Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Dalvin Cook Rumors, Help for Rhamondre Stevenson, Pats WR Free Agent Options

Episode Date: June 27, 2023

The New England Patriots continue to remain embroiled in the sweepstakes for free agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins. However, might a top-tier running back be on his way to New England. Host Mike D’Abate provides his thoughts on Dalvin Cook and his changes of becoming a Patriot. He also welcomes Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy of E2G Sports to discuss Cook, Hopkins and remaining free agent targets on offense including Kenyan Drake, T.Y. Hilton and Kenny Golladay as they answer questions from the Locked On Patriots Mailbag.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dalvin Cook would look great in a New England Patriots uniform, but will the price be right for it to happen? Stick around. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Welcome to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. We are a proud part of the Lockdown On Podcast Network, your team every day. Subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you get the latest episode as soon as it's available.

I am your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, official sportsbook of the NFL. Make every moment more. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on today to get started. That's fans. Thank you all for joining me here today.

Hope you had an amazing weekend. As always, a special shout out to all of you locked on everydayers out there. All of you loyalists who make locked on Patriots possible, honored and humbled by your support as I am each and every day. And especially today because it is hashtag Locked on Merc Monday. It is hashtag Mailbag Monday. That's right, folks. Our good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com,

can drop by to help me open the Locked on Patriots mailbag. And some great, great questions submitted this weekend talking about Patriots offensive weapons, whether it be receivers like DeAndre Hopkins or T.Y. Hilton, maybe. Running backs like Dalvin Cook or even Kenyon Drake. Some very interesting topics here today. And Murph and I are going to open up another great week for the mailbag in just a few minutes. But first, every team in the AFC has been linked in one form or another lately. going to open up another great week for the mailbag in just a few minutes but first every team in the afc has been linked in one form or another lately the former minnesota vikings star

running back dalvin cook including your new england patriots this weekend dalvin retweeted a clip from the pat mcafee show as they engaged in a discussion centering around why Dalvin Cook might be a very good fit here in New England. And in the clip, Michael Lombardi, who we all know has a prior connection to Bill Belichick, longtime associate of the Patriots boss, he explained why the Patriots should be in on Dalvin Cook and saying, quote, I actually believe Dalvin Cook would be a better fit than DeAndre Hopkins for the Patriots. Interesting point there by Lombardi, but he continues, folks. They need another back there, and I think Cook is one of those really good change of pace, catch a screen, go a long

way type backs. I think he could make a huge difference for the Patriots offense alongside Ramondre Stevenson, and I agree, if you're looking for a guy that can come in, catch a screen pass and take it to the house, somebody that can run for power and finesse, Dalvin Cook is definitely your guy. There are two elements of Mike Lombardi's statement that kind of stuck out to me. The first of the two elements that I found intriguing is that it comes from Lombardi himself. This is not a guy that usually goes off script or throws stuff against the wall just to see if it fits. We know that nonsense being put out there by someone as close to Bill Belichick as Mike Lombardi is probably not going to happen.

If he doesn't have something tangible, something coming from inside New England, maybe not from Bill himself, but something coming from inside New England, maybe not from Bill himself, but something coming from inside New England, then he's probably not going to go to press with it. That's one thing that would lead me to believe that maybe there's some fire where there's some smoke here on Dalvin Cook. The other element is that Dalvin actually bought into it over the weekend on social media. He paid attention to it. He retweeted it.

And at the very least, it's definitely worthy of keeping a sharp eye, as I like to say. You put that in combination with Mike Lombardi's words, and all of a sudden, folks, yeah, it's intriguing. There's no question about it. But there is an element of this that makes it unlikely. And unfortunately, what else? Money. That's really what it comes down to. All the reports out there say that Dalvin Cook, in his new home, is reportedly seeking a $10 million salary. Now, that's the same number that the Minnesota Vikings deemed too high, and the reason why they told Dalvin, it's been real, but we're moving on.

