Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots - DeVante Parker Pairing, Musing the Draft, Jordan Davis, Kaiir Elam and More — 4/4/22

Episode Date: April 5, 2022

In the aftermath of the New England Patriots trade for wide receiver DeVante Parker, the Pats’ needs in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft have changed. Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy of E2G Sports to discuss the Patriots Pairing with Parker, and provide their thoughts on four mock drafts submitted by our listeners. 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/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQ Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And 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!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 yearsupply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, it is Muse the Draft Monday here on Locked On Patriots. Quite a few drafts that we'll go through today, including a couple of trades and a couple of intriguing late round wide receivers that might just pique the Patriots' interest. And of course, we're going to pick my good friend's brain on the Devontae Parker trade and the fallout it might have when it comes to the 2022 NFL draft. I'm Mike DeBate, and you are 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.

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. Thank you for joining us here today on Monday, April 4th. It is not only Mock Draft Monday. It is Muse the Draft Monday here on Locked On Patriots. But most importantly, it is hashtag Locked On Murph Monday. I am your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated,

powered by Fan Nation. I am also your host of Locked on Patriots, which is a proud part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed, very much encouraged. So share that feedback and send it to the internet by reaching out to me,

following me, letting me know what's on your mind at MDA, B-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some weak love to that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Folks, it is Monday. You know what Mondays here on Locked On Patriots mean. That means a visit from the only green wisdom in council that keeps us going all the week long.

Columnist extraordinaire, sports analyst extraordinaire from E2GSports.com, the only guest on this pod, past, present, or future with his very own branded hashtag. He is the monster master of disaster the green king of sting the count of murphy fisto himself the esteemed don of locked on patriots my good friend thomas murphy murph thank you so much for joining me today thank you for coming to me in friendship most of all don, Don Murph. Oh, always my pleasure, Bart. Always my pleasure. The only thing that gets me up out of bed on a Monday morning is coming

in here with you. I think we might have lost Murph's audio, folks. I'm not quite getting it on his end. Murph, are you able to hear me? Yeah, I can hear you. You can't hear me? What the hell? Okay, folks. We might

have lost Murph, but he's trying to get his audio back. Not a problem here on Lockdown Patriots. We're definitely going to bring you the latest news, notes, and analysis from Foxborough, as we always do. And while my good friend is trying to sort out those problems, here on Locked On Patriots, we are going to be discussing a number of different... And there he is. See, right on cue. We love having the man back, and he is back in our good graces Murph are you there buddy can you hear me now we can hear you you're coming in loud and clear my friend and it gave me the perfect

opportunity to tell you that today's episode is brought to you by bet online because bet online has you covered this season with more props more odds and more lines than ever before then online where the game starts. But what can we say? It's always an honor, always a pleasure for you to join us here on the mic. And over the weekend, Murph, the Patriots made a little, I don't want to say waves, but they made their share of headlines. Devontae Parker coming over to the New England Patriots. The Patriots received Parker in a fifth round draft choice in 2022.

Third rounder in 2023 going back over to the Dolphins. I think a good solid trade. We talked a little bit about the trade yesterday and what it means for the Patriots here on Locked On. My good friend Kevin Tame joined me from Sports Illustrated. We talked about Parker and what he brings to the table. But we need the green wisdom in council. We need your opinion on this, my friend. What were your thoughts when you saw what the Patriots received in return for the third rounder with Parker and the fifth coming

back? Just your general thoughts on what this means for the Patriots going forward. Yeah, I thought it was a fantastic deal. A win-win, if you will. Parker was wholeheartedly unhappy with the way things were progressing career-wise with him down there in Florida. And I don't blame him. I'd do anything I could to get out of the great state of Florida. I've always said, you know, Florida is my least favorite foreign country in the United States. But no, it was a good deal. What it comes down to is a swap of picks and Parker. The Patriots, as Matt Chatham so eloquently said this morning, that it was not a trade.

What they did was just flip third and fifth round picks, and they got Devontae Parker on top of it. Parker immediately vaults to, in my opinion, the top of this depth chart, and I can't wait to see what he's going to be able to do here in New England with a competent quarterback. Yeah, without any question, I really like the fit here about not just acquiring someone that can be that vertical veteran outside presence that the patriots need but parker is someone that has done well against new england in the past and kevin and i talked about this a little bit yesterday bill loves to get guys that have torched him or had difficulty defending in the past and

i think parker coming in here is a solid move for the Patriots I don't think people are talking enough about that fifth round pick that the Patriots received along with Parker yeah look bottom line I'm not saying that this is going to be the game changer that everybody thinks it's going to be but I thought Matt's tweet was brilliant this morning and saying that a lot of people are saying oh well you got a third rounder for the you know really directed at the national media who are driving a narrative that quite honestly, the majority of them know nothing about. You know, the, the guys that cover this team here in New England understand the value of someone like a Malcolm Mitchell. You're going to throw his name into a tweet and you want attention and you want,

