Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: DeAndre Hopkins Rumors, No More No-Trade? -- 2022 Draft Memories with Ben Lepper

Episode Date: February 16, 2023

While the chances of Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins becoming a member of the New England Patriots may be remote, at best, they may be a bit better. Hopkins' 2022 PED suspension voided his no-trade clause. As a result, Hopkins can no-longer veto a trade to New England, which would reunite him offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. Host Mike D'Abate provides his thoughts on the Hopkins rumors and what it means for the Patriots. Mike also welcomes Ben Lepper, who was chosen as the Patriots special guest announcer for the team's second-round draft pick in 2022. Ben reveals his memories of meeting Robert Kraft, a video call with Mac Jones and standing at the podium at the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas. He and Mike also discuss the current state of the Patriots.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.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at Betterhelp.com/LockedOn and get on your way to being your best self.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL 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

DeAndre Hopkins becoming a Wingland Patriot may be a long shot, but the road to get there may have gotten a little bit easier. 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, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage

and your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, so smash that subscribe button on YouTube and download, subscribe to, and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your audio podcasts. Today's episode brought to you by our good friends over at FanDuel. FanDuel is America's number one sports book. So join FanDuel today at FanDuel.com slash Locked On.

Make every moment more with FanDuel. Patriots fans, thanks once again for taking time out of your day to make Locked On Patriots Make every moment more with FanDuel. D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Lockdown Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Pats fans, we have a very special guest coming up here today on Lockdown Patriots, and we'll get to that in just a moment. But first, for all of you Patriots fans holding out hope that DeAndre Hopkins may find his way to Foxborough, well, you might have gotten some good news hope that DeAndre Hopkins may find his way to Foxborough, well, you might have gotten some good news today because DeAndre Hopkins may not be keen on

working with Bill O'Brien again, but he can no longer veto a theoretical trade to Billy O'Brien's new team, which just happens to be your New England Patriots. That's right. It was known that DeAndre did have a no-trade clause in his contract, but that was voided by the six-game performance-enhancing drug suspension that he received last offseason. Credit to NFL agent-turned-CBS sports analyst Joel Corey for breaking this news on Thursday. This means that if the Patriots want to trade for Hopkins and reunite him with Bill O'Brien, things may have gotten a little bit easier. Arizona no longer needs his approval to make that deal. Now that's an important detail here because Hopkins' less than rosy relationship with Bill O'Brien has been well documented during

the time that they spent together with the Houston Texans. That was viewed as a pretty substantial sticking point, a potential sticking point, when it came to a deal getting done between both sides. Some will tell you that O'Brien ran Hopkins out of town. These two never want to work together again. There might be some fire to that smoke. There's no question about it. But others believe that the storyline might be a little overblown. Right now, it's not even clear whether or not these two sides are even

willing to work together again. The Patriots have not given any overt type of indication that they're willing to trade for him. Hopkins really hasn't tipped his hand as to whether or not he would be willing to go to New England. But my colleague over at Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer, recently said Hopkins landing in New England would be a pretty major surprise, but I don't think this is something that can be easily dismissed by either side, and let me tell you what I mean by that. These two, meaning Hopkins and O'Brien, they've worked together, and they've been pretty successful together. In their six seasons playing together in Houston, DeAndre had some of his best seasons as a pro. 1,100 yards were topped five times during that span.

He surpassed 100 receptions four times. And he never finished with fewer than 950 receiving yards. That's with receiving, or I should say catching passes, from quarterbacks like Ryan Fitzpatrick who is a stud in his own right I always liked Ryan Brian Hoyer we got a soft spot for Brian Hoyer here in New England but got other guys like Ryan Mallett we know him from his time here in New England Brock Osweiler Tom Savage TJ Yates we're not talking perennial pro bowlers here folks yes Deshaun Watson came in but didn't really emerge until 2018. That means that for the most part, DeAndre Hopkins was making also-ran quarterbacks look

pretty good. I have a sneaking suspicion he would be pretty happy to have Mac Jones throwing him passes. And let's not forget, I think Mac would love having a receiver with the capabilities of DeAndre Hopkins on his team. So, folks, it may be a long shot, but and I'll be honest, I think this is unlikely. I will put that right out there. But stranger things have happened. And the no trade clause becoming a non-factor here makes this a bit easier.