The Patriots have just north of $14 million available in cap space. And as always, to our good friend, Miguel, Pat's cap bends on, who supplies us with all the cap information we need. And the Patriots are still very much in the running for the services of DeAndre Hopkins. Let's not forget that DeAndre is not going to take a big time hometown discount to come here to New England. He's going to want to be paid as well. So I think if Dalvin is pretty set in his ways and pretty stuck into that $10 million salary, yeah, I would say that's too rich for the Patriots' blood, and it's probably not going to happen. As training camp continues to approach, teams are going to evaluate their situation and determine whether or not they want

to bring players in. Dalvin Cook, I'd assume, is going to be on a team by the time teams open training camp. He may not have that lucrative deal, though, that he's looking for. In my opinion, judging on the market, you're probably going to see him settle for closer to $7 or $8 million, maybe even $6 million. I don't think he'll go any lower than that, but I don't think he's going to get the $10 that he's looking for. That is the ceiling price, and that price is going to come down. The more it comes down, the more it gets lowered, the more I can see the Patriots maybe dipping their toe into the Dalvin Cook market. That's going to be something to take a look at, folks, and one of the reasons why you should not completely close the door to it. That being said, as the price does come down, you also have to remember

that the Patriots are not going to be the only team in the mix for his services. We know he has interest in the Miami Dolphins. That's his hometown. Really a good fit. I mean, you talk about logistical fit. Mike McDaniel's offense is exactly what Dalvin Cook can utilize to really thrive and really be a primary force in that offense. And you've already got some amazing dynamic players in that offense as it is. The Buffalo Bills are kind of on the skirt. Some people say they have interest. Others say they don't.

But let's not forget that his younger brother, James, is running in Buffalo. Having that combination in the backfield between Dalvin and James might be a little too good for the Bills to lay off. There's a team to keep an eye on. I wouldn't worry about them just yet, but they're kind of lurking in the back doors, so don't be a bit surprised if that price lowers to see the Buffalo Bills jump back in. Even over the weekend, we're starting to hear noise that the New York Jets may want to get involved in the Dalvin Cook sweepstakes.

You don't bring Aaron Rodgers in, folks, to tread water. The Jets are serious about contending. Whether or not they do it do it well we'll see what happens on the field but they're serious about wanting to contend this year and Dalvin Cook would definitely send a big-time message not only to that fan base but also to the rest of the teams in the AFC and Cook has this on his mind he knows that he's being essentially shopped to every team in the AFC East. And he mentioned them all by name over the weekend. He made a recent appearance on a SiriusXM NFL radio show and said, quote, a lot of people got me going back home to Miami.

A lot of people got me going to the Jets. It's all over the place right now. But what's going to be important for me is I just want to go to that right situation and helping someone turn the page. What team really needs a little bit of a kick right now? What team may be just a page turn away from getting back into prominence? Yeah, it's better, folks. Another quote.

I want to go and be the piece that can just help someone win and get someone over the hump and whatever that situation comes with. If it comes with me taking less reps, but me being in the perfect situation to hold up that trophy, I don't mind. Yeah, Dalvin is looking for a trophy. There's no question about it. Whether or not you believe that takes New England out of the running, well, I think it's a valid argument either way. Every time you have Bill Belichick out there stalking the sidelines, you have to think the Patriots are going to be in contention. Belichick knows winning, and he knows how to win, and he knows how to get the most out of his players. Does Dalvin Cook believe that? Well, if he does, he might find himself in a good situation here in New England. On the field,

he's still one of the best in the business. So if the Patriots are deciding to bring him in, definitely not going to sacrifice quality. This past season with the Vikings, he rushed for 1,173 yards, 8 rushing touchdowns, caught 39 passes for 295 receiving yards, and a pair of receiving touchdowns. He's still good in the postseason, too, folks. During the wildcard matchup against the New York Giants, 15 carries for 60 rushing yards, six receptions for 10 yards. Even though the Vikings lost the game 24 to 31, it's still a situation where Dalvin Cook did his part. Now, his style does concern me if I'm a Patriots fan just a little bit. He's a lot more conducive to the outside zone. That's something the Patriots had a lot of trouble with last year. I don't think Bill O'Brien is eager to go back there but he would be a clear number one a option alongside Ramondre Stevenson

and you heard Dalvin delve into that a little bit and saying maybe I saying maybe I have to take less reps if he has to take a little bit of a backseat to Ramondre I don't see that being a problem and I think Dalvin has enough respect for Ramondre Stevenson to know that this would be a pretty good one-two punch at the running game for New England. Now, there's also the health side of this as well. Dalvin just underwent off-season surgery to correct a chronic shoulder problem. And even though this has been a lingering problem for him, all indications are that in 2023, he's going to be ready to go back at it and be a difference maker on the field and fully healthy for the first time in quite some time.