you know, some sort of, I don't know, what shall we say, razor-pointed analysis. That's the best way for me to put it before I get too insulting for parties that deserve it. But in any case, folks, when you get to that level and you look at what Malcolm Mitchell could have been here in New England, don't throw him in as part of your I- Bill Belichick's ability to draft wide outs sorry I went out on a tangent there buddy but you know it's a Monday it's a Monday we got to let the you know I got some stuff in the basement buddy you know I got to let it out but all kidding aside um I think in a lot of ways what this trade did for the Patriots is not only give them a player with an opportunity to really change the complexity of the way this team operates on

offense. But Murph, that fifth round draft choice could end up being a pretty good one for the New England Patriots. This is a very deep draft at areas where the Patriots need help, whether it be offensive guard, whether it be linebacker, whether it be, you know, edge rush help. I mean, these are all areas, cornerback. I mean, these are all areas cornerback i mean these are all areas where players are drafted into the middle part of those rounds maybe even into the fifth round that could have an impact uh on the roster this year so i think the patriots made a good one uh they obviously forfeit the third rounder in 2023 but i think bill is striking while the iron is hot and he sees a lot of potential in this draft, and he keeps quietly stockpiling these fifth-rounders and late-round picks.

It's going to be interesting to see what the Patriots are going to do here. It is. It really is. And I'm sorry, folks, but Clemenza likes to leave the gun loud just to scare any pain in the ass innocent bystanders away. Well, good shot there, Michael. I love it. I love it. Yeah, people just don't get it. Malcolm, he could have been something extraordinary here, and he showed it in just his rookie year.

What Bill's going to be able to do with this fifth-round pick is create depth at an area where the Patriots wouldn't be able to normally do so. He can do this with this extra pick this year. It was it was a fantastic deal. And yeah, people people who don't know what they're talking about should just keep their mouth shut. Yeah, exactly. I mean, and that's it. I mean, I understand everybody has a job to do in this business. But when all your job is, is to chase a cloud and chase attention, at least if you're going to do it, at least if you're going to do it. Do it right. Omit someone.

Yeah, exactly. Don't throw names in there just for the sake of it. Maybe because you haven't heard of them or you haven't done your research. Doesn't mean that no one else in this area knows what you're talking about. You're going to get called out on it. And he's being called out on it by some very, very good friends of ours and some very knowledgeable people.

Mitchell could have and should have probably been the third wide receiver MVP of a Super Bowl that Bill Belichick had drafted. Yeah, absolutely. End of story. Thank you very much. Thank you. And I think that's a perfect opportunity for us to take our leave of that subject because folks, it is Locked on Murph Monday it is musing

the draft Monday and boy do we have four entertaining drafts to go through trades galore interesting picks uh the upheaval of the Parker trade kind of changing the direction of what a lot of people like to do we're looking forward to bringing you all of that in just a moment but first folks today's episode is brought to you by the great folks over at Athletic Greens. They put out a fantastic product. I literally take it every day, and let's face it, folks, we all want more energy. The days are getting longer, we want to maximize our health, and we really want to enjoy the upcoming spring and summer months. I started taking their AG1 for that reason, and folks, I love it. One delicious

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And speaking of starting Murph, I think it's a good opportunity now for us to move into using the draft. As you can see, Murph and I both have our thinking caps here on Murph looking dapper as usual me. Well, I'm trying the best I can to look alive and it's an uphill battle for me every day i gotta be honest with you there but honestly bud uh we've got four drafts that are definitely going

to bring i think our listeners to their feet we start with a fan favorite from last week we got a lot of good feedback from our good friend the high school legend himself uh high school ledge four on twitter definitely you want to check him out uh he's a great follow and also just a great guy as well that's high school ledge lege4 on twitter and um this was an interesting draft uh to say the least yeah he started off with a trade gave up a haul and i mean a haul uh with the Houston Texans of all teams sending not just the number 21 pick overall, Murph. He sent a 170th pick in the fifth round. He sent number 210 in the sixth round.

Those go over. He also sends future picks, doing a uh doc brown uh fellow checky and time gazing their fourth rounder in 2023 and a third rounder in 2024 to the houston texans for the number 13 pick in this year's nfl draft with that pick andrew carraway is going to be happy with this one he chooses jordan davis um stud defender no question about it out of the University of Georgia Murph what are your thoughts on the hall I love Davis I could really would love to see him paired along with Christian Barmore but I love you high school legend I love you to death this seems a little excessive to me yeah it did the the price for this pick was certainly high, but I love the ball player.

I absolutely love the ball player. Let's not lose sight of his immediate impact. Putting him on the line with Barmore completely changes the game up front. This is a man that decides where the line of scrimmage is. This is a man that runs down quarterbacks with ease without blowing his breakfast, for Christ's sakes. So, yeah, no, I love the pick. I don't love when he had to give up to get it, and that's where you see the little D there next to, we'll tweet it out later, next to the trade.

