Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Draft Strategy: Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl Standouts; Balancing Needs and Talent

Starting point is 00:00:00 Draft season has begun. Who would look best in a Patriots uniform? 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. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country,

Starting point is 00:00:37 so reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing some love to Locked On Patriots social media style, follow our ex-account at LO underscore Patriots. Folks, you can also follow me where the skies are blue over on Blue Sky at MDABATENFL.BSKY.SOCIAL. And of course, Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at LinkedIn Jobs.

Starting point is 00:01:02 LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to and they help you do it faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. Terms and conditions apply. And Pats fans, it may be less than a week until a

Starting point is 00:01:19 big game takes place, but here in Foxborough, it's already draft season. senior bowl in mobile alabama the east west shrine bowl already in the books and a lot of prospects are beginning to emerge from these pools as potential new england patriots at the very least a lot of gentlemen just did an awful lot down in these games to improve their draft stock heading into the 2025 nfl draft and ultimately the biggest question on everybody's mind is, was there anyone that caught the sharp eye of the Patriots contingent, making them an ideal fit here in New England?

Starting point is 00:01:53 And lastly, folks, amid all of the coaching departures that have been going on lately, the Patriots maintaining some continuity in the quarterback room, or will it only be in the quarterback room? That's right. Ben McAdoo is back in the fold this year for the New England Patriots. What does that mean for Drake May moving forward? We're going to discuss all of those points today. And, of course, folks, I keep saying we because those of you viewing this podcast

Starting point is 00:02:16 know that joining me here today on Mailbag Monday on the Locked On Patriots podcast is our good friend, the only man that can help me lift these heavy mailbags each and every week, my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for coming to me today in friendship, Don Murph, and helping me kick off yet another draft season here on Locked On Patriots. Oh, thanks for having me back, Michael. Thanks for having me back. It's always great to be here.

Starting point is 00:02:41 And on a Monday morning, you know, first cup of coffee. Let's get it going. Let's start the week off well. Absolutely. And on a Monday morning, you know, first cup of coffee. Let's get it going. Let's start the week off well. Absolutely. And you know what, Murph? There's no better place to dive right into the action we're going to be talking about today than the Senior Bowl, the East-West Shrine Bowl. Both of these games in the books.

Starting point is 00:02:58 And this has become one of the premier opportunities for prospects to showcase their talent and for scouts and high-level ranking executives within all 32 NFL teams to go down and see what these guys can do in a practical setting. Both the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl do a phenomenal job of putting on a great show each and every year. And our listeners here on Locked On Patriots are very interested in some of the prospects that caught our sharp eye over the weekend uh including our first submission here to mailbag monday that's right all the way from

Starting point is 00:03:31 brain tree and mass christina wants to know murph who were the most notable standouts from this year's senior bowl and shrine bowl and christina i want to give you a tip of the cap for including the east west shrine bowl in this as well i know we make an awful lot about the Senior Bowl. Jim Nagy and his team do a tremendous job not only marketing that game, but also providing a great platform for all the prospects involved. They make it comfortable for the media. They make it comfortable for all the scouts down there. But the East-West Shrine Bowl, I think, does an equally great job in bringing other prospects to the forum as well. So be that as it may, Murph, you look at the list of standout performers. Who caught your sharp eye

Starting point is 00:04:11 and why, bud? Well, you know, one of the guys at the Shrine Bowl that caught my eye was Jordan Phillips. You know, he did defensive tackle out of Maryland, man, he had a really strong week in practice and performed really well. And he's only 20 years old, so he's got room to grow. And during drills, there was nobody that could stop him. There really wasn't. He was dominant in the practices. And if you want to go for the so-called skilled positions, Taj Brooks for the Shrine Bowl, the Texas Tech running back,

Starting point is 00:04:50 he did really well. And at the other game, we'll call it the other game, I really fell in love with Etienne, the running back out of Georgia. I liked the way that he attacked the week and was able to really showcase his talents, especially catching the ball out of the backfield. Yeah, without any question, very good prospect list there. And I completely agree with you.