So this could be a situation where whoever gets Dalvin Cook might be in the driver's seat for the AFC East. As a matter of fact, my friend and colleague Mike Fisher of SI Fan Nation called it a fault in terms of who wins the AFC East. I think that's pretty accurate, folks. Dalvin Cook may have a big-time impact on what the fate of the New England Patriots is going to be, as well as the Bills, the Jets, and the Dolphins. A lot of AFC East talk coming up. Even if he doesn't end up with any of those teams, it's still going to have a ripple effect. And whether the Patriots secure Dalvin or not,

they're still going to have some formidable weapons out there on offense but what does that say about players that either might be brought in or might not be brought in well folks Dalvin Cook is a hot topic but there are a lot of hot topics to discuss today here on Mailbag Monday and in just a moment the monster master of disaster himself the legendary Thomas Murphy is going to join me as we dive into that mailbag. And we're going to talk Dalvin Cook. We're going to talk Byron Pringle. We're going to talk Kenyon Drake.

Oh yeah. All that and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first folks, today's episode is brought to you by our good friends over at FanDuel Sportsbook. Baseball season is in full swing, and there's no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Because right now, new customers get

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That's right. It's hashtag Locked on Murph Monday. It is also Mailbag Monday. And we are honored and humbled to welcome in our good friend, the Green King himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com. Thank you for coming to me in friendship today, Don Murph, and helping me out with this robust Black Don Patriots mailbag this week. Happy to be here, man.

It's always a great time when we bust out the mailbag, Michael. Let's get into it. Absolutely. Let's get right into it. But before we delve into that mailbag, Murph, there was a big piece of news over the weekend. I opened the show today talking a little bit about Dalvin Cook and the possibilities of him ending up in a Patriots uniform.

Yeah, there's all types of social media likes going on out there. Michael Lombardi is wailing in on the subject. There's a lot. There's a lot going on. I've been very forthcoming about my thoughts, but I wanted to get your take on this before we dip into the mailbag Murph. What are your thoughts on Dalvin Cook potentially finding his way into New England? Possible, probable, not probable, not likely, not good.

What are your thoughts? Not happening. How about that? Not, not happening. Dalvin Cook wants to get paid and he's going to get paid. You know, we've talked about this at length with, with other players at other positions and, and put it this way. You have Ramondre Stevenson. Okay. It's nice to have a backup and give him a blow, but are you going to pay $6 million a year or $5 million a year to Dalvin cook to come in here and be Ramondre's backup.

We're talking about a guy that's going to see the field for 15 plays, maybe get six touches out of it. Five, six million dollars. No, I'm not doing it. No, I'm not. You would have to overpay to bring him in here, and he's redundant. Two, he doesn't fit into the scheme that we seem to be getting back to. All right. Dalvin Cook is is an outside. So you want to keep you folks.

You want you want to keep that outside zone rush thing happening last that we had last year. OK, sure. But that's that's not what we're doing now. We're going to get downhill. We're going to have guards pulling and we're going to, you know, be going up. No, that is not Dalvin Cook's game. Dalvin Cook's game is an outside zone rush type game. That's the system that he grew up in. That's why you're hearing about it. I mean, if you want to send him to San Francisco, that's a perfect spot for him. You know, if he's going to be down there in Miami, that's another good spot for him.