But, no, fantastic. There's no way that a talent this good is going to fall to the Patriots. This impactful is going to make it to 21. So I understand where he's coming from. And, you know, bottom line is with any trade in any sport is who gets the best player right then and there. And who knows what prospects are going to be like who knows what that draft is going to be like down the road so thumbs up two huge green thumbs up yeah i think in a lot of ways i love the player and no question about it and i know we're having

some fun at the legends expense you know we love you my friend and we want you to keep sending these uh you know definitely to us and we humbly appreciate your support um yeah it's a haul to get someone like that but you're gonna have to give Yeah, it's a haul to get someone like that, but you're going to have to give up a haul if you want to get someone with the potential and the talent, the immediate NFL-level ready talent that Jordan Davis brings to the table. So I applaud the aggression here, and I think the high school legend really redeemed himself a little bit

by kind of getting a haul in return from the denver broncos sending a lot of uh you know late round picks and a couple of future picks uh according to what the high school legend did next he sent the third rounder number 75 the third rounder at number 96 and two fourth rounders in 2023 and another one in 2024 over to the, excuse me, those, those come back over to the New England Patriots only for the round two selection for the, the number 54 picks. So the Patriots essentially give up the second rounder now, but now they've got four pieces of draft capital in return.

And with that 75th pick chooses on the edge, Josh Pascal from Kentucky. This is a great pick. And I thought this really, you want to talk about, you know, giving the Patriots a little bit more pop on the edge, something they haven't. I don't want to say they haven't had because they have, but something that they've needed help with or additional bodies at that position. I think Pascal can definitely come in and give them a lot of versatility on that edge. Yeah, we're talking about guys that can set the edge right here, people. This was a fantastic pick. I really can't believe that he was there. I have him in my top five at the position.

Other people have him lower. Don't listen to other people. Stop listening to other people stop listening to other people they are this kid this kid's fantastic he can play anywhere up and down the line uh you know that the the legend uh got legendary with with this yeah absolutely yeah without any question uh definitely and this one like i said this really i think vaulted this draft back into not just reality but i think it vaulted it into a really astute and very, very pointed pick here. So I liked this one a lot. He's putting some of that recouped third round draft capital back into the

Patriots pocket, going with a couple of offensive linemen here, really shoring up a couple of guys with starting potential, maybe, but definite depth pieces. If they can pull this off whole strange coming over from over from Chattanooga at the guard position. A lot of versatility there. He's interior.

He can slot in at center a little bit. Kevin and I talked about him a little bit yesterday here on the pod, and I like Strange. The more I look at him and the more I look at what he brings to the table. Kellen Deitch, a guy that we've talked about from Arizona State, coming over, giving the Patriots some tackle depth. Murph, you're an expert on the offensive line. What are your thoughts here on this one?

Yeah, I'll go ahead and pick on the short round guy here. But no, I love Cole Strange. I really like his game. He's a little undersized, but I do like the way that he can move around the, uh, the interior of the line. He can play either guard spot. He can, he can slip in there and play some, uh, some center for you. And, um, I, I really can't cut this up at all. Um, he, he, you know, get them in here, get them on a diet program, get his weight up a little bit because he can handle more size he's six foot five and uh the the problem is he's only 307 pounds can you believe

that people were saying only 307 pounds but um you're gonna find few and far between interior guys in this draft that get to the second level as well as he does and then do something when they get there a lot of guys get there they and then do something when they get there a lot of guys get there they don't do anything when they get there cole strange does yeah absolutely dr strange definitely and you know the patriots are going to need help along the offensive line both at the guard position and as well as the tackle position they need depth at that level bill belichick lacked it a couple of years ago, and I don't think, and you've said this several times, Murph, I don't think he ever wants to be in that point again. So the more bodies you can stockpile and the more NFL-capable talent you can stockpile there, sign me up for it and sign Bill Belichick up for it as well.

Another trade for the high school legend here, recouping a little bit of that haul that he gave up in the early rounds. The Patriots getting a fourth rounder in this draft, 137, a seventh rounder, which currently they do not have, folks, and also getting a sixth rounder in 2024. Their initial fourth rounder at number 127 goes to the Carolina Panthers. And a couple of interesting picks here, I think, to close it out in round four and in round five cordial flott comes over from lsu cornerback uh ranked at um you know 109th in the country in terms of his um you know um his ranking at not just at the position but overall um you know when you get that type of talent down at 137 definitely i thought a good option someone that can come in and be a good, solid depth piece of corner. And a guy that Kyrie Thompson, my guest here on Friday, turned me on to a little bit over the weekend.

And I've been watching a little bit more film on him. It's Kevin Austin Jr. from Notre Dame at the wide receiver position. Kid that has really, I think, a versatile skill set. And I think he could be an interesting fit here in New England. And he might be able to be had in these later rounds. Overall, Murph, when you look at from top to bottom with the high school legend, the trades and the aggression, what are your thoughts on his draft here?