Starting point is 00:05:18 I was also someone that was quite taken with what Jordan Phillips had to do. Wouldn't be doing my job unless i uh threw in a name at the east west shrine bowl uh that is going to be familiar to a lot of people for a lot of okay uh and i think you know where i'm going with this at the cornerback position five feet 11 inches 171 pounds is not exactly the prototypical no perimeter corner that you would expect me to be mentioning right now but ansis is kobe bryant i think could make a splash at this position and to me this kid showcased a lot of physicality he's not afraid to go in there and mix it up and i think that little bit of attitude may be exactly what the patriots need at this position right he's around when the patriots are picking and they're not spending early round capital on him,

Starting point is 00:06:06 I think this kid could look pretty good in a Pats uniform. Be that as it may, I still believe he helped his draft stock a lot this weekend. Yeah, without a doubt. This kid got it done at Kansas. He had four interceptions over the last two years, 37 total tackles. Take that, little guys can't play the game or the position uh he also gave up uh 25 receptions on 46 targets and two touchdowns last season though um i early day three yeah i i would i would take it i would take a flyer on this game with that yeah

Starting point is 00:06:42 you know early day three you know know, that's a prospect. You need depth. You need people to step up. You need guys to go out there and be able to take four or five reps. This is a kid that might be able to do that. Early day three, yeah, early midday three, I would definitely take a stab at this kid. Yeah, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:07:01 I really, I like the way this kid plays. I like the style that he brings. And I think he could be a nice compliment to Christian Gonzalez, but you also have to realize that this kid's going to come in and he's going to be a work in progress. So it's not going to be an immediate plug and play. There will be some nurturing that will be needed at the position, but if he can hone in some of that physicality and then harness it and turn it into an effective weapon on the field, yeah, the Patriots may have found a diamond in the rough here. And I agree with you, Murph. Maybe, you know, day three might be a good possibility for him. You know, another day three pick on the other side of the ball, the complete opposite side of the ball, is Ricky White, the wide receiver out of UNLV. You know, this kid is a fantastic little prospect.

Starting point is 00:07:47 I think that, you know, he's able to – I like the way I saw him in and out of breaks, especially at the top of his route. He had 19 touchdowns over the last two years out there in the desert. And I think, you know, he's somebody that you could keep an eye on as you know another this this very much changing wide receiver room absolutely and yeah i think we'll probably get into receivers in a short order when it comes to best patriots prospect folks if you're viewing on youtube you can see the placard on your screen indicates we'll be talking about that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be going wide receiver but stay tuned you might want to catch what Murph and I have to say about that but

Starting point is 00:08:28 naturally Murph I think our discussion was going to lead us to the big round men that you'd love to discuss over and over again and one of the big standouts at the senior bowl over the weekend was Gray Zabel of North Dakota State this kid comes in as a potential plug and play prospect. A lot of people are talking about him being ready at the pro level, but along the interior, not along the tackle positions. And that's the knock on this kid right now. He's got the stats, only allowed one sack, six pressures this season. A lot of scouts say he can even play in the middle at center. He's most notably played left guard. he's played right tackle um this is the type of kid that could come in and be a versatile weapon uh for Doug Marone and that offensive line

Starting point is 00:09:12 the only question is if you're the Patriots do you want to invest that type of late first round early second round capital in someone like a Gray Zabel knowing that he fits more interior than exterior and that's not your most pressing need right now no it's not your most pressing need someone like a Gray Zabel, knowing that he fits more interior than exterior. And that's not your most pressing need right now. No, it's not your most pressing need right now at all. But, you know, what you do need on that line is depth and finding guys that can play at multiple positions is, could be a deciding factor. So, yeah, I could see the Patriots, if he's there and they have that uh you know the ability to trade back up into the second round later in the second round earlier in the third

Starting point is 00:09:52 round and if he's there you know i would i would definitely think about it and then there's always my guy willie lampkin you know later on in the draft you know lampkin can snap i could teach lampkin to snap. We mentioned that little mean streak that he's got in him and that ability to play above his size, his frame, and really kind of, I think, establish his game as someone that could make a mark in the NFL. So definitely appreciate your affinity for him without any question. And I can understand why. And yeah, uh yeah again folks you can put these guys on the list of players that would make potentially great patriots i want to give a very nice tip of the cat to a couple of local boys over at boston college uh offensive lineman