I hate admitting that. But those San Francisco type guys, the system that he's leaving in Minnesota is not the system that's going to be run here this year, in my opinion. I don't think that's going to happen. So no, I don't think he fits here. I don't think the money fits here. I think he's going to find more cash on the market somewhere else. Like I said, though, I mean, he's a great player. Don't get me wrong. And I love talent. And if for some reason we didn't have Ramondre, then I'd be all for bringing him in.

I'm not sure what your take was on it, Michael, but mine is no, no thank you. Great guy, great ball player, just not a real fit here in any way, shape, or form. We talk about getting a receiving back because, you know, Ramondre is not the prototypical receiver, but I think he's actually better than Dalvin Cook as a receiving back. Dalvin Cook can go out there and catch you a screen pass, but he's not getting out into space and doing a lot. I haven't seen him do a lot.

Granted, I am not tuned into every single play that the Vikings have run over the years, but it just doesn't seem to be his game. Yeah, I agree with you. I'm glad that you mentioned screen pass. I kind of took the words right out of my mouth there from earlier on in the segment, saying that's essentially his game. You know, he's a change of pace back. He'll catch a screen, go a long way on it,

but he's not going to get into the open field and create the way Ramondre is. And we've heard all different types of figures that are rolling around. You mentioned the $5 million to $6 million. That seems to be the consensus on what he may get. But Dalvin still believes that he's worth that 10 million that he wanted from the vikings that they weren't willing to pony up so if there's a compromise to be made there then you're looking at the patriots going into another stratosphere when it comes to contracts when it comes to available money right take that money and spend it on a wide receiver

that you guys are all one and that does lead me quite nicely into opening up this week's mailbag Murph because our good friend who absolutely is craving that one offensive piece that's going to put this team over the top yeah folks how could we possibly use this Monday mailbag without a without an offering from our good friend LJ and you know what murph i'll just bring it up right here lj wants to know at show underscore one on twitter besides the d hop and cook rumors which i doubt either will happen i'm a little more optimistic on d hop than dalvin cook murph and i are probably about equal when it comes to dalvin but d hop i think we differ just a little bit if you caught the weekend show if not folks definitely catch it all you everydayers know what we're talking about out there.

Is there a player that you think the Patriots could target for one of the offensive skill positions that could help the Pats offense by giving Jones a legitimate weapon? Good question, LJ. As always, looking for some offensive firepower as billy rosewood told taggart and beverly hills cop 2 you can never have enough firepower serge when you look at this team murph and you look at what they've got if d hop and dalvin are not coming into this environment is there a player out there right now to be had that can come in and help put this offense i don't want to say over the top but in the discussion with a Miami or a New York or a Buffalo. At running back, you know, we could go Leonard Fournette could be a guy that

would come in here and do something. But I mean, do you really want to bring in, it's the same argument that we just had before. You know, at running back, it's the same argument that we just had before. At running back, he's not bringing you anything that Ty Montgomery isn't going to do. No, knock on wood, if the kid stays healthy. At wide receiver, how about T.Y. Hilton? I mean, there are folks out there, T.Y. Hilton? You know, I mean, there are folks out there, you know, T.Y. Hilton, my boy, Byron Pringle, who just can't seem to, you know, to, to get anywhere that I've been talking about forever. You know, I wouldn't mind seeing Byron Pringle in here, but you were talking about X

receivers. We're talking about guys on the outside. Those are two names that come to mind. J.D. McKissick. How about McKissick out there in Seattle? He only got into eight games last year, but usually he's doing well. He's somebody that can catch the ball out of the backfield a tad bit. There's another name. It's just, you know, right now it's almost like you're waiting for cutdowns to see who gets, you know, just doesn't fit in with somebody else and might fit in here. Bringing any of these guys in, even the second-tier guys right now, is going to take away from, from anybody having

a breakout second year, man. I really need the slim Reaper to have a breakout second year. I really need, you know, we really need to see what we're going to get out of time Montgomery this year. Again, knock on wood. Um, you know, is Pierre strong? What, what's he going to bring to the table this season? We're still not sure. And I don't know if I want any of these guys. They're just not upper echelon, push you over the top and get you to the Super Bowl kind of individuals. Go back and say that Cook would be a fantastic addition, and he would be. But he's not going to get used unless Romandre Knockwood goes down. Yeah, he's not going to get used unless remandre knockwood goes down

