Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Murph The Draft; Face of the Patriots Franchise - 3/31/2020

Episode Date: March 31, 2020

The New England Patriots will have a new look in 2020. However, the goal remains the same: Winning. Fan-favorite Thomas Murphy joins host Mike D’Abate to talk Pats’ draft strategy. The duo also address who might be the new face of the franchise in the wake of Tom Brady’s departure.  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 Welcome to all of you Foxborough faithful. It is Tuesday, the final day of March here on the Lockdown Patriots Podcast, 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 proud part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, and your feedback, always welcomed and encouraged. Feel free to send that feedback to me by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at mdabatefpc and while you're out there wandering around in that

twitterverse responsibly and practicing social distancing of course please follow the locked on patriots account as well at lo underscore patriots patriots fans as we prepare to close the book on the month of march 2020 i don't think it's a stretch of the imagination to say that this has been one of the most interesting months in my lifetime for a number of reasons. And as always, no matter where you're listening to this podcast today, I hope you're doing so safely, healthy, and doing your best to stay that way. For those of you that happen to be struggling either physically or mentally with your health right now, please don't hesitate to reach out to those around you for help. I assure you that even if you feel alone during this time,

you're cared for more than you can imagine by a larger number of people than you probably believe. During times of crisis like these, people come together to try to make each other better so we can be better as a society. The outpouring of support, emotion, and compassion that I see on so many of you through social media and whatnot is really heartwarming. And while I can definitely understand that the strife felt by so many of you can be truly

overwhelming, I continue to encourage each and every one of you to keep moving forward, do your best to maintain a positive attitude, and continue to care for yourself and the ones that you love. And as I say each and every day, by you turning to Locked On Patriots for a bit of a respite from the times under which we currently live, I remain honored, humbled, and grateful that you choose the Locked On Patriots podcast for those reasons. And as is our duty across the landscape here on the Locked On Podcast Network, I will continue to keep you apprised of the latest out of Patriots Nation and hopefully provide you

with a little necessary entertainment as well. And good news today, folks, because joining me here once again today is not only a big-time fan favorite, but a big-time favorite of the host as well. That's right, you guessed it. Our good green buddy Thomas Murphy joins me here on the Locked on Patriots podcast today. And seeing as we did a pretty good job of mocking the draft yesterday on Mock Draft Monday, today we're going to Murph the draft. And he will be providing his insight on what positions the Patriots should be targeting on both sides of the ball, as well as some of the offensive and defensive standouts that

have caught his eye throughout the draft process. And we'll also get Murph's take on a pretty popular topic surrounding Patriots Nation lately, and that is with Tom Brady gone, who is now the face of the franchise? A popular choice would probably be Julian Edelman. However, could Devin McCourty be in consideration because of his longevity? Matthew Slater has long said to be the spiritual leader of the Patriots. Is he now the face of the franchise? Or is it not a face at all?

Maybe it's just one gray hood. And no, folks, yes, I am Italian and I love the Godfather, but I'm not talking about that kind of hood. I'm talking about the hood-ee. Head coach Bill Belichick. In the interest of not stealing the thunder from my good buddy Murph, we will address that question when he joins me here on the Locked On Patriots podcast in just a moment. But before I bring in the only guest to own his own hashtag, and rightfully so,

I just wanted to take a moment to address all of you that are doing your best to stay fit at home during these difficult times. I can definitely understand it, folks. Social distancing makes trips to the gym almost impossible. And because we're all doing our best to stay healthy, staying fit is a big part of that. And despite these challenging times, you can do just that and not pay a ton for overpriced fitness equipment. The best way to get in the best shape of your life is with echelon echelon brings connected fitness at an affordable price go to echelonfit.com to discover their ex1 connected fitness bikes that offer a high quality at home cycling experience at less than half the price of a peloton echelon makes beautifully engineered products for everyone

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Well, you get the idea. Buy an Echelon bike today for under $1,000. Go to Echelonfit.com slash L-O-N-F-L to learn more about their limited time free Apple iPad and complete details of this exclusive offer. Echelon, it's your time. That's E-C-H-E-L-O-N-F-I-T dot com slash L-O-N-F-L. Echelonfit.com slash L-O-N-F-L. Patriots fans, after a much-deserved week off, the clamoring that you had for this man's green wisdom and counsel was just too far great for me to ignore any longer.