Starting point is 00:10:36 ozzy trapillo i thought did a very good job of being able to show his size his strength his ability to be a solid prospect at the pro level, especially at the tackle position. Because a lot of the guys, Murph, that we're going to talk about in terms of offensive line prospects, some scouts would tell you they lack the size, the arm length to be able to be solid tackles at this level. Ozzie, I think, fits the mold of a typical tackle. So he might be able to get in there and mix it up a little bit. I also want to give a tip of the cap on the opposite side of the ball to Donovan as a Rocco, who continues to show why he was one of the top pass rushers this year, 16 and

Starting point is 00:11:12 a half sacks that helped to lead that division. And this guy was someone who was a feared pass rusher in college football this year. Either one of those guys might look good in Patriots blue and they wouldn't have to travel so far either. So not a bad situation for these guys right now. No. And there's a guy in his people's peoples out of Virginia tech that I really like. Cam Jackson was, was a standout Darius Alexander isn't quite as big, but he plays a similar that,downhill style that we know Vrabel is going to like this week. And, you know, here's an edge rusher for you, Shermer Stewart, Texas A&M. Oh, my God.

Starting point is 00:11:55 Oh, my God. Yeah. Everybody who's talking about the Penn State, dude, you know, this is somebody that actually has the size to play the position. But no, there's some really great fits. The only problem is they keep talking about the lack of depth in this draft, the lack of blue-chip guys that are in this draft. There are good football players through three, four, five rounds of this draft. Just because you don't think you're seeing guys that are going to Canton

Starting point is 00:12:31 or, you know, even to the next Pro Bowl, doesn't mean that that's not going to eventually happen. And these aren't guys that are going to help your team and be important picks early in this draft? Bottom line, Christina, tip of the cap, a great question. Obviously, the question on everybody's mind here in New England. I think Murph and I have helped to provide a bevy of prospects that might catch your sharp eye.

Starting point is 00:12:56 But Murph, ultimately, the question on everybody's mind is of all these prospects that we've mentioned, or maybe that we haven't mentioned yet, who would actually be the best fit for the New England Patriots, both this season and beyond? Patriots currently hold a large amount of draft capital, including the number four overall pick. Is there anyone on their radar right now that performed this weekend that could be a new potential star here in New England? Murph and I are going to provide our thoughts on that subject when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. A proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day.

Starting point is 00:13:33 Listen up, Locked On listeners. As a small business owner, your work doesn't end when the clock hits five. Your business is always on your mind, which means when it's time to hire, you need a partner that works just as hard as you do. That's where LinkedIn Jobs comes in. When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. LinkedIn makes it easy to post your job for free, share it with your network, and get qualified candidates all in one place. And LinkedIn's new feature called Post Your Job can help you write job descriptions and then quickly get your job in front of the right people with deep candidate insights.

Starting point is 00:14:09 And here's a little pro tip for you. Add the hashtag hiring frame to your profile picture to double your reach to qualified candidates. No wonder 72% of small businesses say LinkedIn helps them find high quality hires. So don't delay. Do it today. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL. That's LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL to post your job for free.

Starting point is 00:14:36 Terms and conditions apply. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots, making us a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And joining me here today to break down all things Senior Bowl, East West Shrine Bowl, and even a little bit of Drake May development is my good friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy of DieHardBostonSportsFans.com. And Murph, in the previous segment, Christina from Braintree had a great question to open up Mailbag Monday on Locked On Patriots.

Starting point is 00:15:11 She wanted to know which prospects caught our sharp eye over the weekend. Who would make the best prospect? Who did most to help their draft cause, to help their stock when it comes to the 2025 NFL draft but if we're really being honest it's not just about players that help their stock the most it's about players who would help the New England Patriots the most and that's going to be our next question diving right in Lawrence from Charlotte North Carolina how about that Murph we're getting this is the second question now that we've had in the last couple of months from North

Starting point is 00:15:46 Carolina. Maybe the Bill Belichick influence, a little bit of Chapel Bill going on, you know, Ric Flair country down there. I don't know. It's just we're getting some fans from North Carolina. So tip of the cap and thank you for your support. But bottom line, Murph, I think Lawrence asks a great question. Which

Starting point is 00:16:01 senior or slash Shrine Bowl prospect? Again, Lawrence, kudos for including the East-West Shrine Bowl in that as question. Which senior or slash shrine bowl prospect, again, Lawrence, kudos for including the East-West Shrine Bowl in that as well, which is the best fit for the New England Patriots on Murph? Tez Johnson, I think, is a fantastic prospect that could fit in here with Josh McDaniels and in the newly dubbed Brady McDaniels offense. Okay, it is, folks,