yeah he's not going to get used that way essentially right you're not going to really see the true dalvin so he's a one cut right he's a one cut back and you know go and hit it and it's beautiful to watch when it's working and he's healthy but he's somebody that is going to demand 20 to 22 touches a game so you can get that. Because while you're looking at his 4.0 or 4.5 average, it took him 20, you know, it took him 20 attempts to get there. Because there was a break off for 22 yards and another break off for 18 yards. These guys need to get the work in and he's not going to get it here. Yeah, I'm glad that you mentioned guys like T.Y. Hilton and Byron Pringle. Pringle was someone I kind of figured you'd bring up.

You've brought him up several times here on these airwaves. I got a fever. No, and you know what? I really, I do kind of, I see the fit. I think it's a good one. I think that T.Y. could come in here and be a pretty good fit. Did a great job with the Cowboys last year. They were very happy with his production.

He had a nice little relationship budding there with Dak Prescott down there. So there is still something left in the tank. These are veterans, guys that can come in, give you solid production. They're not going to be your number one, like you said. They're not going to take the top off the defense, but they're going to give you that element, that type of player that can fit in and adapt to the environment. One guy's name who's come up a couple of times in my Locked On Patriots Twitter DMs, and

I've heard this elsewhere as well. It's not just unique to Locked On Patriots listeners or some listeners. And I wanted to really, this is going to surprise you, but LJ's question was, who could they bring in? This one, my example today is going to be someone I don't believe the Patriots will bring in at all. And that is Kenny Galladay, who is currently a wide receiver, formerly of the New York Giants, formerly of the Detroit Lions. Look, I know in 2019, there was a breakout season for Kenny and a lot of people looked at this as well. He could be the next big thing. The 75 yard touchdown,

1190 receiving yards, 11 receiving touchdowns. You know, he led the league in receiving touchdowns in 2019. So all of a sudden people are looking at him as the next big thing. Giants give him a monster contract and it has just gone all downhill, you know, from there without any question.

2021, he had zero touchdowns. Last year, only one. A lot of drop issues. Isaiah Hodgins, Marcus Johnson, flips him on the depth chart. And most people are looking at the contract that he signed in New York as being one of the worst contract signings in the last 10 years. Four years, $72 million committed to Kenny.

And I think the Giants would love to have that one back. Look, I know there are reclamation projects out there, folks, and I know sometimes a change in scenery can mean the world to a player, and it can rejuvenate a little bit of what he's got left in the tank. I'm not sure how much left there is here with Kenny. There's a reason why he's still out there on the open market. The drops are a huge concern to me bill belichick bill o'brien have a tension they have a an obsession with securing the football nikhil harry had difficulty securing the football

and keeping his you know situation straight i think the patriots if they were going to go with someone like kenny exactly if they were going to go with someone like Kenny, exactly, if they were going to go with someone like Kenny, I think that, you know, the Nikhil would still be here. I just don't see this one happening, folks. If you're thinking Kenny Galladay out there on the open market can come in here and be a game-breaking wide receiver, and we're going to get the 2019 version of Kenny Galladay, I don't know what to tell you.

I don't think that version exists any longer, and I don't think the Patriots want to touch this. Kenny galladay got fired from mcdonald's for putting too many patties on the floor that's how many drops he's that's how long he's been dropping things no i don't want kenny galladay here no thank you no no way no how yeah i mean i generally try not to debunk a listener or anything like that because really i mean when you think about it and you know i mean there's a lot to consider when it comes to wide receivers and whatnot but if there is a team out there willing to take on a reclamation project for kenny and it very well may be and he may end up having a decent career after this little hiccup in new york yep new england is just not the place

to do it the drops are too big of a concern um and i think the attitude is too big of a concern for the patriots to come in and say we're going to be able to write this uh they've got enough going on right now in the off-field department that i don't think they want a reclamation project that's going to require the type of attention he's going to need so that's one name i don't look more like the aberration than the norm i'm sorry to step on you but it really does okay yeah i think so in a lot of regards so bottom line lj uh you know murph gave you a few names out there that might be a possibility i know there are still some guys out there that are on the uh the open market when it comes to receivers i know lj loves his receivers julio jones is still out there jarvis landry sammy watkins and these guys

