Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Draft: Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, Caedan Wallace, Joe Milton; ‘Weaponized?’

Episode Date: April 30, 2024

The New England Patriots selected eight players in the 2024 NFL Draft in hopes of improving a team which finished 4-13 last season. However, did the do enough to “weaponize”their offense? Host Mike D’Abate is joined by Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy as the duo discuss the selections of receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, the possible position switch of offensive tackle Caedan Wallace and whether quarterback Joe Milton, III was a draft “hit” or “miss.” #nfl #nfldraft #patriots Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm...Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-...And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Monopoly GO!Get in the game and join your friends. Click HERE to Download MONOPOLY GO! now free on The App Store or Google Pay. The mobile hit twist on classic MONOPOLY. eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Did the New England Patriots do enough to weaponize their offense for 2024 and beyond? 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 also, and hopefully, your first listen each and every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is not only a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, but we are also free and available on all platforms.

So make sure to smash that subscribe button on YouTube and download and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you're getting the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country. So drop me a line on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L

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I have a competitive side and it's a big fan of monopoly. Go the mobile hit twist on the classic monopoly join your friends download monopoly go now free on the app store or on google play and pats fans another nfl draft is in the books eight new new england patriots were selected between thursday and sunday and here to break it all down with us today is our good friend the legend himself he is my good friend Thomas Murphy the kind of Murphy Fisto himself thank you so much for joining me here to kick off this post-draft New England Patriots era Don Murphy my pleasure bud my pleasure man it's it's let's get into it yep it's it's a brand new era it's a brand new era

although I really think that that uh you that looking at this draft as an entirety, Bill Belichick was making the call. There were some Belichickian elements in this draft. Folks, we are going to get into a couple of them, including trying to make some players a little more versatile. And folks, we will get into that in just a moment. But one of the things that we heard prior to the draft, Murph, all throughout the offseason, really, from the time that Gerard Mayo and Elliott Wolfe started calling the shots at one Patriots player, we want to weaponize this offense.

The offense was anemic last year. Can't argue with that. It was. There were a lot of reasons for that. Quarterback play, offensive line injuries, inconsistency. You can really kind of make a laundry list of the reasons why the Patriots were not effective on offense last year. One of those is because, perhaps, a lack of talent at the wide receiver position.

Not that they didn't have talented players. They just simply didn't have enough of them making plays. The Patriots clearly went into this draft prioritizing receiver and they looked to target it early we heard reports yesterday on sunday morning from espn's mike reese the most reliable guy in the business but the patriots made an offer to the buffalo bills trying to move up he believes they were trying to get south carolina's xavier laguette yep it would have made me happy. I mocked him to the Patriots. We've been talking about him.

You're a big fan. I'm a big fan. Our good friend Steve Balistrieri loves his South Carolina guys. He would have been happy. But bottom line, the New England Patriots wanted a wide out. Unfortunately, the Buffalo Bills weren't willing to play ball. Still a little saltiness up there in Buffalo. Still a little extra salt in that wing sauce, folks. And they weren't able to play ball. Still a little saltiness up there in Buffalo. Still a little extra salt in that wing sauce, folks.

And they weren't able to swing that deal. So the Patriots... They'd rather help Kansas City. What the hell are they thinking? Amazing, isn't it? They would rather help their chief rival right now, pun intended, folks, than actually go out and rekindle a little of that division rivalry.

No, they weren't having any of that. They don't want to see the Patriots. They want to bury it. That's knocked you out of the playoffs for that division rivalry. No, they weren't having any of that. They don't want to see the Patriots. They want to bury it. That's knocked you out of the playoffs for the last three. Sure, yeah. Absolutely, yeah. Let's swing that deal. No problem there, right?

Just does not make any sense. But the New England Patriots turn to what apparently was plan B, and that is Jalen Polk, University of Washington receiver, transfer from Texas Tech, 6'1", 203 pounds, contested catch machine. A lot of people think this pick might have been a little bit of a reach. Not that they have a problem with the player, but they think it might have been a little bit of a reach.

What did you think about the Patriots taking Polk and what it means for their weaponization of this offense? Now, I watched every single snap that Washington took last year. Every single snap. You all know why. Because I love the guy that was playing quarterback for them. And what I saw out of Polk was nothing short of amazing when McMillan wasn't on the field. Now, the first person to point this out was my good buddy, Thor Nystrom. Good man. Everybody knows Thor.