Starting point is 00:16:26 it's no longer Earhart Perkins' grandfather, you know, offense. This has evolved, and I think this kid could fit fantastically in there. You know, there are other guys that have definitely stood out. I'll make you happy and i'll throw my my man willie lampkin in there uh late i i really like his versatility too um and and of course you know there's there's those guys that that we're all talking about i still think josh connerly is going to be a fantastic tackle at the next level i do. He didn't have a good game, but he had a very good week of practice. And sometimes, you know, he was going up against some really talented guys.

Starting point is 00:17:12 You know, we saw Connerly get blown out in practice on one rep that made it. He guessed wrong. That's all. He guessed wrong. He thought he was going to get a speed move and he got a he got a bull rush and uh but no those are the guys that have stood out to me this week that uh uh that i think would do really fantastic here in uh with josh and with drake and also the teen who we talked about earlier we need that third down back you need the guy that's going to be able to catch the ball out of the backfield. And this kid gets yak.

Starting point is 00:17:48 This kid gets yak. And that's what a lot of this offense is going to be predicated on. So those are the guys that I came away with that are going to end up being, I don't want to say prototypical Patriots because that got thrown out the window. But these are guys that fit into this ever-evolving offense that Josh McDaniels has over there on that side of the ball. Yeah, very, very good point. And I'm glad that you mentioned running backs that are versatile. And a lot of people are looking at running back now as a minor need or maybe a much lesser need. But if you're Josh McDaniels and you're coming in and you're not necessarily going to be betrothed, for lack of a better term, to that outside zone

Starting point is 00:18:31 concept that we saw last year, we know Josh likes to run a lot of gap-heavy stuff. And I still think you're going to see some of that. You want versatility in that room. So you always take that opportunity. And potential return to that gap-type style led me to my choice for maybe my prototypical patriot and i'm not saying this is likely folks and i'm not saying it may even be possible given the draft logistics here but i would love to see ariante erceri here in new england i would just this is a massive human being uh i think one of the better offensive linemen that you've seen all across the board uh when it came to his performance over the weekend. Great year in Minnesota, and I do believe that this kid has all of the tools

Starting point is 00:19:10 necessary to be a top-level tackle at this level. 6'5", 339 is actually what he's weighing in at. Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston had some very interesting comments on Ursary this week, and I really thought it was interesting that he mentioned Josh McDaniel's scheme and that penchant for going very gap heavy with someone like Ursary hold back a lot of these aggressive pass rushers and over this over the course of this past week Ursary won a lot of one-on-one matchups to someone that we mentioned in the previous segment Boston College's own Donovan Azaraku your good friend Thor Nystrom who we mentioned in the previous segment, Boston College's own Donovan Azaraku, your good friend, or Nystrom, who we hold in the highest regard when it comes to scouting.

Starting point is 00:19:49 These players said that, and I'm quoting him directly. He said that Ariante Ursary has Donovan in the ninth circle of hell right now at the senior bowl. It's a pretty good indication that this kid is making some very good strides. So again, I'm going a little on the unrealistic side here but i would love to see this kid in the patriots yeah he allowed just one sack and 11 pressures in uh over the course of last year he's he's you know a late round one early round two pick we've talked about him before

Starting point is 00:20:19 and uh and yeah he would he would he would fit really well. And again, you go back to what Josh likes to do. You're always going to fall back into your comfort zone when things are going wrong. And if you have two guys on that right side where you can put him next to Michael Wainu and push people straight down the field like you did in the old days, those duo concepts, those powers, those counters that we see so often when it comes to a Josh McDaniels offense, and especially the type of offense that Doug Marone likes to coach as well. These fits are there. I also agree with you.