are past their prime but they're still veteran presences that could give you solid production we hope solid production uh not sure if the patriots would take a flyer on any of these guys cody hollister free agents cody hollister out there as well former patriots so right you know i mean you look at these opportunities that are out there for players to come in and be contributors. Yeah. I think if you're looking for a contributor, the Patriots do have several options that can come out there. But if you're looking for a game breaker, Murph hinted at it earlier, there's really only one left on that market. Jarvis Landry's still out there? Yeah. Jarvis is still out there. He's still out there.

You know, maybe, maybe there. Anybody but, you know, Galladay. Oh yeah. So, so we'll see what happens folks. Uh, it's going to be interesting as the Patriots inch closer and closer to training camp that is set to begin on Wednesday, July 26th. Can't wait. Can't believe it. Uh, going to be fun. Uh, we get to check out that new lighthouse, that big scoreboard up there. Unbelievable. my God. You see that thing? Unbelievable. Yeah. I think anybody that saw that over the weekend. Bigger than my high school. Yeah, it really, really is amazing to see.

And it's really going to be fun to watch what that scoreboard, what that facade now does to the sound in Gillette Stadium. That, to me, is something I'm looking forward to. I have friends who have been to a couple of concerts up at Foxborough, and they say that the noise is going to be unreal with the way it reverberates off the iron scoreboard. Oh, my God. It's about time. Make Gillette loud again, Murph.

That's what we're all about. So, folks, we always appreciate you sending in your feedback, your questions here on Locked On Patriots. Always a tip of the cap and a nod to the gods to LJ. You define the word every day, my friend. We love you and thank you for all of your support. And thanks for a great question. And giving Murph and I an opportunity to kind of, you know,

banter back and forth a little bit. We don't get that chance all that often, but we're not done yet, Murph, because another longtime supporter, another everyday or all-star here on Locked On Patriots had another great question over the weekend in that if the Patriots do decide that Ramondre does need some help, Where might they go and who might they be considering who's not named Dalvin Cook? Well, Andrew Carraway at Carraway6 on Twitter had a very interesting name to drop. Murph and I have discussed that name and more when this episode of the Locked

On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Don't forget, we are a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And don't forget, all week long here on Locked On Patriots, we're going to be breaking down the MVPs, potential MVPs for your New England Patriots.

We're talking offense, defense, special teams, who has the chance for a big-time standout year in New England Patriots. We're talking offense, defense, special teams. Who has the chance for a big-time standout year in New England this year? We're going to be covering all that and more. Stay tuned. Locked on Patriots is going to be a lot of fun this week, and we hope you all decide to come along for the ride. But today, we're kicking off the week in style, as we always do, with the legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports.

And Murph, in the previous segment Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports. And Murph, in the previous segment, we talked some Dalvin Cook. We talked some Kenny Galladay. We talked a little Byron Pringle. We even threw in, you know, a little Jarvis Landry just for a little icing on top of the cake. But I think we're all in agreement that the Patriots running back situation is at least something that's going to catch eyes during training camp, especially after the release of James Robinson. Ramondre is fantastic, but he's also not bionic. And we have to understand that he's going to need some help from some of these guys

on this roster in order to help spell some of the workload that was put on him last year. Damian Harris is not walking through that door, folks. He's in Buffalo. When you look at Pierre Strong, Kevin Harris, these guys are young, they're promising, but are they capable of carrying that load? A lot of people seem to think the Patriots need one more veteran presence in this running back core, other than Ty Montgomery,

that's going to be able to come in and give you what you need. I've been a big proponent of Ty. I think he may be enough, but playing devil's advocate for a moment, I'm going to bring in a question from our good friend, one of the true greats on here. And really, I think absolutely. Andrew is one of the better analysts out there anywhere. If you don't know this name, folks, definitely check it out because he is tremendous a great twitter follow by the way highly recommend it our good friend andrew caraway at caraway six on twitter and he says i keep seeing running back being a position that needs more more proven depth i wish damien could have been here and re-signed but that ship has sailed how about another former crimson tide running back kenyan