So I caution you to keep a sharp eye on this one, and we'll continue to bring you the very latest when it comes to the developments on DeAndre Hopkins and his potential of being a Patriot right here on Locked on Patriots. But as I alluded to earlier, today is a special day here on Locked on Patriots, a special guest for us today. And as the draft approaches,

we all do a lot of looking forward. What are the Patriots going to do? Who are they going to draft? Who are the new Pats going to be? But I find myself also looking back a little bit too. And as I did, the stars kind of aligned for me to host a young man here on Lockdown Patriots today that captured our hearts during last year's draft when he emphatically announced the Patriots pick of Tyquan Thornton in the second round. Ben Lepper will join me here today in just a moment and on the surface Ben appears to be an average young man from New England. He is a native of Wellesley, Mass. Pretty accomplished amateur musician, humble, good-natured, always cheering on his beloved New England Patriots but sadly Ben has also been

battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia since 2019 and this was caused by an error in bone marrow which causes an influx of white blood cells his brave fight provided him with the opportunity for which most Patriots fans absolutely dream of and he was granted a wish by Make-A-Wish last year, which included the opportunity to tour Gillette Stadium, but it also included a lot more. He got a chance to participate in a video call with Mac Jones, and he essentially had the opportunity to be drafted by the New England Patriots. That was complete with being given a special jersey with his name, and it was given to him by none other than Patriots team owner was complete with being given a special jersey with his name, and it was given to him by none other than Patriots team owner and CEO Robert Kraft. A moment to remember for sure,

and it really did endear all of us here in Patriots Nation to Ben when he was selected as the announcer of the New England Patriots second round pick. That ended up going alongside Lawrence Guy, and Tyquan Thornton was the guy at the 50th pick in the second round pick that ended up going alongside Lawrence Guy and Tyquan Thornton was the guy at the 50th pick in the second round that Ben really just absolutely knocked out of the park. If you have an opportunity, I'm sure it's still up on YouTube. Definitely Google it, check it out. It was a fun time. It really was seeing Ben get a chance to enjoy that moment. And his story really touched me in a very deeply and profound way. So much so that I wrote about it for Sports Illustrated last year. And I'm proud to say that it formed a budding friendship.

I find myself in contact with Ben regularly to find out how he's doing. And he remains in contact with me as well. And just a very humble, very good young man. And I thought it would be fun today here on locked on patriots to revisit his story of going back into the draft his experience his experiences backstage experiences at the draft some of which you absolutely are going to love folks i guarantee it and he's also going to give us his takes on where the patriots are headed in 2023 so because of that brave and that positive attitude that he brings to the table, I think

he's going to bring some of that braveness, that positivity here to Lockdown Patriots today. So stay locked into Lockdown Patriots, folks, because in just a moment, Ben Lepper will join me here to regale us with some tales that I'm sure you are going to love. But first, folks, today's episode brought to you by our good friends at Built. And if you're looking for a delicious treat, but you don't want all of the fat and calories, then you've got to try a Built Bar. If you don't want a compromised taste, but you want to eat healthier, Built is the bar for you. You've got to try Built, folksilt is the bar for you. You gotta try Bilt, folks.

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That's right, folks. Head over to Walmart or Sam's Club today. If you're at Walmart, walk to the pharmacy section, grab yourself a load of Built Bars, a four-bar box of either cookies or cream, double chocolate, or coconut puffs, all of which are delicious, folks. But then you can also head over to Sam's club if you're in the area and grab a 13 bar box with our hit flavors brownie batter and churro believe me folks you can thank me later so don't delay do it today head over to walmart or sam's club or traditionally head over to built.com to get your next shipment of built bars can't do any better built.com Patriots fans my guest today captured the hearts of draft enthusiasts everywhere in 2022 when he enthusiastically announced the second round pick from the wingman Patriots Baylor wide receiver

Tyquan Thornton number number 50 overall, alongside Patriots 2021 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee Lawrence Guy. He is an inspiration to us all. I am thrilled to talk ball with him today. Ben Leppert joins me today on the pod. Welcome to Lockdown Patriots, Ben. Honored to be here, man. Thank you so much for having me.

Can't believe we're coming up on a year from that. It feels like it happened yesterday. It absolutely does. And I still remember hearing your inspirational story as told the patriots.com. It was my honor to be able to write a small piece on that sports illustrated last year. And just the way it all came together was truly a great story, a feel good story from start to finish. A lot of times stories like this have difficult roads that are taken, and I know your road has not been paved smoothly all throughout, but before we begin today, you know, I did open today's show by telling our listeners about your brave battle, and first and most importantly, I think before any logistics,

Patriots fans would all like to know. Ben, how are you feeling? How's everything going with you? I'm currently doing much better than I've been doing in the past couple of years. So the whole situation was the diagnosis was 2019. I think it got out in 2021 or something. Someone said it was 2021. It was actually 2019. So I'll put that to rest. So I actually finished treatment in 2021. And I'm a couple of years out now. In fact, a month from today is going to be really close to my four year diagnosis date. So they're waiting for the five year anniversary to even say anything of like cure. But right now I'm still in remission doing quite well. No cause for concern whatsoever. I just saw Dana Farber last month and they're not concerned.