Starting point is 00:20:52 Connerly would be a phenomenal fit in this style as well. But once again, folks, you're looking at late first round. Once the Patriots trade down and they maximize their draft capital, I don't know if necessarily either one of these guys is a realistic option, but Lawrence, if you're asking me for my pie in the sky, that's the guy I would love to see here in New England. I was very impressed by what I saw over the weekend. Murph, obviously the Patriots are in need of help scoring points. I think if you polled the majority of Patriots fans right now, they would say, we want to see points on the board. I think if you polled the majority of Patriots fans right now, they would say,

Starting point is 00:21:25 we want to see points on the board. I'm looking right at you, LJ, when I'm saying this. LJ wants himself an offensive weapon. Are there any offensive weapons that caught your eye over the weekend where you would say, you know what, with just a little bit of Patriots seasoning, he may make a good fit here in Foxborough? Yeah, Elijah Arroyo, the tight end out of Miami. I really like this kid a lot. You know, there's one for LJ and one for Claire. You know, a little tight endage action.

Starting point is 00:21:54 I love this kid's game. I think it's going to translate at the next level. It all depends on what the Patriots do in free agency and who comes back. Very good point. And I like arroyo as a prospect i think in terms of a pass catching tight end this kid is everything you want and more he provides that opportunity for you to go in the short field you can stretch it if he needs to he's got the speed

Starting point is 00:22:18 um still a little bit of question marks on his blocking but again there's where doug marone comes in and there's where josh mcdaniel's influence in really rounding these guys out as complete tight ends not just you know glorified receivers that go out there and collect records just for the sake of it uh guys who actually play the position the way the football gods intended the position to be played um wasn't too much sarcasm dripping from my voice there was there just a little bit right yeah exactly i think people forget how much help having Josh McDaniels in that offensive coach's room this year is going to be to all of these young prospects and all of these guys because Josh has been there he's seen it all he's done it all and he's going to be able to bring

Starting point is 00:22:58 these guys into the next level and speaking of the outside speaking of sizable weapons on the outside, I know Patriots fans get very squeamish about drafting a sizable wide receiver that's known for his physicality and known for someone that can make contested catches. The good news is, folks, this guy's not one of them, but he proved he can do it over the weekend, and that's Iowa State's Jaden Higgins. Higgins comes in with the size for the position, Murph, and you want an outside weapon, this kid can be it. 6'4", just go back and look at what Higgins did on Saturday. One of the top plays of the day, making the contested grab in the end zone,

Starting point is 00:23:34 trick play pass from Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon. These are the types of innovative plays that Josh McDaniels loves to include. And he played in the Big 12, and Josh loves the Big 12 because they play defense in the Big 12. It's not like going out west and grabbing the big guy who high points anything because there's nobody there to cover him. Exactly. And you want to talk about playing in the Big 12.

Starting point is 00:23:56 He didn't just play in the Big 12. Put up pretty good numbers. 87 catches, 1,183 yards, nine touchdowns this past season. I know a lot of people have him on the board right now is potentially an early day two maybe somewhere around in day two if he falls a little bit again folks logistically maybe the patriots take a shot here if they trade and they maneuver themselves around the board well but you're looking for an outside prospect with the size the speed and potentially the strength to be that guy i like

Starting point is 00:24:26 higgins as a potential uh you know fit as well so weapons weapons weapons absolutely but you know what bottom line murph all of these prospects that we've mentioned the only way that they're going to endear themselves to pats nation is to provide support for drake may obviously he is the centerpiece of this franchise moving forward. But I think we'd also be remiss if we didn't mention that Drake is also losing his top two coaches from just a year ago. Alex Van Pelt, TC McCartney moving on to greener pastures beyond Foxborough. But the Patriots did make a step over the weekend in retaining the services of someone

Starting point is 00:25:02 who played a major role in Drake's development this year. And that is Ben McAdoo, who played a very significant role in the offensive coaching staff. McAdoo is going to be back in Foxborough this year, Murph, but it's not going to be on the offensive side of the ball. Yeah, that's right. Ben McAdoo is going to be taking his talents to the defensive side of the ball.

Starting point is 00:25:21 Why? Murph and I are going to discuss that point in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Locked On listeners, the big game is almost here, and there's no better way to make it even more exciting than with PrizePix, the best place for daily fantasy sports. With over 10 million members and billions in winnings awarded, PrizePix makes it fun and simple to get in on the action.