He pointed out that Polk really took off when McMillan went down. And when McMillan came back, Polk went back to being the third option on the most pass-happy offense in the NFL. So I went back and checked on, I don't know why, usually when Thor says something, I'm like, but I gave a second look, and he's absolutely right. Jalen Polk was the third option on that team when everybody was healthy. Two, he's another contested catch guy. Now, he's not just a contested catch guy. Don't get me wrong. The kid is talented. I just thought it was a reach here in the second round. And the biggest problem that I had was the Patriots could have gotten a legitimate left tackle in the second round and they passed on that to wait and maybe find somebody that could move over to

the left side from the right side in their fourth round pick. It's mind bending that one of the most glaring needs on this team is left tackle, and they basically are rolling the dice on, well, this guy could easily move over to the left side when he's never played there. Good point. And I do want to come back to Caden Wallace in just a moment because there are elements of how the Patriots have done business this offseason that might have tipped this off.

Now, again, I'm not defending the pick, folks, and I'm not saying that Murph is wrong here. I think he has a strong point. But if you read the tea leaves, you probably could see this coming for the New England Patriots. Stick around, folks. You're not going to want to miss that. I'll drop that tidbit in just a moment. But I agree with you on Polk. I think that there is a little bit of a reach here.

Look, there's no question about it. This kid is very good when it comes to contested catches. And folks, please, I implore you not to invoke the name of McKeel Harry when you're talking about this kid. These are two different ballplayers. I think Patriots fans, and I get it. I really truly do. I'm not coming at Pats fans here that automatically got squeamish when they heard contested catches and go, oh man, we're getting another McKeel. This kid is much more like a Jacoby Myers with maybe a little bit more explosive. Not much more,

but a little bit more explosive. So I think he can get that. I think we just got a visit from the cat. Love it. We love it. We embrace all of God's creatures here on Lock absolutely go play he wanted a little breakfast but in any case this kid definitely is at his best when he's making contested catches he can make him in tight windows i like that about him because we know that drake

may loves to be able to thread the needle into tight windows he can make the throws there this kid can make the catches there as well washington's offense Murph as you know from watching it creates a lot of option routes a lot of routes based on safety leverage that's where this kid is going to thrive here in England he doesn't have that breakaway speed that some of the prospects in this year's class had but I think his overall skill set should translate well into the receiver room the only thing is murph is right you did leave a little bit of extra talent on the offensive line on the board at the time so time will tell whether or not the patriots reached a little bit for jalen polk but it's hard to argue with the player i do they passed they passed on an ad mitchell for this kid

all right if they had made the ad m. Mitchell pick, and I don't care. It's already been disputed, this whole work ethic thing and taking plays off. If they had done – A.D. Mitchell is a game changer. A.D. Mitchell is weaponizing. Okay? This kid is a very solid ball player. Okay? Don't look at my grades on this.

I graded this as a C as to just looking at what this player is or that he's a bad player. He's a good player. He's a solid player. And that's my issue with this entire draft. It was a solid, safe draft. Okay? And this was the year that you

could go out and get game changers and the Patriots didn't. Well, that's a good point. And you know what? I think we'll, we'll make the point right now, right off the bat. This is Elliott Wolf's and Gerard Mayo's first dance here in New England. Now, obviously Elliott's been involved in draft talks, draft strategy, drafts for quite a while. Gerrard's been in and around the practice, but this is their first time in the main chair here in New England. Do you think that factored into this at all? Do you think they played it safe because they don't want to ruin their legacy? No, they don't. These are two men that are drafting for their job. Okay, right now, Elliot Wolfe doesn't have the title.

He doesn't have the job in the bag. And he knows that if he screws this up, that he's going to be looking for a job again, just like he was after Green Bay and just like he was at Cleveland when they didn't make him the GM. And right now, he's a man that's drafting for his job. And, um, and I honestly, I think he it's, it's, it's a safe draft. It's a draft that somebody, somebody went into saying, I'm trying to keep this job. But one thing that I heard a lot after this draft from people that are close to the Washington program, and you alluded to this, Murph. This is the guy that a lot of the teammates went to when things were starting to go sour in Washington.