I thought it was a fantastic draft. I find it hard to believe that this draft only got a B. I'm going to give it a solid B+, because like I said, I really don't care what he gave up. I just care what he brought back, and he brought back a pile of talent here. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, no question about it. And I would do.

I give it a solid B plus here with what he did. I really like the aggression. Again, if we're going on just the first pick, it's a little, like I said, and we've said that, it's a know a little like i said it was and we've said that it's a little bit of a haul to get jordan davis but i mean if you can walk away with him and this type of a haul coming up behind them huge absolutely i see i see four hits yeah four four gapper hits two in the top four rounds and and you just you can't cut that up well done boss absolutely generational talent talent in that

regard. So, um, you might be walking away from that trade saying a little bit pie in the sky. Uh, the next draft that we're going to break down here, uh, maybe a lot pie in the sky, but boy, I'll tell you is this one fun. And was this one interesting folks? Um, John Costi, a first time submitter here on on Locked On Patriots for the mock draft Monday, Muse the draft Monday here on Locked On. Definitely love this kid's aggression. Oh, my God. Absolutely.

I really, I absolutely love that. And whether you are a, you know, either a first-timer or any type of submitter, I'm so glad that John submitted this draft. Thank you. It really, really, really is interesting. I enjoyed this. Starts off with a trade, and boy, what a trade. Trading with the Philadelphia Eagles of all teams.

And he has the Eagles receiving the Patriots' fourth rounder in number 127, their first rounder next year in 2023, a second rounder in number 127 their first rounder next year in 2023 next year a second rounder in 2023 and then a first rounder in 2024 and a second rounder in 2024 yeah i know everybody out there right now is groaning and saying what are you doing and why is this is this the herschel walker trade again you're trading away all my this is like kevin costner in draft day i want the first rounders i want them all back i can picture bill belichick yeah exactly i want and i want a punter too just because i need one all the ham all the ham you know unbelievable absolutely but the patriots do get some hauls in return folks so don't worry about it they got two first rounders

in this draft and then a third rounder at number 83. And boy, I'll tell you, if he can pull this off, I mean, really, I think we may end up quitting our jobs and working with John someday. Really? And I really, I mean that just because, I mean, you want to talk about, you want to talk about the two players I'm coveting the most in this draft. Jamison Williams, the wide receiver position, Alabama comes over at number 16. At number 19, your draft crush in mind, N'Kobi Dean comes over from the University of Georgia.

Patriots, two of their biggest holes on the roster right now, filling them with big-time players. How do you not give an A for effort? How do you not give an A for ingenuity? And really, I think an A++ for just sheer guts. Holy shit, Bill. Excuse me. Call this man now and see if you can get him into the war room.

This is brilliance. This is nothing short of brilliance. Jamison Williams at the top, man. Oh, God. Oh, my God. It makes that – the trade over the weekend makes this pick so much easier. You can sit back and wait on Williams and to, you know, heal up Dean at 19. You know, everybody knows how Mike and I feel about Dean.

He is the game changer on the defensive side of the ball that that the Patriots need right now. I don't care about his size, folks. I don't care. And size, folks. I don't care. And then Andrew Booth is – Oh, my God. This is the haul and a half. Now, not to mention Medici down there. Oh, my.

I keep looking at this mock, and I have to pick my jaw up. Folks, he has John Meche coming over to the patriots in the third round at number 83 uh john i i want to know who you're drafting with but i really and truly do i want to know these people uh he also has a trade mixed in there believe it or not um the uh first rounder the andrew booth coming over in a first rounder he acquired that trade by trading the number 21 pick the original first rounder that the patriots had including their number their uh fifth rounder the number 170 pick that's the jack mason trade um that comes that goes over to the dallas cowboys the cowboys

send back number 24 and the third rounder number 88 right and that's uh you know where he's selected andrew booth at number uh then the first round. Second rounder at number 54. Nick Benito coming over from Oklahoma. We've talked about Benito before here on Locked On Patriots. The third rounder at number 85. Cole Strange coming over at the guard position. Absolutely. And then Zach Tom.

I don't know why Zach Tom got an F here. I don't know that either. I'm really surprised. I like the versatility that this kid can bring. He's not going to start year one, folks, but he's a kid that can play tackle. He can play center. He's done a number of different things for the Demon Deacons that I think make him a solid pick.

I mean, if you're looking at him, yeah, if you draft him in the first two rounds, yeah, maybe I can understand a little bit of vitriol. But number 88, I don't know. Maybe people think it's a little bit too high. I mean, you know, he's ranked at number 92 on the big board. You took him in number 88. It's not a stretch. It's not a stretch. Yeah.