drake murph he is a good threat from the backfield that can run between the tackles and this is interesting uh because when you look at kenyan drake obviously you're looking at a player that is probably past his prime years he had some pretty good years in miami 2019 between miami and arizona combined for eight touchdowns then in 2020 scored 10 with the uh the arizona cardinals so there's prowess there there's something to be had daniel drake can be a runner when he needs to be last couple of years whether it be las vegas or baltimore we've seen that production tail off a little bit what are your thoughts on drake coming in here We know the Alabama connection is always strong, but he's a few years removed from Alabama.

What do you think of this and the possibility of Kenyon Drake coming in as a veteran running back for this team? Well, well, first of all, you know, nothing like running home to Georgia for some, you know, Drake grew up in Georgia. He went to Bama, but he grew up in Georgia. Nothing like running home to Jordan to Bama, but he grew up in Georgia. Nothing like running home to mama there, but I wouldn't mind it. He would probably come in here and contribute. Yeah, he's another veteran that would be in that room that there just doesn't seem to be a lot of right now.

So no, I don't have an issue with bringing in a Kenyon Drake. It's, you know, but again, it's just like who's he taking snaps away from? I want to see what Pierre Strong is doing. I want to see what Ty Montgomery can do. I want to see Kevin Harris, you know. I mean, Ricochet Rabbit is still back there, J.J. Taylor. You know, these are all guys that have serious upside. How much more upside does Kenyon Drake

have right now? What is he really bringing to the room besides that veteran leadership? You look up his stats and they're still really good. He's still averaging 4.4 yards a carry. You average 4.5 for his career. But like I said, are you going to bring him in to be the goal down the goal line back? Is that what you're going to do? I don't know. It's, I don't think as little of this running back room as everybody else, but I do, I do agree with the openness statement and it would have been better to bring junior back than to let them go to Buffalo. Yeah. I mean, I think we're all going to be sad to see Damian go. Damian was one of those players that,

speaking from someone who covers the team, as you do as well, Murph, he was always the happiest guy in the room, or at least one of them. And that type of positivity was just... Nothing got the kid down. It did. It just really brimmed from everything that he did, and it always made the mood in the room much lighter. And it made it, I think, bearable for a lot of difficult situations when the Patriots were either losing or they were having difficulties. Damian was always that guy that kind of lifted everybody up and picked everybody up.

So they're going to miss that first off right off the bat. But you're still missing a great deal of production on the ground. This kid was someone that could give you early down prowess. He could receive out of the backfield. It wasn't his specialty. I do think Ramondre does have the advantage over him in that area. But these two are a very nice complementary one-two punch. I'm very interested to see if the prowess that Ty Montgomery showed in the early part

of the offseason program and in any camp carries over into training camp. He had a very impressive training camp last year before he was injured. And unfortunately, 21 snaps into the season. Montgomery is on injured reserve and never played another snap for the Patriots this season. There's a reason why I think they retained him. And there's a reason why I think that they're featuring him or at least trying to feature him in this in this training camp as well, because they see something there. But he's not an early down back. I've mentioned this several times.

That does mean that either Pierre Strong or Kevin Harris is going to have to step up. Strong to me is the most logical fit because Kevin Harris, I think, is that strength, goal line type, you know, rusher that you need that, you know, can get you a few ground and pound yards in the red zone to push you over the edge. That's always a good trait to have if you're that type of. Yeah, he is. He absolutely is. And, you know, the center of gravity definitely is going to help him in terms of being brought down. Strong is interesting to me.

Do you think he has what it takes to be that early down, you know, weapon that can really get the ball and then take it a few yards? He's got the speed without any question. I do. And he definitely has the speed. You know, if he gets to the second level, the third level is, you know, just a gear away. And I think that he's one of those guys that is going to be able to do that.