They had a great season, no question about it, but when you hit difficulty, and every team does, you look to certain guys in that roster for a spiritual lift, for a little bit of guidance, and Jalen Polk always provided that, whether it was vocally or whether it was just leading by experience on the football field I think that type of respect he commanded among his teammates is going to be something that'll help him in New England so overall agreed if you're weaponizing you're probably going to want to go with a guy that's a little more explosive but if you're looking for a solid receiver to put in that core,

Jalen Polk is your guy. Well, the Patriots definitely went for a weaponization with their second pick on day three. Javon Baker coming in from UCF, this kid definitely has the confidence, but he also has an explosive playing style that could lead him to become a fast fan favorite here in New England. What were your thoughts on Baker and the weaponization of the Patriots offense? I love this pick. I think they didn't think that he was going to be there when they were choosing.

And again, I'm not sure they would have double dipped here if they knew that he was going to be here. I think they would have gone my route and taken that left tackle in the second round if they knew this young man was going to be here. I love this pick. I love it. Yeah, this was a great one, folks. 6'1", 202 pounds, so well-sized for the position. Some people are saying he's a bit undersized.

He's not undersized for an ex, folks. I think this kid comes in right where he needs to be draws a beat on the ball like i haven't seen in terms of a mid-level prospect and i think this kid is better than a mid-level prospect he's really effective on deep routes um and a pretty smooth route runner uh needs a little bit more refinement in his running but in terms but in terms of his gait and in terms of his cadence this kid is going to assimilate very well into the pro game uh mentality is solid he's willing to go wherever he needs to go to help this team win he said it i'll play the x i'll play the y really doesn't matter to me i think he factors in as a pretty good x receiver prospect at least

for the patriots and there's a synergy with Drake May, folks. This guy, they both played together when Drake was committed to Alabama at the time, and so was Baker. These guys used to throw it around. He did say he'll be a competitive guy. He can get the ball into whatever spots I ask him to put it. That's big. If you're looking for a receiver and a quarterback connection,

he and Drake are going to really like one another. He says he's just as competitive as I am. I'm going to push him. He's going to push me. All the right things being said in Foxborough. I agree with you. I love this pick. Yeah, I really do.

I thought maybe the Patriots could have gone with, you know, somebody more familiar to Drake. You know, yeah. You know, but uh but i do i love this pick i think he's a fantastic kid i love his attitude and i can't wait to see him on the field absolutely and folks we are looking forward to the weaponization of the offense is it going to be weaponized the way we all hoped the way Elliot Wolfe and Gerard Mayo hoped well folks the only way we're going to know that is to start watching this team in mini camp in training camp preseason and into the regular season and we start our march now toward the Patriots 2024 NFL season but we're just scratching the surface on the Patriots draft because the

Pats did pick up a couple of big round men that Murph loves to talk about. Did they pick up the right ones? Folks, we're going to discuss all that and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Patriots fans, it may be the NFL offseason, but it's playoff time in the NBA and the NHL baseball's in full swing and FanDuel is your place to bet on every game so listen up because right now new customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed that's 150 bucks win or lose. Bet on everything from slap shots to home runs to slam dunks,

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L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-F-L for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last-minute tickets, tickets lowest price guaranteed. Fats fans, thank you for joining us here today on this Monday episode of Locked On Patriots. We are kicking off the post-draft Elliot Wolfe-Girard Mayo

era in New England. And folks, who better to kick it off and to break down all of the Patriots' Day 2 and Day 3 action than my good friend, the kind of Murphy Fisto himself, the godfather here on Locked On Patriots, my good friend Thomas Murphy. And Murph, in the previous segment, we talked weaponization. It's the name of the game. And the Patriots weren't having more of the same.