It's really not, man. I would give that a solid B. Algorithms, man. Algorithms. Yeah, bloody algorithms. You know, he's consistent. He's fluid. He moves well.

He has fast feet, and I love his hand placement, man. This kid's got a nice punch to him. Bravo, do not listen to the algorithms, folks. And one thing you have to know is everything being traded, you have to remember the Patriots have a ton of cap space next year opening up. We're going to see them go back into the free agency market, not as deeply as they did last year, but definitely a lot more than they did this year. I'm not sure off the top of my head what the class looks like right now. Everybody can get extensions.

But the draft picks in next year's draft don't mean as much to me as they do in this year's draft. And this man right here got the Patriots immediate help everywhere I think every hole was plugged with this man's draft man bravo a plus a plus a plus absolutely I mean if you could ever pull this off uh this would be the ultimate draft hall for the New England Patriots. We're going to tweet this out. We're going to put this one in the Hall of Fame, John. Really, really great

stuff. Again, folks, we take a lot of liberties here. Realistic, don't worry about realistic. That's what we're here for on Locked On Murph Monday, on Mock Draft Monday, musing the draft. This is a muse. This is a happy muse that we're using heading into this. And we're not

even done, folks, because we still have two dynamic drafts coming from the godfather, not this godfather, not the true Don of the family, but one of our godfathers here, one of our pezzanavante here on Locked On Patriots, as well as another submitter giving his second go

around, Brady Lang. Stay tuned, folks. Stick with us because we'll be right back in terms of bringing you those draft content. But first, it's Team Butchie's favorite time of the show. Because, folks, I'm going to talk to you a little bit about my favorite sweet treat that's not just good for you, but it also tastes delicious. And that is the great folks over at Built Bar who put out a phenomenal product. Folks, what more can you say about Built Bar that hasn't already been said? Well, I'll continue to do that because they are just that good.

Every time you reach for a sweet treat, and right now, especially at this time of year, you want something that's going to be able to coincide with your waistline, but also give you all the protein and all the flavor that you crave in a sweet treat. Built Bar does it, and they do it better than anyone. Amazing flavors such as cookies and cream, raspberry, orange, salted caramel, peanut butter brownie, my personal favorite, toasted coconut, coconut almond, mint brownie, all of them rolled into one, folks. Anything that you choose from Built Bar is always going to be top-notch quality because at Built Bar, they focus on the flavor first,

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product. Once you try it, you will be hooked. You'll love it. I guarantee it. So visit Built.com today. Enter the promo code LOCK15 for 15% off your next order at Built.com. Patriots fans, we are almost through with our musing of the draft here on Monday to kick off your week in style here on Locked on Patriots fans, we are almost through with our musing of the draft here on Monday to kick off your week in style here on Locked on Patriots. Again, Murph and I thank you for joining us today

and for making Locked on Patriots your first listen every day. Murph, it is time for a visit from our fantasy godfather. Bob on the border comes here. Fantasy godfather, F-A-T-H, doesn't quite finish it because of the character restraints from Twitter, no other reason, but the Godfather once again delivers. So we come to you in friendship. We come to you asking respectfully, Don Bob, for your mock draft, and you have once again delivered, I think, a very, very solid mock draft here um the patriots once again a lot of trades this week murph our our our our submitters are getting very trade serious i like it i gotta say

it i like it and he's trading with the new york football giants and uh i know my good friend patricia trainer who i not only work with here at Locked On, as she is the host of Locked On Giants, but Patty is also a Giants beat writer extraordinaire for Giants country of Sports Illustrated and just one of my favorite people in the world. Just a true, true, great, great analyst. So Patty, if you're listening or if you're paying attention to this one, definitely you want your ears up on this because the Patriots are giving the first rounder in this nfl draft and this coming nfl draft 2022 along with the fourth rounder number 127 those go over to the giants and the patriots get three picks in return so belichick turns two into three and he comes away with round two selection here in 2022 at number 38, the 67th selection in round three, and then another selection in the third round at number 81.

So not bad. A first and a fourth, and you get a second rounder and two third rounders. And I got to say, I like what he did with these picks. Jalen Petray coming over as a cornerback from Baylor. Now, he's not a name that you're hearing a lot of with the patriots murph and there are reasons for that and i'm not going to steal your thunder here we're hearing the mccrary's we're hearing the high air elums uh you know we're hearing the booths and all these guys and you know wanting that alpha corner but

petrae does bring some stuff to the table that could make this an interesting pick. If this is your first selection for the Patriots in 2022, how did the Godfather do here? He did not do a poor job here. Okay, let's a fantastic spot. This is a fantastic spot to grab him. I believe that, you know, this, this kid, he can play linebacker. He can play safety. He's, he's phenomenal coming off the edge to get after the quarterback. The problem is his size.

