00:26:28 Critical. critical. Now, the con, if you look at Delp, one of the cons, I'll give you two, not ultra-productive at Georgia, could have been the offense, could have been how they used them. He wasn't super productive. And he also needs to build strength. He's one of those guys at tight end,

Starting point is 00:26:46 and there's a number of them in this draft, that you need to build strength so you can become a better blocker in the run game. It may be even pass protection. So he needs strength. But if you talk about an athletic, tight end that can move, that that wide tight end that you can really utilize, especially on third down, red zone, play some games with the guy.

Starting point is 00:27:07 Oscar Delp fits that mold. So you build up the strength, you put him in this offense, you throw him the football. Hunter Henry, Oscar Delp, Julian Hill, one, two, three at tight end. I like that. I like that. So the final results of the first mock draft of the 2026 NFL draft season from yours truly. Nick Cattels here with Lockdown Patriots, Blake Miller at right tackle, Malachi Lawrence at defensive end, and Oscar Delp at tight end.

Starting point is 00:27:44 You have hit on three needs with I think three good football players, if not really good football players, tremendous value as far as where you got these guys, and you did not have to give up a whole heck of a lot. You gave up one of your two fourth round picks to land those three players. You still have a fourth round pick at 131. You still have a fifth round pick at 171, and you still have four sixth round picks to go along with a seven. So still enough ammunition to continue to address needs like lineback,

Starting point is 00:28:21 and receiver if you're not afraid of drafting one, even though you're trading in this scenario for AJ Brown. Interior offensive line, free safety. You can still do some work in round four, five. You could probably trade a couple of sixths to move on up. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio, also on Blue Sky, Instagram.

Starting point is 00:28:48 Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. hit that like button and subscribe. And if you never miss an episode, first, thank you. But the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get Lockdown Patriots, ad free, plus members-only, discord, access, and more. Head to LockdownPatriots.com or check the link in the show notes to learn even more. Have a great day and we'll see you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Mock Draft: New England Patriots Offensive With #31 Pick | Round 2 Trade

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