They wanted to make sure that they got guys in this locker room that are going to be able to be effective targets for Drake May. Folks, it's up to you to determine whether or not the Patriots did enough there, but we all knew coming in offensive line was going to be a huge need for this team and the Patriots did address it. Maybe not the way we all hoped, but they did address it. Let's start with Caden Wallace because obviously this was the first offensive lineman that the Patriots took in this draft yeah Caden comes in with a lot of prowess along the offensive line for the Penn State Nittany Lions started seven games in 2020 started all 13 in

2021 yep got injured in 2022 seven games in but he returned for his final season in 2023. Honorable mention, all Big Ten started all 13 games and only allowed one sack. That sounds like a hell of a lineman, especially coming back from an injury. But there's a problem with that, folks. All of it starts at right tackle. Last we checked, Michael Wainu is still manning the right tackle position. Murph, you see things us mere mortals don't see when it comes to offensive line. When you heard about this pick and you saw the New England Patriots make it as their first O-line dip into this draft class, what were your thoughts? Is this enough for the New England

Patriots to move into 2024 and hope to rebuild what was a struggling offensive line last year? I don't think so. This kid is a right tackle. He's a right tackle. All right. And for those of you that think it is easy or simple to move from the right side to the left side, it is not. Okay. It is a different skill set. You know, for those of you who think that in this incarnation of the NFL, that you're not seeing the speed rusher just on the left side and just on the blind side, that's not it. It's a different skill set. The lower half of your body has to work differently.

The other side of your brain needs to be used in a way that it hasn't been in this man's entire life. OK, and yeah, I was upset with this pick. I didn't like this pick at all. We have a fine right tackle. This is a depth move. OK, and that's that's what we're talking about. This is depth on the right hand side. This kid could be a very good right tackle. You still don't have a left tackle on this roster

and you could have had one, right? You could have easily had one. You could have, you could have moved down and gotten conclaves, you know, and he's, he's the kid out of Pittsburgh. He's played on the left-hand side. You could have grabbed, oh, God, why am I at a complete loss right now? Guys that were going around later that I would have been very happy with the Patriots grabbing. The kid out of Yale went afterwards, you know, or Javon Foster out of, out of Missouri. There were people who play the left-hand side that,

that they could have gotten earlier in this draft or after in this draft that I don't know, probably not after. This almost seems like a desperation move. Everybody went just before this kid, so let's get this kid and tell everybody that he can play left tackle. Yeah, I think there's definitely a lot to that, especially when you're talking about the move from the right to the left. Folks, there are nuances on both sides of the offensive line that are very difficult to duplicate it's hard to move over especially when you're so used to playing in a certain position and you haven't played in quite

a while caden told us right on his introductory video conference that he had with the media shortly after being drafted that's been a long time since he's played left tackle in a game now he did say he's super confident in his ability that's exactly what you want him to say in this situation. You don't want him to go there and say, no, I don't think so. I'm a righty. I'm on the right side. I can't do anything. It's the attitude that you want.

My point being is you could have had Kingsley Sumatier in the round before. You could have had Blake Fisher, who has played on the left-hand side in the round before you could have you could have had blake fisher who has played on the left hand side in the round before or traded back up to get these guys you could have had patrick paul all right patrick paul take is going to take a little bit of development but it's the type of development that halfway through the season yeah he's going to unseat the right tackle that you grabbed from Pittsburgh this year. All right. This is my problem with this draft. It was safe. Okay.

And they missed on guys that could have helped this team this year and going forward and helped, you know, your number one draft pick, your quarterback for years to come. I'm glad you mentioned Fisher because I want to come back to that in just a second because I think that's where New England may have telegraphed this type of a pick. And again, folks, not defending it, just saying that the groundwork was there. In Wallace's defense, he did say that he actually did get a lot of work during Shrine Bowl practices and in the game at left tackle. So I'm not saying that's enough. By far, it's not. And you know that these games are more glorified all-star games than they are.

And I hope I'm wrong. You know, I think we all do. I think we all hope that he's able to make that switch over to the opposite side. But here's where I think the Patriots may have, again, telegraphed a move like this. All throughout the pro day circuit, we heard about the pats brain trust scouting offensive linemen yeah we heard a lot about scott peters working very closely with these old linemen looking at how they work out looking at their footwork examining them talking to them right if they brought them in for top 30 visits there were a lot of discussions on offensive

line nuances everybody was wondering especially at the Notre Dame Pro Day, why he spent so much time with Blake Fisher. The Patriots don't need a right tackle. Why is he watching Fisher? Peters is looking for traits that are versatile. He's looking for guys that could possibly be able to make a position switch if they're not working out during training camp. I think the Patriots right now are trying to keep their options open because, dare I say, even though the brain trust has said Michael Wainu is our starting right tackle, I still think there's a chance he either kicks into guard

or moves over to the left. They might be looking at moving parts. I think they wanted versatility here, and I think that's why they made this move. Everything that we've heard, Murph, is that Michael Wainu wants to remain at right tackle. He's being paid as a right tackle. There's a reason you pay left tackles more.