So here on Tuesday, I am bringing him back to Locked On Patriots. He is a fan favorite, your favorite and mine, my benefactor in this business. The legendary Thomas Murphy joins me here on the Locked On Patriots podcast today. Thank you for joining me today, Don Murph. Oh, brother, it's always a pleasure. It's always a pleasure to sit down with you in a nice, comfortable chair that kind of feels like, you know, Archie Bunker's chair. It's just, you know, I know when somebody else has been sitting in it and it's just, you know, it's just good.

You just sit down in front of the tube and relax and talk some Patriots. Let's do it. Absolutely. It really is good. And, you know, everybody's chair, they're, you know, whatever device of comfort that you're using right now to get you through these difficult times,

folks, definitely settle in, make it yours, and enjoy it the best you can. That's essentially all we can do right now. And I am honored to always join this man on the microphone. Hope we can provide you with a little distraction, a little diversion, and maybe even a little bit of humor at the same time. So, Murph, without further ado, let's kick it off.

And I started today's show by saying that the media perception of the Patriots right now is that they're a franchise in search of a face. And I didn't really tip my hand because I wanted to discuss this with you, and whether or not that's even a relevant argument, which I know you'll have some opinions on, as you always do. And I look forward to hearing those and sharing those with you. But before we tackle that subject, obviously, the big news in the NFL is the status of the NFL draft. And Friday, Roger Goodell issued a memo stating that the draft will go on as scheduled

and that the Patriots right now currently sit with a pretty good haul of draft selections. So I've given my take several times here on Locked On Patriots, and I've even given the platform to our listeners to slip into their GM shoes and determine what they believe the Patriots should do. But you have been right as much or more than anyone I know that comes to identifying good fits in New England so instead of mocking the draft today we're going to murph the draft and I think that's a great way to put it because you always seem to pinpoint great fits whether New England actually takes the suggestions or not is a whole other kettle of fish we'll get into that at another time but buddy I'd like to start on the offense today and obviously uh you know the um you've been a very very big component on cesar ruiz and the patriots need for offensive line help in the first round you've turned me into a huge

believer of cesar and i still think the patriots are going to give him a very strong look when it comes to that number 23 pick, assuming they don't move up or down and they take that in the first round. But the Patriots did throw a little bit of a wrench into that when they franchised Joe Tooney a couple of weeks ago. A lot of people were surprised by that. You and I both were surprised by that because we expected that Tooney would hit the open market and be in line for a big payday. Word out of New England, they're trying to work out a long-term deal, but there's still a possibility he might be traded.

If, in fact, the Patriots keep Tooney in the fold, are they still wise to go with offensive line in the first round, or do they look to the offensive skill position players to potentially help out a new quarterback in Jared Stidham? Well, personally, you know how I feel about big fat guys, man. If you're picking in the first round, you need a big fat guy. That's what you want. That's what you're going for.

But no, I don't think it throws a monkey wrench into my plan to bring Ruiz in here. I do believe that even if Tooney does sign a long-term deal, that bringing in an offensive lineman, even if it isn't Ruiz, even if it's somebody else that could be of use at the tackle position, because Marcus Cannon will be no longer a Patriot for much longer, maybe get a redshirt season in there for somebody. So, no, I really do. I still think that it's going to end up being an offensive lineman,