So I shouldn't be concerned. Nobody else should be concerned unless there's something to be concerned about, which obviously I will post about that immediately. Right. That is great news. Great, great news. And definitely I give the tip of the cap here on Locked On Patriots on occasion to either an event or a point or a person that deserves that. You deserve that. And then some. And that is phenomenal news.

So we continue to send our best wishes, karma, prayers, no matter what you believe, folks. We're sending all the positivity to Ben and his continued recovery. And we're glad to hear that things are going well. And I think it only makes the story that we're going to tell today even more heartwarming, simply because I was so intrigued by your story last year in getting the chance to not only meet Mr. Kraft, but also FaceTime with Mac Jones. You get the opportunity to bring it all full circle this past training camp by posing for a picture with Taequann Thornton. You began his Patriots journey by announcing him to the podium. For those of you that don't know, Ben was the special guest of the New England Patriots last year in the cause,

you know, pick that was selected in Las Vegas. And, you know, Ben, I know it was just a tremendous opportunity. If you could just walk us through some of the feelings that you had as that was going on from start to finish, I know our listeners would really love to hear it. So we're going to start with the whole everything being announced to me at Gillette, or are we starting there, or are we starting at the draft? We can start wherever you want. You got the floor today, my friend. Let's start at Gillette.

This is lockdown for today, buddy. Let's start at Gillette for sure, because that's when people, like, figured out who I was at that point. Because before that, I had not really done much with Pat's social media, Pat's social team. Obviously, throughout treatment, I had met a bunch of the guys. I was at Pat's premiere in 2019. They actually brought me up on stage in 2019 because they were showing off what they did with Children's Hospital, where I was still a fairly frequent patriot. I mean, not patriot, resident. Sorry.

But basically, I was, you know, pretty much always in contact with them. Starting from my first visit in the hospital, I met Joe Andrews. And, you know, he, of course, battle lymphoma and he brought some Super Bowl rings. And that was my first experience of, you know, the England Patriots actually going back out into the community, giving back. Later on in different hospital stays, I met Joe Tooney came in for a day. Julian Edelman, who at the time I was obsessed with that man. And I still love him to death. He came and surprised me in my hospital room because I was actually too unwell to leave it. So that was that was a pretty cool experience. Him showing up just blew my mind.

And, you know, I met other guys that came in. Unfortunately, none of them are with the team anymore. But when they were here, Ryan Izzo, Shalit Calhoun, and Chase Winovich, I all had some dialogues with. They were all great guys. You also had everyone at the Pats premiere. I think, unfortunately, most everybody I spoke to has, you know, since moved on to different teams or retired. But that was just still a really cool experience.

I met Troy Brown as well. Troy Brown was there, and he came over and talked to my dad for a while. My dad freaked out. He's like, oh my God, that's Troy Brown. There's no way it's Troy Brown. He's like, he's talking to me like we're old friends. So my dad was like a kid in a candy shop at that experience. And that was um it was I went back to where I was originally during the whole cocktail hour and JC Jackson and Keon Cross and we're sitting next to each other on the couch that I was on like 20 minutes before and I was like JC Jackson because he had the 27 chain on he was like yeah JC and Casey and then I was just flustered I was like oh you guys are brothers and I was like I'm actually never gonna are brothers? And I was like, I'm actually never going to open my mouth again. I felt really bad about that one. I was like, oh, Keon, I'm terrible.

I'm awful. I'm awful. So it was like, yeah, all right. But I mean, everybody I met, great guy, great person. Josh McDaniels was the last person I spoke with. And he was actually hustling across the entire field to come say hi to me before I left. So I got a lot of respect from the organization from that year. And then what happened afterwards is I didn't see them for a while because of COVID. But then in 2021, I got a phone call in early April.

It was from my mom, like, hey, the Pats remember you. They want to give you a tour of Gillette. I was like, oh, OK, yeah, I'll happily go do that so I called out of classes because like this doesn't exactly happen to regular individuals on a regular basis I was like yeah they're like you know what I'm gonna go take a tour of Gillette I'm gonna skip school and then I'm that's all I'm expecting I'm expecting a tour of Gillette Stadium previously I was in contact with Make-A-Wish, but they didn't tell me anything. They were like, we hear you. We will try our best.