Starting point is 00:25:52 Here's how it works. You pick more or less on at least two players' projections, and if you're right, you could win up to 1,000 times your cash. PrizePix even has a free pick for the big game, where Patrick Mahomes only needs to throw one yard to win. Pair that with one or more correct pick and you're cashing out. This week, I'm looking at the board and selecting more for Travis Kelsey on receiving yards and more for a quarterback's passing yardage. But what I really love the most about Price Picks, fast, safe

Starting point is 00:26:22 withdrawals. When I win, my cash is in my account in as little as 15 minutes so don't delay do it today download the app today and use the code locked on nfl to get 50 instantly after you play your first five dollar lineup that's code locked on nfl l-o-c-k-E-D-O-N-N-F-L for $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks run your game. Listen up, Locked On listeners. Are you looking for tickets to your next big event? Maybe you're looking for last-minute tickets to the big game this weekend. Whether it's a concert, a comedy show, or a sports game,

Starting point is 00:27:02 finding the right ticket at the right place can be a headache. But with GameTime Picks, it's never been easier. Let me tell you how it works. With GameTime Picks, the app does the hard work for you. It curates the best deals so you don't have to waste time searching through endless ticket listings. I've been using GameTime Picks for a while now, and here's why I love love it i recently grabbed a super deal for a prime seat and i couldn't believe the value and their seat view feature is a game changer before i even hit buy i can see exactly what my seat will look like right in the venue and the best part you're covered with game time's lowest price guarantee if you find a better deal somewhere

Starting point is 00:27:42 else they'll refund 110 of the difference plus your tickets are guaranteed to be delivered on time with easy cancellation options if something comes up ready to make your next event even better download the game time app and create an account use the code locked on nfl for 20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. So again, that's code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Pats fans, thank you for joining me here today on Locked on Patriots. Of course, we continue to break down all of the Senior Bowl,

Starting point is 00:28:24 East-West Shrine Bowl prospects. If we're talking draft and it's Mailbag Monday, you know there is only one man that can join me here that is capable of lending the type of wisdom and counsel we need. And that is my good friend,

Starting point is 00:28:37 the legendary Thomas Murphy of DieHardBostonSportsFans.com. Murph, we've already fielded two great questions. One from Christina in Braintree wanting to know about the prospects in both ball games that have helped to improve their draft stock the most we also got a great question from Lawrence in Charlotte North Carolina who asked us our opinion on who might make the best Patriot well there's already a Patriot in house that was

Starting point is 00:29:01 the star of the draft last season make the argument that maybe it was the only foolproof pick the Patriots made, and that was Drake May. Obviously, Drake's performance in the Pro Bowl over the weekend is not going to wow anyone, but again, put that aside. We're not going to focus on that. We're going to focus on what he does. And a couple of nice little dimes there. Yeah, exactly. We're not going to focus on the fact that they were to the wrong team, but you know what? It doesn't matter, Murph, because we're only talking about when the games count here. And when it counted, Drake May was pretty, pretty, pretty good. And I think he's going to continue to be that heading into year two, year three, and year four, especially under the expert tutelage of Josh McDaniels. But I also think it's worth noting that Drake is going to be losing two of the coaches that really helped to craft him into the pro quarterback he's becoming. Alex Van Pelt, TC McCartney, no longer going to be here in New England. You wonder what that does to a young

Starting point is 00:29:57 player and a young player's need for continuity. The Patriots apparently looked like they were going to shore that up a little bit when we heard initial reports that Patriots offensive coaching assistant and 2024 quarterbacks coach assistant Ben McAdoo was returning to Foxborough for 2025 but Boston Sports Journal's Mike Giardi a journalist we hold in the highest regard right reported over the weekend that Ben McAdoo's role is going to be primarily on the defensive side of the ball. And our good friend Ron in Bellingham provides us a great question. The question to kind of round things out here on the Locked On Patriots Mailbag this week. He wants to know, will the presence of Ben McAdoo provide continuity for Drake May this

Starting point is 00:30:40 season? Omar, if I got my own theories on this, but I don't want to steal your thunder, can Ben McAdoo on the defensive side of the ball still have an impact on what Drake May does this season and beyond? I don't think Ben McAdoo is going to help at all. I really don't. Him on the other side of the ball just reeks of moving defensive coaches over to run an offense. I don't like it. I'm not sure what he's going to do. He's going to wander around like he did last year and help out here and give advice there. And then everybody will turn around and say, what's Ben McAdoo doing? I don't understand this move. I think this is an Elliott-Wolf buddy move, and that's it. I don't see how this helps Drake in any way, shape, or form.