but they could look at the skill positions, that's for sure. Yeah, I think that you're absolutely right. I always am a big proponent in building the line. To me, that's where championships are won, and especially with the absence of Dante Skarniecki this year, it's going to be so important to have young athletic bodies that are in there adaptable to a new system still keep enough of the old guard around that they have that Dante flavor to it but I think that a guy like Ruiz is a prototypical patriot not just from what he brings in the versatility

that he has on the field he can pretty much play the guard position. He's a natural center, but I think he could even move over and play a little bit of tackle if he needs to. He's a hybrid that they could really do a lot with. He has the intangibles. He has the attitude, the late great Gorilla Monsoon used to say, the intestinal fortitude to really make it here

in New England. And I think that he's just a dynamic fit. I still hold him in high regard, and I still think the Patriots would be wise to take him with the number 23 pick. But you mentioned the offensive skill positions. Obviously, wide receiver, tight end, needs it both. I think the need at tight end is much more immediate than it is at the wide receiver position. But there's not a lot of top level talent at the tight end position this year in the draft.

And we've kind of danced around this a couple of times here on Locked On Patriots. Adam Trotman is one of the guys that we've mentioned. Cole Komet out of Notre Dame. A couple of the names that are being bandied about. Bryson Hopkins is another name from Purdue that a lot of people are mentioning. If they decided to go in that direction, first of all, do you think they would trade down to increase their value if they decided to forego that number 23 pick to get a tight end?

Or do you think they keep number 23 and maybe get a wide receiver like a Justin Jefferson or maybe even a Jerry Judy, which I think a lot of people are little pie know, little pie in the sky hopes there. But I do see some projections with him at number 23. What's your take on the offensive skill position market and how the Patriots are matched up right now to be able to get what they need? Well, the fact of the matter is that there's no tight end on this roster. None. There isn't one. And if that's what they're targeting,

I do think that they're going to end up trading down unless they're really high on Komet, unless they're really high on Troutman, who a lot of people have going in the fourth round, the third round, late in there. I could definitely see them trading back to do that. There's just too many better skilled position players to take there in the first round than one of these tight ends. It's really so thin and having to understand a pro style, an actual pro style folks, not, not, you know, well, they run a pro style offense. Well, it's, it's a lot different, a lot quicker and it's a lot more in depth up here than it is in, at, in South Bend or out there in Washington, Hunter Bryant, somebody that I think might fit in here pretty well,

a kid out of Washington, a junior. So I can see them trading back, just to get back to your original point, if it is a tight end. If it's a wide receiver, on the other hand, I see them sticking. If the right person falls, then I definitely see them sticking in that spot right there at 28. Not that they couldn't. The Patriots have five picks in the first 125.

There are people that they can get later on, folks. If it doesn't happen in the first round and they do what I think they should do and take a big round person, then there is talent to be had in the later rounds. It's just so deep this year at the wide receiver position. It's hard to predict what the Pats are going to do there. There absolutely is a ton of depth, and I'm glad that you made that point because I think that's something that fans especially and media members tend to lock on to a guy and say, if guy is there they can't pass him up we've seen the

Patriots do that time after time after time the guy that everyone says is a can't miss prospect ends up being there on the board sometimes not all the time but sometimes they are and the Patriots end up bypassing it in favor of the better fit, the better player for their system and their philosophy. I've been a big proponent of Justin Jefferson. I know our good friend Evan Lazar of CLNS Media has been beating the Justin Jefferson drum for quite a while. And with due cause, he really is a prototypical Patriot that can do so much here. And I believe that he might have been a little bit better equipped to succeed right away had Tom still been here,

but we'll get to that in a minute. But anyway, I think that there is such an opportunity for him to do that. So save for maybe him being available at number 23, I think they will look to address the position. I just think they'll do it in later rounds. But I want to just switch gears for a second and go over to the defensive side of the ball because the Patriots always go against the grain.