And this season, you folks out there at Patriots Nation are in for a treat. I wanted to see more of him last year. We didn't get it. You're definitely going to get it this year. And adding anybody to this room is just going to stunt that. Yeah, absolutely, without any question. And, you know, to answer Andrew's question from earlier yeah drake i mean i think that there could be an opportunity for him to uh you know to to come in here and actually be

a pretty good fit i mean there's there's no question about it he showed flashes last year with the ravens he can still do it go back to week nine against the new orleans saints 93 rushing yards two rushing touchdowns in that victory that's the type of Kenyon Drake that you can count on if Vermondre needs a little bit of a break he can definitely do it and look he's done it in the division before we mentioned the 2018 season run uh you know ran for 535 yards that year 955 was his top that was his pinnacle in 2020 right the Arizona Cardinals that's where you really saw kenny and drake come alive with 10 touchdowns he was averaging 15 point yards uh you know per carry

and he's only a couple of years removed from that 867 career attempts he's got four fumbles i'm sorry three even even better even better absolutely and uh and yeah i mean ball security is paramount when it comes to we've seen more running backs, more, you know, players fall into disrepair with Bill Belichick because of ball security issues. You're not going to get that with Kenyon Drake. And Andrew was absolutely right. He can run between the tackles. That's something you absolutely love to see. So, yeah, I would dig it.

He could come in here on a deal that Bill could live with. People are definitely not busting his door down. And, yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing it. It's just the fact that, you know, it's not borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, but it's in, you know, Paul's over there ripping Peter off. And the other thing to consider, too, folks, is when you do bring in players like this and this goes for deandre hopkins this goes for dalvin cook this goes for kenny and drake any of the

players we've mentioned today it takes a roster spot away from someone else so where are you like me like murph said where are you borrowing from to beef up the running back core if you think four running backs is going to be more than fine for you to be able to operate during the season, are you taking that away from retaining the services of a 10th offensive lineman or a ninth offensive lineman? Are you taking it away from the wide receivers? Maybe you want a six-man wide receiver core or a five-man. All of a sudden, you bring these guys in and it's not possible anymore. So those are big questions and big concerns for the Patriots, and they will have those ironed out by the time they're ready to set their 53-man roster. You can put a Taiwan Montgomery up out wide.

You can put them in the slot. And that's another reason that I can't wait to see this kid in a couple of weeks. I really can't. It was a treat last year. We all sat there and saw the ice cream in front of us, and then the injury auntie just grabbed it and took it away, said no, after dinner. Yeah, he was well on his way to becoming really, I think, the camp standout, the camp all-star after Trey Nixon flashed a little bit in minicamp,

and you're starting to see that. But all of a sudden, Ty Montgomery really started to come on, and he made a huge push for a lot of respect, and he gained it in a lot of circles. And that's carried over this year. A lot of the coaches that were on this team last year, a lot of members of the media and whatnot, when you hear them speak about Ty Montgomery,

speak about him in a way that is a little different than you hear others speak about him. They think they know what they have in this kid, and it's going to be interesting to see, and it's going to be a lot of fun to see without any question. Andrew, what can we say? A tip of the cap, a nod to the gods. As always, thank you so much for the

great question. LJ, thank you for the question as well, and thank you all for the great questions. We received a lot of Dalvin Cook questions this time around. Because it's the story of the day, we definitely wanted to incorporate that, so anyone who sent in a question on that subject, plus DeAndre Hopkins, Jack Jones,

we thank you all for making Locked On Patriots a part of your Patriots coverage and for interacting with us. It's our favorite part of being a part of your world and a part of your Patriots coverage. So on behalf of the great Conor Murphy Fisto himself and me, we definitely appreciate all of your support, but I always appreciate you done Murph,

because you come on here. You're always willing to take the handoff and you knock it out of the park with wisdom and counsel. Every time you do before I let you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, where they can interact with you and what you have this week coming from the great pen,

the great voice of Thomas Murph. Well, you know, I, I'd like to say I have a lot on the burner this week, but I really don't. I keep feeling like I'm writing the same article over and over again about the Red Sox and, and, but I'll have some nice things to say. You can check that out over at etgsports.com.

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