Absolutely. But if there is an opportunity for the Patriots to improve their line and that is the way to do it, I don't think necessarily that's going to be off the table. We talked last year about, you know, kicking him out, why the Patriots hesitated on kicking him out to right tackle. It simply came down to the money. Right guards make less money than right tackles. And left tackles make considerably more money than right tackles. And just to swing it all the way back down to Fisher, Fisher was the Notre Dame left tackle until Joe Alt grew out of being a tight end and became what I think is going to be the hell is he doing? He's there to see Joe Alt. Joe Alt is the left tackle.

A lot of people don't remember that that was what happened. This guy had to switch over because Alt came in and was otherworldly at that position. Fisher showed his versatility and there is a good amount of versatility. And again, I really do believe that the Patriots were targeting him very acutely. From what I'm hearing, Scotters was very taken with this kid and when he came off the board i think they probably looked to guys that maybe brought something similar and wallace was the best of those guys so you know bottom line folks we're going to see if it all works out during training camp but murph i think you make an excellent point

on wallace and i understand why patriots fans and media alike are still scratching their heads on this pick a little bit. Folks, bottom line, the Patriots did add receivers. They added offensive linemen, but they were not done yet. They saved some of the biggest splashes for last. Were they big hits? Were they big misses? Murph and I are going to talk about that in just a moment when we wrap up our discussion on the Patriots day two, day three haul of the 2024 NFL draft. When this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Lockdown

Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, game off. We got to pause here to talk more about Monopoly Go. I know what you're saying. Flag on the play. Mike, you already talked about that. But there is just so much good stuff in this game. In Monopoly Go, you can team up with friends for time tournaments where you work together to build up each other's boards.

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on the Google Play or the App Store. Game on! Pats fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots and joining me as he does each and every Monday. The man who Mondays were created for here on Locked On Patriots, my good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy. Murph, we've been talking a lot about the New England Patriots draft hall.

It's an unusual Monday here on Locked On Patriots because it is the day after the day after the draft. And we're still sorting through all of the Patriots eight picks. Folks, do not worry. Mailbag Monday will be back here next Monday on Locked On Patriots.

So you know what? Start getting those questions in now, because Murph and I are going to do our best to answer all of your great questions. The mock drafts may be over, but the mailbag lives on. And guess what? LJ, just for you, if you want to throw in a 2025 mock draft, go ahead and do it. Murph and I will grade it right here, because we know you absolutely cannot wait to get started on next year's draft but but the patriots were not done with 2024 just yet right patriots still had picks beyond round four and jayvon baker being taken at number 110 sixth round number 180 patriots getting some help

in the secondary cornerback marcellus dial kids kid's got potential, got promise, going to be more of a rotational guy, I think, at first. What were your thoughts on the pick of Marcellus Dial? Well, as soon as I heard the name, I immediately thought of Steve Balistrieri and the cartwheels that Steve was doing in his living room. And at his age, that's not healthy, but he did them anyway because the kid is from South Carolina, and we all know how much Steve loves South Carolina. I don't get it. I don't.

You know, this is the one defensive pick that you're going to make in this draft. I thought you could have gotten a better pick, you know, when you were taking depth moves at guard than this kid. He's truly one of those. This is just from what I'm reading because I did not watch a ton of his film. He's a handsy guy. He's a guy that gets beaten on double moves quite often. He's not a fantastic tackler. Yeah, a depth move or possibly a, you know,

maybe another guy that they want to switch and play it free safety. Because we all know that there's a need there at free safety, and the Patriots did not address it. And again, that's one of my problems with this draft is the fact that, you know, they addressed the needs without truly addressing the needs. They addressed the needs with hopes and prayers that you could move somebody somewhere else and they were going to be dynamic. Okay? The Patriots did not get dynamic after their first pick in this draft.