And even though offense is the sexy pick right now in terms of the Patriots holes, we have to acknowledge that there are some holes now on this defense, particularly at the linebacker and the edge positions. More so at linebacker, you lose guys like Jamie Collins Kyle Van Noy Alandon Roberts they were such a big part of what the Patriots did last year in the three-fourth set that I think it does you know put that type of defense at a little bit of a disadvantage right now and the wild card in all this Murph we know Bill loves a good defensive back and he's not afraid to take it even when there may not be an immediate need on the roster but I've identified edge and linebacker as the two primary defensive positions that the

Patriots should at least look at and look for some top talent if they're able to get it do you believe these are the positions that they should be considering and if so who do you have on your green draft board right now in terms of who the Patriots should be looking at for help on the defensive side of the ball? Well, I do have linebacker right up there. Some gaping holes back there that have just been made by, you know, guys that are going out and cashing in for, you know, some for the second time on their short stints here with the Patriots. So yeah, there's some depth need there. I'm not sure if there's somebody that is going to be an every-down player in the first round. There's somebody that's going to come in

and really change the way Bill wants to approach this season. I think they'll take another page out of the recent, just to stick with the recent, Chase Winovich and how limited you saw him in last year's game planning. When he was in there, he did fantastic. Everybody kept screaming, I want more Chase, I want more Chase, Chase down Chase, you know, let's get it going.

But that came from Bill putting him in the right situations more chase. I want more chase. Chase down chase. Let's get it going. That came from Bill putting him in the right situations and in the right places to look good. More so than his skill set. That's not a knock on his skill set. I think he's going to keep growing as a player. To start out that way, to have that kind of success, you have to have a coach like Bill Belichick that knows how to use you. And yeah, there are a couple of guys. I really like Patrick Queen, the kid out of LSU. He's a fantastic talent. Zach Vaughn out of Wisconsin. And Troy Guy, this kid out of Oregon, I really like. Also, I'm, that I'm throwing out here now are guys that'll fit in here,

but can also be grabbed in. I don't want to say the later rounds, but the bottom of the second, the third round, even Troy die, I think might be able, uh, might be there in four. Um, and, and don't get hung up people on the, the Patriots don't have a pick here or they don't have that changes. You all know that that changes. But there's some talent out there. And yeah, I think that depth is going to have to be addressed. What I do think they're going to do early, though, is I think Bill is going to

go to the safety position. I really believe that this is paramount in getting this team younger. A lot has been made about the age of this team for good reason, but this team has aged for a good reason. It's aged because the skill set back there is so good and is so high top shelf from sideline to sideline that it's been really difficult for younger guys to come in here and make their mark. But right now I do think that they are going to have to do something

at that position, and they might have to do it early because I really don't believe that this draft is as deep as people are talking about at the safety spot. I think Ashton Davis out of California would be a great grab late in the second round. Winfield out of Minnesota, he is going to be something special. I could see the Patriots doing something with him at the top of the second, the bottom of the first. I really don't think that some of the Xavier McKinney's of the world, the Grant Delpit's of the world are going to be there.

But I do think the Ashton Davis's could be there in two. The Winfield's could be there in two or three. And let's not forget the Terrell Buggs, the Burgess, I'm sorry, bloody dyslexia, Terrell Burgess out of Utah. I really like this kid. He's a senior. He's been a captain. He doesn't necessarily have the size, but 5'11 is still 5'11. He measured out of 5'11.

That's almost six feet. That's almost as tall as Butchie. So we'll get there. I like that kid. Also, some of the guys in the later rounds that you could see Bill take a flyer on, Kevon Wallace out of Clemson. He's another guy that's a big hitter. J.R. Reid, we all know how much Bill likes the weather down there in Georgia.

We've picked so many players over the past few years from Georgia. Maybe he goes over to the other side and he sees J.R. Reid there in the fourth round. Go grab him. Good suggestions. And I'm glad that you mentioned the later rounds as an opportunity for the Patriots to be able to restock their defense. I think so often, and I'm guilty of this as well, we tend to look at some of the big names. Obviously, Patrick Queen, well, you mentioned him earlier at the linebacker position. He has the potential to be a game changer out of LSU.