He's too small to play linebacker and his coverage skills are a bit iffy. And I don't want to say iffy, but I'm not sure if you could keep him in the slot constantly. Bill would have to take his time with him. It'll be one of those, it would be one of those picks where we're all talking five years from now or three years from now that, you know, nobody is better at putting somebody in a position to succeed than Bill Belichick is. I'm not sure that I would have gone this way, but a fantastic trade. He's a good player. Like I said, he's somebody that can play all over the defensive side of the ball.

And so I give it a solid – it's not often that i go lower than what what the algorithms are showing but a c plus uh pick right there at this i would have i would have liked more impact right here yeah i think in a lot of ways i understand where you're coming from if you're going to go that high in corner and yeah let's face it the parker trade really i think reset a lot of people's expectations you're seeing a lot few in the submissions that we got the lit some of the later submissions that didn't quite make the cut this week and you know what murph and i may do outtake someday uh and just go over you know all of the the uh the draft submissions that ended up on the cutting room floor because we really did have some great ones yeah um a lot less choosing wide receivers in the

first round you're seeing linebackers. You're seeing corners, mostly corners. And I think that's something that I, this is a deep draft for that. You're looking for maybe that alpha player that can come in, give you that type of impact. I'm not sure that Jalen provides that at this point, but at the same time, there is upside. And look, this is the type of pick that is very Belichickian, Godfather. I do want to give you credit for that because it is the type of pick that is very belichickian godfather i do want

to give you credit for that because it's the type of pick that you look and you go what there's other guys why with him yeah but at the same time then you look at some of the fits and you can understand why uh we went through this a couple of years ago with uh sorry folks you might want to mute your uh your because i'm going to mention Nikhil Harry's name. Kind of very similar to what, you know, we went through a couple of years ago with Harry, where a lot of people were expecting a first round wide out. They were expecting another name. And when Harry's name was called, everybody was kind of, you know, well, whatever.

Whether it worked out or not, I leave you to your own volition to determine that. But that could be like one of those areas where if Jalen is the pick and the top corner that the Patriots did choose, I think it's going to be met with very similar reaction to that, but applaud for the ingenuity. I definitely, you know, like it in the third round, number 67,

Darian Beavers coming over from Cincinnati. Love this pick. We hear Beavers coming over from Cincinnati. Love this pick. We hear Beavers an awful lot. The thing that's interesting to me is that I know Beavers keeps showing up in mock drafts. Dante Hightower remains unsigned, Merrick. And I'm not sure if that necessarily is something good for the New England Patriots, if that means they can still get him back here in New England on a much discounted deal, or if that simply means that Hightower is probably going to end up playing his ball elsewhere. I

think any of those could happen, but Beavers to me, if they select him in the draft and for some reason at the end of the month, Dante is still looking for work. To me, that's a clear sign that they've completely moved on from him because I think this kid moves directly into that role maybe not year one but he's definitely going to move into that role and you can see him kind of being mentored maybe by a guy like juwan bentley yeah i agree man i love beavers he's just a bruiser uh he comes out there and and just hits you in the mouth uh like few other in this draft do. There's a knock that he's a little slow, needs work in backing out into coverage, but that's not really the reason that you're bringing him in here. You're bringing him in here to help stuff the run,

get after the quarterback. It's a good pick. Absolutely. Yeah, definitely. I like that. And I think there's uh you know some strong uh you know sentiments to be had there um murph i'm going to skip down a little bit because we are going to put this draft out there for your viewing pleasure folks

um and i'm going to talk a little bit about a guy that you tweeted about this weekend so i want to give you an opportunity to kind of voice your opinion on someone that might get a little bit over saturated coverage and that is yeah we're going to talk wide receivers folks we're going you an opportunity to kind of voice your opinion on someone that might get a little bit over saturated coverage and that is yeah we're going to talk wide receivers folks we're going to talk rutgers guys too because you know bill belichick loves them uh beau melton coming over uh sixth round draft choice at number 200. um what is it about beau melton is it because of the speed that he brings it's because of the skillet or is this because we know that Bill is still clamoring to try to get a Rutgers guy in here? Yeah, that's, that's basically it. Um,

there's gotta be some outstanding books that weren't returned, uh, to Rutgers, the library or something. And, uh, it, no, Bo is, is getting a lot of press. He really is, especially here in new England. What is he? You know, is he a slot guy? He doesn't have enough, you know, speed off the line to really separate underneath. He does really well when he's going up against zone, but he doesn't have it when you when you're going at your facing man. Uh, but he does have that yak. He does have that yak. I'll give him that. I'm just, I'm just, I'm just exhausted with Rutgers.

I've actually given people a lot of props for leaving Rutgers off, off, off of drafts for leaving Bo Melton off of drafts, because I just keep seeing everybody come back to him and come back to him and come back to him. So maybe that has prejudiced me just a tiny bit, but there are other places that I would go. Sorry, boss. Sorry. No, I think, you know, in a lot of ways, I think, you know, the Don has made sense with the Godfather here, and we definitely love that. So overall, if you're rating the Godfather right now, be careful.