Right now, what we'll take a look at is big hits, big misses. To me, and this is no disrespect on Marcellus, who I think is going to come in here and I think he's going to do a good job. I think he's got a good shot at making this roster. But at the same time, was this a miss for the Patriots to draft a cornerback that kind of fits a very similar skill set of what they have in the room already i know the patriots are talking about adding a veteran um maybe a stefan gilmore folks who knows you know homecomings are in the air right now murph who knows yeah but bottom line i think what you're looking at now is still a void at the safety position and to me this is a miss here because they did have an option to get a free safety a dedicated free

safety even if they wanted to go with someone who is a hitter in that backfield and maybe test some of the skill set of a Kyle Duggar or a Jabril Peppers to play a little bit more all over the field that type of safety that plays close to the line of scrimmage can play that hybrid linebacker I think that would have been a good fit as well. So yeah, I think this was a miss for the New England Patriots here. Prowess that he showed at South Carolina. I think he's got the capability of being a solid corner in this league and on this team. I just think there was a bigger need in the safety room than there was in the cornerback room. How could we not get to maybe the most explosive pick for the New England Patriots? Definitely the most explosive of day three, maybe the most explosive of day three.

Maybe the most explosive in the entire draft because Drake May was someone a lot of people expected New England to get. I did not expect the Patriots to double dip at quarterback. I did not expect them, with the 193rd pick in the sixth round, to get Tennessee's Joe Milton. Murph, we talked about Milton a couple of weeks ago here on Locked On Patriots and basically came to the realization that all the arm talent in the world, but a very raw talent that needs a lot of development. How surprised were you by this pick? I was very surprised. I was shocked.

And we said that I wouldn't mind the flyer in the sixth round on this kid, you know, just to see. They've already come out and said, no, he's not moving to another position. We're not going to make him a tight end. He's a quarterback. Again, who does he displace? I would rather have Bailey Zappi as the third quarterback on this team right now or the second quarterback on this team right now,

no matter where you're going to slot Drake May in than this kid. Alex Barth had a fantastic tweet. He can throw the ball 80 yards. We know that. But if you ask him to throw the ball 15 yards or 10 yards, he's going to throw the ball 80 yards. That was brilliant. It was completely brilliant.

And no, I just don't get it. When you could have had somebody to help this offense, we need a third down back. Okay. The Patriots need a third, another third down back. You know, there, you know, somebody, Dylan Loughby was still on the board and you could have used this pick to take him.

Okay. Now we'll get to the Patriots' final pick in a minute. But right here is where you should have taken Dylan Loughby and given him a chance to crack this squad. Joe Melton is not cracking this squad. He's not. Okay? Unless, you know, I really love this kid and I just want to give him a shot and, you know, something of that nature.

He's not going to crack this squad. He's going to be on the practice squad. You could have signed him as an undrafted free agent. I don't see anybody else taking a shot on him, even with the amount of picks that are left. And I think that this pick, once again, could have been used in a better way to help this 2024 Patriots squad, you know, possibly get back to the playoffs or be an above 500 team. All valid points. I really have very little argument with any of them. The one thing I will say about Milton is he may be the only guy other than Michael Penix in this draft that can match or maybe even exceed Drake May's arm strength. We know that Alex Van

Pelt loves to employ an offense that's predicated on using the run to facilitate play action, take deep shots down the field. If in fact Drake May has an injury or anything to that nature, Milton can come in and match him. He can throw the ball down the field. Like you said, the problem is, is the intermediate areas of the field. His skills don't necessarily just need to be sharpened. They need to be cultivated. They need to be watered. They need time to grow.

They're still pretty non-existent. They're little buds right now, and they need to get better. There's no question about it. And really, in all facets of being a quarterback, this guy's got ideal height, 6'5", 235, great deal of athleticism, cannon for an arm, no question about it. You need something to bring it all together. If the New England Patriots decide that they're not going to be using Milton

on the field, like you said, he's going to be a practice squad guy. He's not cracking the squad. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. But can the Patriots cultivate this kid into a solid enough prospect that they can fetch a return for him in a trade ship? Do you think maybe they looked at the value of quarterbacks, maybe because next year's quarterback class is not considered to be very robust. Maybe in the off season next year, if they give this kid the proper cultivation, maybe they can get something for him. A fifth-round pick?