He's definitely that prototypical inside linebacker that does allow the Patriots to be able to maintain that 3-4 set, but also switch to a 4-3 as well. He's got a lot of versatility and he's able to play in a lot of people are looking at out of Iowa. His draft stock tends to fluctuate. I've seen him be as high as a middle first rounder, and I've seen him slip to the second. So there's, I think, a lot of opportunity for the Patriots to take a look at someone like that there. The safety position, I'm glad that you mentioned guys like McKinney, guys like Grant Delpit. In some of the mock drafts that I saw over the weekend,

listeners here at Lockdown Patriots, McKinney was a very popular pick. Only one of them was one that I showcased yesterday because he did it as a trade. And I think that that's a smart move to know that a guy like Xavier McKinney slipping to number 23 right now may be a little bit of an aggressive thought process. However, I'm not sure that the Patriots would even be willing to entertain that with a high draft capital like that. They may look for a second round or a third round to be able to backfill that position.

There is talent there at those spots. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to step on you. No, you didn't. Absolutely not. Go ahead. Yeah, there is talent there. Still, I believe, within the top 100 players of this draft, the Notre Dame kid, Kareem. Kenny Wilkes out of Michigan State. Oh, God, I got cringy talking about Michigan State, but there you go.

And Jonathan Garvin, he's a junior edge kid coming out of Miami. I think that he could do some damage coming in here to New England as a fifth-round player. You know, there's a guy that you're grabbing later that could be something of a nice little project that Bill likes. I like the film that I've seen on him. Absolutely.

And ultimately, all of these young players that are coming in are going to need to assimilate into a Patriots system that has been very successful over the last few years, Murph. We know for 20 years, they've run the best show in town. They are a franchise, again, like I said to open the show today, according to a lot of media members and according to some fans, they're a franchise in need of a face.

I don't happen to believe that that's the case. I think the Patriot way, technically, or the Patriots' success or their design is really more of the face of the franchise. But we've seen several guys try to take that mantra. And ultimately, when you lose the franchise cornerstone like Tom Brady, it's going to be difficult for anybody coming into that locker room this year to have the immediate respect for a player that Tom commanded. And he didn't command it in the way he acted. He commanded it basically in the example that he set. He walked up to each new player, introduced himself as Tom, legitimately

wanted to get to know these guys, was one of the best teammates that anybody could ever hope for. But the Patriots won't have that this year. When you look at this franchise and you look at this roster, the way it's constituted, the two names that hop out at everybody right now are probably Devin McCourty and Julian Edelman in terms of popularity and in terms of just immediate recognition. But Matthew Slater took to the media yesterday on a conference call and I think really articulated so well what we are all hoping for. And that is that the Patriots locker room is not going to hang its head despite losing one of their greatest players and the greatest player in franchise history. He said that the goal remains the same.

The conditioning and what this team has to do, mental conditioning, remains the same. They still want to win. Do you believe that the face of the franchise really is more of just a peripheral argument, or are they going to need someone to step up into that Tom Brady role and be the face of the franchise? Is it any of the players that I mentioned? If not, who do you see as potentially taking that baton? I really have to agree with you, and I know that's a cop-out and everything, but those are the guys that are the leaders in this locker room. There wasn't one single leader in this locker room. I believe Tom did lead by example.