He doesn't do too well with disrespect. It's very, very difficult. You don't answer with respect. And Melton will contribute on special teams. So how do you really rip a pick at 200? You know, you can't do it. It's 200. It really is. Yeah, go ahead.

If you're digging the hole at that point, that late in the draft to kind of push your narrative. I'm sorry, Godfather. I feel terrible for really looking where you got them. I mean, yeah, why not? Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. So I think a solid B with a B-plus rising here for the Godfather.

What say you, Don Murph? Yeah, no, no, no, no. I'm right there with you. A B, possibly a B-plus in seeing how some of these guys in the middle, I don't, you know, really ballsy taking Carson Strong there at 81. Yeah. You know, you need another quarterback. You know, you need another quarterback. You're going to need another quarterback.

So, you know, I mean, Carson won't appreciate it because he knows he's not going to come in here and play. But other than that. Very true. Yeah. Go ahead, man. It's a solid B, possibly a B-plus draft. Yeah.

Folks, don't take our nitpicking too well. We've gotten so many amazing drafts that this is where we're at. We're sitting there nitpicking the 200th pick in the draft. All right. Take us back to Tom Brady's pick. And we'd probably say, what the hell is he doing? What's he doing? Absolutely. That's true. Absolutely. You're 100% right. And you know what? You never know until these guys hit the field and until they really cultivate some of their skill to know what you truly have. So our final draft submission here today is one that I chose, not necessarily because

it's going to be a fan favorite, not necessarily because it's even what the submitter is going to do himself, kind of Belichickian in its execution is a good way to put it. And Brady Lang has submitted a couple of drafts here before, and this one intrigued me a lot. So Brady, I definitely thank you for submitting this one. And one of the reasons why Murph and I chose this was because of the fact that it is a little different than what we're seeing on some of the boards out there. And Patriots staying in in the first round but he's shipping off the number 21 pick to the Dallas Cowboys coming back round one number 24 and a fourth rounder at number 129 the Patriots still get a first round cornerback and this one I think makes a little bit more sense in terms of the guy

that they might want to bring in long term. Kevin Tame is going to be really happy about this. He's been beating this guy's drum pretty much all draft season. And that's Kai Ariel out of Florida. Again, Murph, I mean, we've talked about Kai a lot here. We've talked about his fit. I don't necessarily think, and I said this yesterday, I don't think that bringing in malcolm butler is essentially the abandonment that a lot of people are saying that it's going to be about man coverage that oh they're going to bring in uh you know butler and they're just going to play zone i don't

necessarily know that's the case i think they may find zone as a comfort zone right no pun intended there folks but when they're talking about defending some of these speedy wide receivers that they're going to have to be facing, especially in their own division guys like Stefan Diggs, Tyree Gill, you know, there's a lot of guys that we're going to have to defend. The Patriots are going to need that zone coverage. And I think Malcolm provides that. And I think he's still a very good, uh, you know, cover corner when it comes to zone, but they still need that alpha on man and i think elam fits that bill perfectly i i excuse me i agree wholeheartedly um this is a guy that he's

long and physical he's got a motor that doesn't quit um he has the awareness to play uh outside or even safety you can even put him as a free safety. He's a former wide receiver, which I always love, which Bill always loved. And he's the nephew of Matt Elam. Absolutely. And you got to love it. And to me, when you look at guys that can come in and make an immediate impact, I think Elam is that type of player, not just from the skill that he brings up. No, I'm sorry. If, no, go ahead. If he stays healthy, man, this guy has a lot of, a lot of difficulty staying on the field. That would be my only hedge back. If he didn't have these issues, if he did not have these issues, he would be taken a lot higher in this draft

than he's going here. It's a bit of a gamble. And when you get, I am not one to gamble on health unless you are a generational type player that falls to somebody. But health is really, you know, the trump card here for lack of a better term as to whether or not I love this pick. I really like it absolutely

i do as well and um in the second round that pick that the patriots did have that they do hold on to uh drake jackson coming over from usc we don't see a whole lot of the name brady loves the drake seinfeld fans will get that reference but he did love the drake uh what are your thoughts because it looked like uh you know the the algorithms love the Drake too. They give this one a pretty high grade. What are your thoughts on his potential fit in Foxborough? I like it. I like it a lot.