And then it turns out things went a little better than I thought behind the scenes because I showed up. And I'm sure you know Donna, right? Oh, absolutely. I love Donna. Donna is the first person I saw i was like oh my god it's been two years so donna is the first person i saw uh and so we basically just walked through the the the whole cubicle area and i was like they put an entire office building in a football stadium that's cool what and i'm just around, and we come to that room that's got, like,

the old jerseys of star players. There's Ty Law. There's Bledsoe. I believe Gino Capoletti's there. Brady, of course. Yeah. They got the one of the – I think it was the first Super Bowl ball. I'm not sure if it was, but I think – not Gascassi.

Vinatieri had something to do with that. I'd be surprised if he didn't. And then I walk into the Kraft Sports Foundation waiting area, and there's a camera crew. And I'm like, uh-oh. So something's about to happen. And I had a small inkling that Mr. Kraft would in fact come out, just because he always makes sure to see people who are hanging out. Like, he's just that kind of person. but i still had no idea what was actually happening so obviously mr craft comes out i'm blown away uh great handshake great guy this didn't make the video but he's telling me a lot about one of the first big donations he made was to dana farber for a blood center and i was like

i really respect you for that you know you've been helping so many people just because you're a nice person we all truly believe you're a good person and all he's ever done is try to make you know the entire area of new england a better place just through his actions and so i have a lot of respect for him made sure he knew that we opened the door to the uh the trophy room and the trophy room is incredible i'm sure everyone's seen photos of it, but it's just, it doesn't hold a candle to actually being there. And I remember someone trying to say, yeah, no, the Gronk dented trophy is not in that room. It's in the room.

The Gronk dented trophy is very much, in fact, in the room. And while we're walking over, Mr. Kraft's like, I heard you're a big draft guy. And I'm like, well, this is just small talk because the draft is in like three weeks it's like who do you want us to pick now he didn't listen to me obviously they didn't listen to me because i said sauce gardner and devin lloyd and they were both gone by the time we picked right uh and i still would have loved both of them as a patriot but cole strange was pretty darn good yeah um and then they whip out the jersey and I'm like, oh, so that's why I'm here. So that's what's going on. And then, you know, Make-A-Wish comes out.

Alex Francisco with the Patriots. Shout out Alex comes out. I think Tamara Brown was there as well. I'm not exactly sure if that was her name. But one of Alex's reporter friends was with her. And Alex was the one I chatted with mostly throughout the tour of Gillette that ensued. They interviewed me a bit.

I was like, is this actually happening? Like, did they actually pull this thing off? And I made it very clear. I asked for a second round pick for a couple reasons. One, I would take any pick I could. And two, because they already knew Sam Prince was going to do the first first rounder so i would happily take a second round pick 100 and i think you know day two in general just needs more love a lot of good guys come out of there yeah so we're walking around the stadium they bring mac jones in on facetime and i'm i'm blown away again because

like well this guy's in florida he's taking time out of his training to talk to me. And great guy over the phone. He sent me a signed jersey. It's hanging up in my house right now. I tried to get it framed. $800, not getting it framed. So, what? Like, I don't understand why it's so expensive. But, you know, Mac is a great dude.

And the fact that he's, you know, willing to take time out of his training schedule just to chat with me said a lot about him as a character and individual. Kept getting shown around the stadium. Checked out the locker room. I actually thought that was the coolest part of the tour just because I was blown away by the digital nameplates. I was like, this makes sense. Someone gets traded. Someone gets cut. Someone gets signed.

You just get thrown up there it's perfect exactly and uh i saw the film room as well which was i wasn't allowed to take pictures in there for some reason but i can describe it as just a smaller movie theater that has like a microsoft surface sort of telestrator actually as the television in that room so really just like you never think you're going to be touring these areas backstage and i i was blown away so i went back to school and i was in class when they dropped the video i was literally in class when uh my watch started buzzing and i was like they posted it didn't they so uh luckily my professor was an nfl fan and i told him what had happened so i think he didn't care that I pulled out my laptop and started responding.

Rest of the day, my phone did not stop exploding and it went that way for the rest of the week. Everyone was like, I know that kid. I live down the hall from that kid. I was I was just shocked, you know, how far that video got as quick as it did. And then so when it came time to head out to Vegas, luckily all my professors gave me the day off. They were like, I don't just excuse you from class. I encourage you to skip class today. And I was like, okay.

That's right. All right. I'll go. I'll go to Vegas. Whatever. New England priorities. That's it. New England priority for sure.

My French teacher literally said, as a Patriots fan, I endorse this. And then so we head out. We spend the day out in Vegas. We meet Sam. Shout out Sam Prince with the New York Giants. He's basically like their little social media boy at this point. I love that kid. He's all over the place.