I don't think he was outside of being on the sidelines I don't think he was a rah-rah kind of guy in team meetings and whatnot there are guys that are that way and they are great leaders on this team there are guys that have been in this system for a very long time Brandon Bolden

he is a quiet leader in the locker room and on the practice field. I know people think that, you know, this is all part of my, my, you know, I, some people call it a, an infatuation. I just love this is why I like the man. It's because of his work ethic. And these guys, guys that are still here lead by example. Guys like Brandon Bolden. Guys like James White. You know, they come in here and they learn the way things are and they pass that along to the next generation of players

if you make the cut. See, that's the thing, if you make the cut. I do believe on the back end, on the defensive side of the ball, you have consummate professionals like both the McCourty's who come to work every day with a purpose, and that is to be the best patriot that they can be and be the best person that they can be. And I don't think anybody walking in here will lack for veteran leadership

both on the field, in the locker room, and in life. Again, completely agreed. And I don't think that's a cop-out. We are like-minded, but at the same time, I think that like-mindedness in this situation is something that needs to be cultivated. Look, I know the media is going to want to make more out of it with tom leaving they've lost their soul they've lost their uh their go-to guy they've lost the glue in that locker room it's i don't

want to say true to a certain extent but they've take definitely taken a hit when it comes to veteran leadership you don't lose a guy guy like Tom Brady that essentially knows everything and has been around. An analogy I love to use, my friend, is he's been to the puppet show. He's seen the strings. He knows pretty much everything that needs to happen on a day-to-day basis to be a successful football team. But that's why you bring your wisdom and counsel like no other.

That's why you're here on Locked On Patriots. That's why your familia is a Locked On Patriots. And that's why we will get this man his own embroidered director's chair, my friends. It is on order. It's a little backed up right now, you know, with all the situations that are going on. There are more important things to be shipped out.

Well, according to the world, yes. But according to this show, no. You deserve it, and it's yours. And I'm always honored when you take that seat. Folks, you should be already, and I know you are. But again, for anyone that isn't, please follow this man on Twitter, at TeamRF207. The columns, including the monster keys during the season,

probably found on DieHardBostonSportsFans.com, some of the best and most accurate and most candid reads you'll have anywhere. If you follow this man on Twitter, you'll even get into his preference on snack foods, which we were going back and forth last night, Murph. It was hilarious. We need sports back. When you start getting into what's better,

Hostess versus Drake's versus Little Daddy, it's really, really getting bad. It is. A lot of things get so bad. It is. It's unbelievable. Oh, my God. It really getting bad. It is. A lot of things get so bad. It is. It's unbelievable. Oh, my God. It really is funny.

I'm taking on national writers on some subjects that, you know, are just so not sports-related, you know? Just get us back to some sports, please. We miss our sports here, and hopefully we'll get them back sooner rather than later. But ultimately, stay safe, stay well, friends. Never miss an episode of One Patriot's Place with Murph and our great mutual friend, Steve Balistrieri. It is my personal favorite Patriots podcast, one of the most knowledgeable, one of the most entertaining out there, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Murph, thank you so much, my good man. Always honored, always humbled by your presence. Always, always happy to show up for a Locked On Murph episode. Locked On Patriots. Absolutely. No, no, no. You had it right the first time. When you're on this show, it is hashtag Locked On Murph. You're the only guest with his own hashtag and you will remain as such. Buddy, thank you so much. Stay safe, stay well. And we look forward to having you back again. And something tells me you'll be back sooner than later, buddy. I will. You can't get rid of me. I'm like a bad penny. Take it easy, people.

Thank you. And we're not trying to either. Have a great day, bud. And so, Patriots fans, we put a wrap on your Tuesday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast. I always enjoy sharing the microphone with Murph, whether we're talking NFL draft, face of the franchise, Tom Brady, you name it. The man is knowledgeable about his subjects. He's a great friend and one of the best in the business. And as for me, I will be back here tomorrow on the Locked On Patriots podcast to continue to bring you the latest news, notes, and analysis from Foxborough. As always, please be sure to join me here each and every day

on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe and download via your preferred podcast provider. And don't forget, you can always listen to Locked On Patriots on your smart device. How do you do so? Very simple. Just simply ask it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate.

I thank Thomas Murphy for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's show. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and continuing to stay locked into Locked On Patriots. And if you've enjoyed today's episode, now tell your smart device to play the most recent episode of Locked On Fantasy Football. Stay safe, stay well, and have a great day, everyone.