I think he comes in here and he's able to contribute right away. He brings something to the table that Bill is going to be able to use from the get-go. This is not going to be one of those red shirt years. Yeah, absolutely. Without any question. You know, good, good stuff from,

from Brady down the line. He was, I think maybe a little bit, you know, harshly criticized for some of the round picks. I like Jack Sanborn coming in. Yeah. Backer position from Wisconsin. I thought that was a solid choice. I think right around the area where he might go. All right. Maybe one 29 is a little bit early, but Bill Belichick does not worry about the boards, folks. He's going to take the talent that he likes, and I think this kid could fit well in New England

at the linebacker position. I agree, man. I really like Sanborn. He's physical. He's a downhill guy. He plays a lot stronger than he looks. Again, another guy that's gonna that that is is not coming in here as a pure uh becker that you're gonna want to drop back into coverage but with what

bill's putting together uh on the back end you might not need that man he's he's uh he's a sub package linebacker but again again, where, where you're grabbing him, you know, you cannot, you can't cut this up. You really can't. I don't understand the C grade on this. I think it's a solid B. Yeah, absolutely. I liked, uh, uh, Sanborn and I liked the, uh, the pick there as well. And, uh, again, I think Brady did a good job of identifying players that would fit well into new england's system this is a draft i could see new england coming away with and again it's not going to be a popular pick amongst the fans but just players that can fit this system well right i think he did a good job with it uh one thing i did want to mention is a very rare

situation where you trade a pick away for a player. And he actually did that. And I mentioned Patricia Trena earlier. Patty, if you're listening again, you're really going to raise your eyebrow. I would love to hear Patty's thoughts on this. The Patriots sending the number 170 pick that they received for Shaq Mason over to the New York football giants in return for wide receiver Darius Slayton. This was interesting, Mark. Yeah, that was definitely something out of left field,

something that hit me from the blind side. I wouldn't be opposed to it. You could do worse at that pick than bringing in a guy like Slayton. Yeah, absolutely. And look, you know, Patriots and the Giants had joint practices last summer. I got an opportunity to see these two teams go head on head in terms of what they're able to do. You know, Joe Judge has a pipeline. He's got a vision of what that team could be and the guys that he may look at as potential fits

here. It wouldn't surprise me to see them go deeper into the well. We've already seen Jabril Peppers come over from the Giants now. Wouldn't surprise me to see them try to dip into that well at least once, maybe through trade. And there's a good relationship between these two organizations. So who knows, you know, maybe this one had a chance. Yep. Another guy that would like to see what he would do with a more competent quarterback. Absolutely. And having him catch passes from mac jones could be really interesting for the new england patriots moving forward uh overall great on brady's before we wrap things up today bud oh that's it's a solid b it is it's a solid

b draft um uh it the only thing that dragged it down with was my concern over his first round pick but other than that and it's a it's a solid b draft well done yeah i'm going with a b solid b plus rising i think in the case with this one simply because i really love elam's fit here i definitely see your concerns with the health no question about it that's valid uh but the potential payoff might end up being worth it it's not it's not one year it's's not like he was injured his junior year and then came back and balled out senior year. It's been two years that he's

been dealing with a lot of injuries. And that is a good point. It gives me pause. It just takes me back to skipping on Stefan Tuitt for Triscuit knees. And on that note, folks,

we bid you farewell. No kidding. Okay. No, all kidding aside is now time to close up the muse, the draft book for this Monday episode of the lockdown Patriots podcast. But all kidding aside, we really have enjoyed looking at all of the mock drafts.

We get some great submissions today. We hope you've enjoyed them as much as we've enjoyed giving you our thoughts on them, and all of these drafts will be available on the Locked On Patriots Twitter site, so definitely go and check out to find out what all of our great submissions had to offer

from their wisdom and counsel bank themselves, and we thank all of our great submitters. Most of all, I thank this great man, my benefactor in this business and one of my truly great friends and one of the truly great people you'll ever meet in life.

Folks, he is a columnist, sports analyst extraordinaire for E2GSports.com. His Patriots content is second to none. That's why he has earned this chair each and every Monday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast.

But it's not just football, folks. The Red Sox coverage that he puts out, the MLB coverage in general is also second to none. I've always said, and I'll continue to say it, it doesn't happen in the end and Major League Baseball until I hear it from Murph. And that's, I believe, how you will feel as well. Before I let you go today, my good man, please let everyone know where they can find you,

where they can interact with your great work, and what you have coming up from the great pen and the great voice of Thomas Murphy. Oh, thank you, bud. Always too kind, too kind. Yeah, I've got a piece out this morning over at E2G.com about High and Bloom gambling with your future Red Sox fans. Of course I've got,

you know, every Tuesday is Steve Ballesteri and classy Claire Cooper and myself on one Patriots place. Tomorrow we'll have Philly Perry in, in studio. That's always a blast having Phil in there. We're going to be talking draft and free agency and yeah. Can you stop on over and read all the great folks at

E2GSports.com. Absolutely, folks. And all of the great columnists and all the great work that E2GSports.com puts out. Point, click, learn enrichment material. But you know I am extremely biased to my good friend, my Monday co-host here on Locked On Patriots.

Again, my benefactor in this business. Don Murph, I am always honored, always humbled by your presence, and thank you for joining me here on Locked On Patriots today. We look forward to talking ball with you again here next week, Murph, but in the meantime, I thank all of you for continuing to make Locked On Patriots

a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.