And he's just as cool as he is in person as he is, you know, on video. We're hanging out. We meet Steve Buckheit with ESPN. Just another shout out. He's producing Sam's My Wish story. And Steve and I stay in contact. Just another great guy. Everybody I met out in Vegas was a great person. I should probably stop saying that because, I mean, everyone's just, you know, really happy to be there. I just found the whole atmosphere in Las Vegas during the draft incredible. You had fans from every single NFL team out there. And I was like, I was talking to Jets fans and that that's kind of sacrilegious, but they were chill, like chill Jets fans, chill Dolphins fans, really chill Bills fans for some reason, because I think they understand that I at least am okay with them being good

because they've sucked for so long. But you meet everybody out there, and it's incredible. And then obviously the first round happens. I'm just chilling in my seats with the Make-A-Wish team member who's flown out with us, Jamie. Sam does his draft pick. Everyone's in tears in my row with the make a wish you know team member who's flown out with us jamie uh sam does his draft pick everyone's in tears in my row including me i i think a shot of me crying did make his my wish i i really hope it didn't but i have a memory of that making it um but i'm just

we're all just so happy for the kid and the first round is just the most electric thing in person you uh my one gripe with it actually is they didn't announce trades like they announced the the team has traded this pick to the team but in the case of like the aj brown trade they just said tennessee is on the clock we had to go online to find out aj brown had been dealt on draft day and i was like well you could have you could have done what the nhl does and like ro like well you could have you could have done what the nhl does and like roger goodell could come out and announce the trade i don't know i i would have liked that i mean my phone was basically dead so i couldn't even figure it out uh so yeah

but i think we're all scrambling at that moment yeah yeah everyone was like what and i remember there were eagles fans over there like and they had every reason to be excited because aj brown's a stud yeah but obviously the first round first round ends really well um we we picked cole strange everyone's kind of like who and then he turns out to be really good so i'm like you can't ever judge a book by its cover i mean the kid can play i don't care where he went to school. I don't care who he is. If he can play, he can play. But my dad was telling me the whole day, Belichick's going to trade down and draft a guy you've never heard of. And that's exactly what he did.

So that was a – but overall, first day was electric. We didn't stay for the Weezer concert. We retired, and it was a big day coming up. So the second day i was literally on zoom calls all morning with media from you know boston i was on channel five i think cbs called me i think the channel seven called me everybody was on the phone with me at that point during the day and i was like i guess newsworthy. Like, I guess this is a big deal. It hadn't really set in yet.

Oh, it was. It hadn't really set in yet. And I mean, I'm looking on Twitter and people are like talking about this kid who's making the draft pick, like Evan Lazar is talking about it. Keegan Stifel is talking about it. I'm like, am I really that big of a deal? Guess so. So believe it or not, like at 4 p.m., I became over, like, come with nerves.

I was freaking out. Because it had really started to set in at that point. Like, I'm going to be on stage representing the Patriots. The entire NFL world is going to be watching me. I don't know if I'm going to be good enough. I didn't want to be made fun of for the rest of my life because I mispronounced the dude's name. And it was, it was, I mean, if there's one thing I could change about the whole experience is I would have told myself, shut up and you're going to enjoy it. Cause I was just, I was freaking out

for a good three hours. And I couldn't really enjoy a lot of the second round up before that because I was just sitting there like, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. It was terrifying. Yeah, those voices in your head, they can. They can really, really mess with you. Absolutely.

Yeah. Now it did help when everyone started making fun of the Vikings guy who went on for like three minutes and a producer literally came on stage like you need to say the name. So that that helped a lot because everyone was mocking the dude. Like there were laughs coming from the crowd like, dude, shut up. Like, I know you have some great stories. Can we talk about this later? Like we we're here for a reason and you're probably making espn hate you i would i would hustle um but then so it's at that point when they bring me backstage uh because i think the consensus around the nfl was that we

were going to trade up we were slated to go 54 we didn't know how much we were going to trade up but i think at around pick 40 we were like now might be a good good time right so we all went backstage at that point i'm expecting to be whisked away at any second because i thought they were gonna trade for like 43 44 because i always know they've done this every year they find a guy they like in a second they trade up to get them it happened with well didn't happen with duggar but i mean it happened with every second round pick in the past couple years like barmore we traded up like 20 picks to get that guy. So I'm just like, when's it going to happen?

I'm just going to chill. I'm just going to chill. I end up wandering around backstage and I just wander into the player green room. I was aware that they were taking me in there, but I literally just wandered in and like all the security people were like, who is this kid? And they handed me a I had a media pass. So obviously I was OK to be there. But I met a whole bunch of just incredible people in that back room. Tony Gonzalez was back there.

He was chatting up with Lawrence Guy, who I met for the first time, actually, in the green room. Cam Jordan and Eric Armstead. Eric Armstead, by the way, is like 6'10". The dude is a beast. He is. Big guy. Yeah, everybody was back there. And as I was walking out, Chase Claypool was trying to get into the – not Chase Claypool.

Chase Young. Chase Young is trying to get into the room. He's talking to the bounce and everything. I'm like, I would let that man in if I were you, because that's a scary guy. He's a scary dude. But I could tell he was a chill guy just by walking by him. I didn't bother him. He didn't seem like he didn't want to be bothered.

But he was trying to get into the room. And I think he eventually did. I do think he announced a pick, but I'm not sure which one. So then they moved me to another green room, and there's like a live feed in that room. So I'm literally just sitting and staring. And I'm like, well, John Mechie just went. That's who I wanted with the pick.

So that's not great. Houston. By the way, I'm really great to hear John Mechie's doing well. Complete tangent. But he had something very similar to what I had. And the fact that he's like still training that guy's incredible yeah because i i lost my ability to walk upstairs for a while i lost all my muscle because of chemotherapy so that dude that i think people aren't giving him

enough credit i think just him if he plans to play football later this year that's incredible yeah it really is it's an inspiring story without question. Yeah. And then I met a couple of NFL wide receivers, Chase Claypool walked in and then like immediately walked out. I don't know what, I don't know what was going on with him. I think, I think he might've been inebriated. There's a really good chance he was.

But Santana Moss came in and we had like a great discussion. He could tell I was nervous. So he showed me his card that they used. He announced a guy named Fedarian, Fedarian Mathis. I'm like, well, I'm fine. Like if he, if he did that fine, I'm all right. Santana Moss though, if I had to pick one player I met who surprised me the most and just how outgoing and kind they were, Santana Moss, I respect that guy a ton. And I mean, you don't usually see that from receivers because those are like the diva

types. Yeah. So a lot of respect for him, obviously. Troy Vincent was back there. My dad then let me know who Troy Vincent was. So because I don't remember the names from Deflategate. And then my dad was like, he's the Deflategate guy. I was like, oh, right. We got a no he was uh he was super chill about it i think everybody knows

they messed up uh and then it's like pick 49 has just happened and then producer literally runs into the room like they just traded like okay so now it's happening they finally traded um and then so they bring me into the final green room, and this is like the most impressive one yet. It's like it's got a buffet in there, and Roger Goodell's just chilling out. And I can't say enough good things about Mr. Goodell, honestly. He was such a great guy in person. He was, out of everybody I talked to, he was the one who calmed me down the most

because that guy has announced at least hundreds of draft picks. He's like the – he could write a book on it at this point. So he shows me – again, he shows me a previous card. He's like, that's what you do. You just say that name. You're going to be all right. You're going to do great. And then they bring in the card, and I look at the name, and I'm like, we drafted a receiver?

No way! So the minute I looked at the card for the first time, I was like, yeah, all right, we're good. We're going to be okay. Cause that that's when the nerves went away because I was like, they transitioned into excitement because now this guy is the newest member of our team. I got to give him a good welcome. Right. So Lawrence and I had on stage, they do their little interview with not interview, but introduction.

I do the pick. I don't hit the table. I'd like to make that very well known because Rich Eisen did say, I literally pounded the table. I did not pound the table. That is a rumor that has been going around. I've just been like, I did not pound the table. I hit my palm very loudly.

So the pick happens. I head backstage. I'm like almost in tears just because of that was what I was working for for so long. You know, it almost made me feel like I did have an end goal. Even going through chemo, I would be all right. And that's where I was meant to be at that moment. And that is exactly what you were meant to be.

And then my phone literally melted. Yeah, my phone melted. Of course. I kid you not. I was getting texts from people I haven't talked to in like months. Some girl I don't know literally filmed the draft video and sent it to me on Snap like, I got your recording just in case you didn't have one.

That is an amazing story. I also had a quick shout out practice squad player benton whitley uh with the kansas city chiefs i believe or the minnesota vike he was he was on like four teams this year but he reached out was like dude that was incredible uh you know a couple other football guys from my team reached out like dude that, that was outstanding. All my friends were just spamming me as fast as they could. My Instagram blew up. It all just started going insane. And I literally spent the next like hour like looking at the posts and everything. I was like, all right, well, this guy doesn't like me, but 40 million other people are cool with what I just did.

So I'll take it. I'll take it. As you should mean apparently i mean apparently people were upset with the pick why like they're actively trying to upgrade at positions where they're weak i i don't understand like oh we should have gotten this guy or this guy first of all george pickens is a head case in the nicest way possible he's insane and then you've got these other guys who are just unproven and they don't have the upside that i think taekwon does so obviously i think thornton was the best pick at 50 i think they found someone special there i'll talk more about him later for sure yeah i would definitely agree with you on taekwon having watched this kid up

and coming watching him in training camp was sad to see him get the uh the injury the the fractured clavicle but he's coming back strong look for a big year with him especially with billy o'brien at the hub we are going to talk a lot about the new england patriots and ben's take on what this team is going to look like coming up in 2023 but i want to thank you for taking the time to tell us that story from start to finish, Ben. Truly a remarkable story. You made all of us here in Patriots Nation proud with your pick by representing us with class and a lot of fortitude. And I, for one, am very grateful that you took the time to tell us that story here today. But Ben and I are not done yet, folks, because in just a moment, we're going to get Ben's take on the 2023 New England Patriots when this episode of the Locked on Patriots podcast continues.

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Make every moment more with FanDuel, official sportsbook partner of the NBA. Patriots fans, Ben Lepper joins me here today on Locked on Patriots, regaling us with a phenomenal story of his journey to being the Patriots picker last year for the NFL draft, and just a remarkable story from start to finish. Ben, you regaled us with that tale, and we're definitely going to take an awful lot away from that, but I know that you're an aspiring sports journalist. You're definitely keeping a close eye on what the new england patriots are doing on the field and it's been an interesting

off season for the patriots so far matt patricia joe judge relieved of their duties on the offensive coaching staff bringing in guys like billy o'brien um adrian clem coming in to coach the offensive line will lemming coming in uh doing a job now is going to be an offensive assistant we're almost sure that he's going to be the guy that's going to be coaching the tight ends here patriots have a good amount of cap space and they also have right now slated to have 11 draft picks when you look at the 2023 new england patriots ben i know eight nine is not the record everybody wanted from the Pats last year, but they were competing for a playoff spot right until the last game of the season. What are your thoughts on this upcoming season for the New England Patriots?

My thoughts are onwards and upwards. That's what I have to say. And I think I've never seen really any team make a pr announcement like they did back in january like we are looking for an offensive corner like oh great they listened like they know they know it wasn't great i think i think they have all the pieces right now and that's the problem because they could have won 12 games last year, but they keep just tripping over themselves at the very last minute. And that that's just that's just painful. It's painful ways to lose. I'd rather get blown out because at least we know we didn't have a chance to win the game. Like with that Raiders game, that Bengals game, I could I could name like so many more games last season.

They were like one play away from winning that game and making the playoffs, probably to get bounced pretty quickly. But playoffs is playoffs. Like you make the playoffs, you had a good season. I think the fact that Bill O'Brien is back, I'm seeing people like, oh, no, like it's better than what we had. And I think Bill O'Brien is still a good coach. He just wasn't a good GM out in Houston. That's what I think got him fired because he traded away his best players for pennies. I think Bill O'Brien is a great coach.

I think him having familiarity with the offense, I think him having familiarity with Belichick and just the organization in general, and as well as Mac Jones. Don't forget they spent some time together in Alabama, even though it was just a couple months. I think that's big. I think as well, the offensive line, Adrian Clem, great. Sucks that we lost Kaylee, but I'm sure we'll be okay at tight end.

I think as long as somebody gets the best out of our current tight ends, we don't need to start fishing for another one, because I still believe in John O'Smith and Hunter Henry. I think they're as somebody gets the best out of our current tight ends, we don't need to start fishing for another one because I still believe in John Smith and Hunter Henry. I think they're both great players. They just need to be used correctly. Right. And that, that's really what I have to say. Like use your guys correctly, not just on the field, but on the coaching staff. Like what is Joe judge doing on the offensive side of the ball? What is he doing there? We know how good he is at special teams.

Just put him back at special teams. If Joe Judge is your special teams coordinator, I don't think Naheem Hines runs two back on you in the last game of the year. No disrespect to Cam McCord or anything, but he's not Joe Judge. Joe Judge is excellent at what he does back there. So you put Joe Judge back on special teams. You put Matt Patricia, I don't even know where you put him. You just put special teams you put matt patricia i don't even know where you put him you just put him somewhere just keep him away from the offense because i don't want to watch that again you bring bill o'brien back you know bill o'brien can get the best out of his players and you the gerard mayo extension by the way that's huge i gerard everyone's saying gerard

mayo's the next head coach when belichick eventually hangs it up and i mean everyone's saying Gerard Mayo's the next head coach when Belichick eventually hangs it up and I mean everyone's like actually it's going to be Steve Belichick I'd be okay with Steve Belichick but as long as Gerard Mayo stays on the coaching staff for as long as he can and I think signing him to a long-term extension I think that that's just a sign of what's to come I think he's a great linebackers coach. Patriots linebackers have always been pretty solid. I think this is what you do to move forward from whatever happened last year. Yeah, without any question. And you mentioned Mayo. I'm so glad that you did because having someone like that that is universally respected and universally listened to in a locker room is such an underrated part of being an NFL

coach, especially a head coach. You have to find ways to bring players together. It's more than just logistical X's and O's on the field. And it's more about building camaraderie. It's finding a blend of both. And Mayo is someone that I think absolutely ticks all the boxes. So Ben, I think you're spot on. Your coaching analysis, I think, is absolutely where the Patriots would need to be. I love the addition of Bill O'Brien. I like you. Claire joined me here yesterday on the pod.

I know she's watching today. We both believe in Hunter Henry and John O'Smith coming back big with Bill O'Brien, especially in that type of an offense where he loves to utilize the 12-man. I think he's going to utilize those guys well. And, you know, there's always an outside chance that the Patriots add a deep threat I opened the show today by talking a little bit about how DeAndre Hopkins suspension last year voided his no trade clause I'm not saying it's going to happen folks but makes it a little bit easier for the Patriots to possibly facilitate that deal

don't forget Monty Austin Fort out there in Arizona. That could be something the Patriots could work on, but I like your enthusiasm. I like your optimism. And that's something, like I said, we all fell in love with last year, Ben, and I'm so glad to see you doing well. And I'm glad to see you giving excellent spot on analysis for the New England Patriots. This is not going to be the last time we have you here, my friend, you told your story, but we want to hear more about your, you know, take on the New England Patriots. This is not going to be the last time we have you here, my friend. You told your story, but we want to hear more about your take on the New England Patriots, especially as we get closer to draft time. I know you have your sharp eye focused on that. Before I let you go today, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, interact with you, some

budding sports media mogul-type things that you're doing right now. The floor is yours, my friend. Please let us know so that way everybody can follow you and reach out to you. And they can be as fortunate as I am to be able to talk ball with you. Of course, yeah. Let me just jump in on one thing you mentioned real quick. DeAndre Hopkins is not coming to the Patriots. He's not coming to the Patriots.

I would love it. You're killing me. You're killing me. But, I mean, you put Bill O'Brien and him on the same team again, it's not going to happen. I don you're killing me you're killing no i mean you put bill o'brien and him on the same team again it's not going to happen i don't i don't think it's volatile i think keenan allen is a much more likely option now you're speaking my language i covered keenan out in los angeles for a few years when i was cutting my journalistic teeth covering the uh the chargers yeah that's a guy i would love to see. One of the most gifted route runners I've ever covered, I've ever seen.

Keenan, I think, is an underrated potential target. So once again, Ben, you've definitely lent your wisdom and counsel. You've earned that spot. I agree with you. And I think you're right. I think DeAndre is a little bit of a stretch of the imagination, but stranger things have happened. We've got to hold on to the hope, Ben. You know that.

Indeed. So I'm currently, you can that indeed so i uh i'm currently you can find me on twitter at i'm cloud cage uh i produce music on the side so that's my music account uh having fun with that just going along with it but i'm also trying to get more into like sports media on twitter so i started a new twitter at leper sports i haven't tweeted anything yet but i'm hoping to get started with that soon-ish. Yeah, right there. There it is.

I'm just trying to have some fun with it, you know, because a lot of my sports tweets on my music account, just nobody cares. So I feel like if I get like a better audience who cares about sports, absolutely cares what I have to say, that's where you got to go. Because I think I'm going to start using that hopefully in the near future. It should be fun. And then of course, you can find me on Instagram. It's just my name. If you want to connect with me on LinkedIn, it's my name as

well. That's about it. That's where you can find me right now. That's where you can find what I'm up to. Absolutely, folks. I highly recommend following both of Ben's accounts on CloudCage. As an amateur drummer myself for the past 25 years that absolutely loves all types of music, check out what Ben's doing. He's doing some great stuff.

But if you're a sports fan, obviously you're tuning in to Lockdown Patriots. You're a Patriots fan. Check out at Leopard Sports. I'm a follower. You should be too. So definitely smash that follow button on Twitter. And Ben, once again, thank you so much for letting us know that not only that you're doing okay, most importantly, but also for giving us the sports insight and the insight

on your draft experience, start to finish. Truly a heartwarming story. And we look forward to having you back here again on Locked On Patriots very, very soon. In the meantime, folks, thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day.

Remember, Locked On Patriots, free and available on all platforms. So after you've followed both of Ben's Twitter accounts, make sure to smash the subscribe button to Locked On and download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots on your preferred podcast provider. On behalf of Ben Lepper, who has just absolutely stole the show today, folks, I'm Mike DeBate.

Continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you again tomorrow on Locked On Patriots.