Starting point is 00:31:23 I don't see how this helps the Patriots in any way, shape, or form. Okay, well, I'm going to play devil's advocate first. Okay, go ahead. Because conventional wisdom would tell you that an offensive pair of eyes on the defensive side of the ball could be an asset. You look at the role that Ben played last year, and obviously he did work a lot with Drake in terms of his mechanics, his development.

Starting point is 00:31:45 We heard behind the scenes that he did a lot with a lot of different areas of the offense. Ramondre Stevenson couldn't necessarily pin down exactly what he did that said he was kind of a jack of all trades. And speaking with some of the scout team coaches last year, one of the things that Ben did most notably was work with the scout team's defensive coordinator on how to help the offense prepare for third down situations. So you look at that and you say, okay, that's a good move for the New England Patriots. That was an area last year where they really needed some help. But then you look at it deeper and you say, okay, well, he was already providing that type of work on the defensive side of the ball from an offensive perspective with his help. The Patriots worked their way up to completing a

Starting point is 00:32:29 whopping 34.8% of their third down opportunities in 2024. That's 29th in the league. So you pretty much have nowhere to go, but up at this point, you wonder how much more insight Ben's going to be able to provide on that so in a way i'm playing devil's advocate on one side but i think i'm also playing into your argument as well but again i mean we've seen this there before i will fully recognize that there is the connection between ben mcadoo and elliot wolf uh from what we're hearing if ben's going to be sticking around this year it looks to be more logistics than strategy at this point. I'm sorry. Over Ben McAdoo's Don Farnucci's nephew.

Starting point is 00:33:08 Okay, that's it. Plain and simple. Don Farnucci walked into the office and said, I got to get my nephew a job here. You're going to have to go fire Vito. Well, on that note, folks, it may be an indication that Mike Vrabel's desire to have Elliot Wolfe take on a pretty notable presence in that front office may be solidified with the presence of Ben McAdoo this season, keeping someone around that Elliot has some experience working with. Yeah, who knows? That might be a sign that McAdoo remaining on this staff may be an indication that Elliot Wolfe is going to hang around for the long term as well, at least through the remainder of this season.

Starting point is 00:33:45 Once again, folks, anything and everything can happen in Foxborough, but how can I top that on a Fannucci reference? I think we absolutely have to end it right there. Ron and Bellingham, I guarantee you is loving it. Everybody's loving it. And we'll see what happens with the new England Patriots from here on in. But Murph bottom line, you can always count on our great listeners here on Lockdown Patriots,

Starting point is 00:34:08 all of our great everydayers for providing phenomenal questions. Once again, y'all stepped up to the plate, knocked it out of the park. I want to give a lot of credit to Christina, to Lawrence, to Ron this week for great questions. But we had several questions from so many of you everydayers that really embodied the spirit of what we talked about here today. So folks, keep them coming in.

Starting point is 00:34:29 Even if there are duplicates, duplicates do not get thrown away. They go to the top because those are the questions on the mind of the Pulse of Pats Nation. But most of all, I want to thank my good friend, Thomas Murphy, for joining me here today and lending all of the wisdom, the counsel, and the insight insight and the godfather references we can handle here on the pod but it wouldn't be mailbag monday without you in another couple of weeks it certainly won't be much wrapped monday without you always honored always humbled by your presence please let everyone know where they can reach out to you interact with you and what you got marinating in murph's kitchen yeah check, check me out on Zitter at Team Murph 207. You could also check me out over where the blue skies are always cleared up over there at Blue Sky at Team Murph 207. What do you know?

Starting point is 00:35:13 Nobody else wanted it, so I was able to get it. And, yeah, I'm working on, you know, I'm just deep into film. I'm just deep into film, getting ready for your Mock Draft Monday stuff and of course your mailbag stuff. I'm going to have, I promise, I'm going to have my top 10 free agent

Starting point is 00:35:36 wish list out this weekend so you guys will have something to read on Sunday that is Patriot-centric. Absolutely. Murph's deep into film, folks. To quote Axel Foley, this is deep now, but he's going deeper. That's right. Deep, deep into film.

Starting point is 00:35:52 Don Finucci, Axel Foley, same show. And on that note, folks, on behalf of my good friend Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate, reminding all of you to stay safe, to stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Lucked on Patriots.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Draft Strategy: Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl Standouts; Balancing Needs and Talent

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.