You know, a sixth? Maybe. Okay, maybe. Maybe he can be part of a package deal or something. I don't know. I hope you're right. I really do. I hope you're right. I really do. I hope you're right. I just, I, he's a good kid from a good character, great character, fantastic, fantastic young man.

And, and, you know, the type of guy that you, everything I hear in the locker room is, is the kind of guy that you want. Just again, you know, it doesn't help the 2024 New England Patriots. And that's a valid point. It absolutely is. And again, with the problems that the Patriots had in the quarterback room last year, you want guys that are going to be able to work well together. Joe Milton said glowing things about Drake May called him a friend. He says he's a great guy. Can't wait to work with him. We're going to compete, but we're going to understand that we're on the same team and we're on the same page you definitely didn't have that last year in the locker room this is a guy that was displaced by Hendon Hooker when he came in because Joe Milton had an injury did his job supported Hooker when he left he came back into

the starting lineup and did a fairly good job for the Tennessee Volunteers. So, folks, at the very least, get your popcorn ready. As Javon Baker said earlier, you are going to love watching this kid in training camp. If you are in the Foxborough area, I encourage you to check out at least one training camp practice. It's free. You're going to want to see this kid throw the football. It's going to be a lot of fun watching him and and drake may go back and forth i really can't wait to see it and murph bottom line the patriots weren't done yet they had one more pick in elliot wolf's magic hat and jaheem bell the tight end out of florida state comes to new england this was a

good way to end the draft uh i really like Bell. I think he's got a solid ability and a solid resume to maybe project as a wide tight end. This is a kid that I think can be a good fit here in New England. I agree. He might end up being that elusive H-back that we've all really been hoping for, but I love this pick i i do think that he does uh crack the uh the roster uh i i think believe he's more than a developmental guy he's somebody who can who can work out of the backfield and um and does stuff with the ball once he gets it in his hands man i'm looking forward to to seeing what what this young man can do yeah i was very surprised that this kid slipped to be very honest with you.

When you started to see guys flying off the board, I really expected to see Jaheim Bell's name come off the board a lot quicker. Got quickness, route running, athleticism. He can get open, and he can be effective in the open field, and I think that's something. Learning from a guy like Hunter Henry will be really a good experience for him,

and I think he can learn a lot. He can stretch the field. He can run those seams. He's somebody that can be really exciting. This is a really nice weapon to grab down at the bottom of this draft. I just wish they had backed it up with Dylan Moby. Absolutely. No question about it.

I really do. You know, it's, but, you know, final grade, I gave this draft a C. You know, most of the picks were Cs, nice, safe depth moves. Like I said, I don't see much in this draft that, you know, where the Patriots are going to have displaced anybody that got them to this point last year. I believe Jalen Polk is a fine young football player, but he didn't move the needle. You could have had other people. You could have had, I think Caden Wallace is a fine young man. I would really like to sit down with his brother, have a beer, and talk about mollusks. I really would.

You know, Robinson is a fine young man. He's, you know, a depth move. I love the Baker. I love Javon Baker. I think that that does move the needle and could make some people nervous, not right away in that wide receiver room. But I think he's somebody who has some ball skills. Dial, I think he's somebody that they're hoping they'll strike it rich on moving him in this lineup away from cornerback and to a safety position.

And Yaheem Bell, I love. I just, I love this pick. I really do. I think he's the, I don't want to say a difference maker, but he's going to give Drake May something else out there, and you're going to see him on the field this year. Bell's definitely a yak guy, Murph. I know you're going to love that.

And bottom line, folks, what are your thoughts on the Patriots draft call, day two and day three specifically? I think we can all agree that they hit a home run on night one with Drake May, but how did the Patriots support him? Did they do enough to weaponize? What were the hits? What were the misses? We want to know what you're thinking.

Drop us a comment in the section below, and Murph and I will definitely address that later in the week. And, of course, your great questions for the New England Patriots are welcome here next Monday on Mailbag Monday, which returns here to Locked On Patriots. And, Bud, what can I say? It's great to have you back in the saddle, back in the rotation. Thank you so much for joining me here today to lend your wisdom and counsel

the way only you can. In the meantime, I still encourage you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. I'm Mike DeBain, and on behalf of the Don here on Locked On Patriots, my good friend Thomas Murphy, have a great day, and we'll see you again tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots.