Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Eyeing Jordan Addison at Wide Receiver in First Round? Mock Draft Monday

Episode Date: February 27, 2023

The New England Patriots are sure to address their need at offensive line in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, might they first be in the market for a pass catcher? Host Mike D’Abate and guest Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy break down two mock draft submitted by Locked On Patriots listeners for Mock Draft Monday. Mike gives his thoughts on the Patriots potentially looking at USC wide receiver Jordan Addison or Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Could USC's Jordan Addison tempt the New England Patriots to once again take a wide receiver in the first round? 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. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, so smash that subscribe button, download, subscribe to, and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. I am your host, Mike DeBate.

I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on the Bird app at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, it is hashtag Locked On Murph Monday. It is hashtag Mock Draft Monday. And the legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com, is back with me today to break down some amazing user mock drafts.

That's right, folks. We got a pair of great drafts for you. Maybe one of the best we've seen to date, and one that is shrouded in a little bit of controversy, but still a solid effort from one of our very favorites here on Locked On Patriots. So stick around, folks. You are going to love the two drafts that

we've got picked out for you today. But first, one of the key milestones in the 2023 NFL draft cycle arrives this Tuesday, February 28th. Tomorrow, my friends, when the annual scouting combine commences in Indianapolis, Indiana. And for the New England Patriots, it might be an opportunity to add some much needed talent along the offensive line, as well as the defensive front or maybe in the secondary as well i say add talent but it's the opportunity to really do some major league scouting for this event of course i'm

talking about the 2023 nfl draft that doesn't take place until april but one of the nation's foremost draft experts is also advising the patriots to keep a sharp eye on potentially adding a premier pass catcher. That's right, folks. The ghost of McKeel Harry can be exercised if New England picks the right wide out in the first round. And according to this analyst, they have a chance of doing so. In fact, he even says that that pass catcher might even be a tight end. That's right, Claire. Pay attention.

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network is, again, among the leading experts in his field. No stranger to this process. Spent time with the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles as a college scout, and he's become one of football's most well-respected analysts, analyzing the combine as only he can, and as well as the draft as well so

when you look at his insight continually continuously catching the attention of fans media front offices throughout the league jeremiah talks and everyone listens he is like the ef hutton of this time of year and i was among the media members that was fortunate enough to be able to join him on a conference call friday afternoon as nfl networks that was fortunate enough to be able to join him on a conference call Friday afternoon as NFL Network set up for media to be able to preview with Daniel some of the NFL's marquee offseason events like the Combine, like the draft, and to find out who he believes is a perfect fit for some of the teams out there in the league now the patriots are set to make their earliest selections at number 14 and number 46 respectively and even though daniel jeremiah provided some valuable insight for most of the league's teams yeah we pressed them a little bit to get some interesting insight regarding your new england patriots and right off the bat even though he didn't rank his selections he strongly believes that five players really fit the Patriot way.

And those players, he believes, look pretty good in Patriot blue. Who am I to argue? I think he's right on the money with some of these. Offensive tackle, Peter Skowronski of Northwestern. You've heard Murph and I and several guests here on Locked On Patriots sing his praises. He would probably be my crown jewel pick right now. Not going to lie, that's a guy that I would go for if the Patriots had the opportunity to take him at number 14. He also mentioned offensive lineman

Cody Mosh. Now, Cody Mosh right now could be interesting as an opportunity for maybe a day two selection. He's got versatility to align a tackle, guard, and center. This is a tough-minded kid that could play a very big role along the Patriots' offensive line. But obviously, Skowronski really aligning as the top option at the position. Great combination of speed and strength to resist opposing pass rushers really makes him an automatic fix for one of the team's most glaring weaknesses in the previous season so already liking what he brings to the table with guys like Skowronski and with Cody Mosh pair of edge rushers are on that list as well Keon White

of Georgia Tech Lucas Van Ness of Iowa these two guys bring some edge some pop and really I think a little bit of athletic prowess, maybe even a little bit of attitude to the edge that the Patriots so desperately love to be able to bring in. You can never have too much firepower along your defensive front. Both of these guys blend size with impressive athleticism. It really, to me, I think either Van Ness or White at this point would be solid additions to the Patriots defensive line. And then, of course, you've got the cornerback position. And here on Locked On Patriots, we've talked several times about Oregon's Christian Gonzalez,

really one of the better prospects out there, one of the more complete cornerback prospects out there. And a lot of analysts myself included have become infatuated with this kid rightfully so but the more i'm looking at it and because of daniel's insight i'm looking a little closer at witherspoon right now he actually may be the better fit for new england's glaring need they need toughness at the catch point and this is something that devin witherspoon absolutely provides go back and take a look at some of the tape on this kid. He can really, really do it.

Also has the ability to seek the ball in man coverage. That, to me, spells success in a Bill Belichick-led defense. So hard to argue with Daniel Jeremiah's logic here so far. Witherspoon comes from a school in Illinois where they definitely value hard-nosed type of defense. White, Van Ness, I like what they bring on the offensive, excuse me, the defensive edge, and you've got to love what Peter Skowronski and Cody Mottch do on the offensive line. But it's not all about the

trenches. There are skill position players that are catching his eye as well, and a lot of local and national analysts are starting to mock wide receivers to the Patriots in the first round. And a lot of that comes from buzz surrounding the team about them going into the first round to try to bring back a prolific pass catcher. Look, there's no doubt about it, folks. The Patriots are in need of a wide receiver. At some point in the draft, you definitely have to address whether they believe that it's going to be a depth piece or whether they're going to go for the top of the line guy in this draft. You can bet that they'll definitely, you know, kick the tires on at least one of them.

And Daniel's argument, and it's a solid argument, it's an argument that several of you make on the comments here in Locked On Patriots and also to each other, whether you're just, you know, kind of shooting the breeze, talking about what the Patriots need to do. A lot of analysts are talking about it. You need a wide out to help the progression of Mac Jones. Who do you get? You get someone with a versatile skill set. I still believe that Ohio State's Jackson Smith Najiba is the best fit for this team.

He's the most complete wide receiver in this class, but TCU's Quinton Johnston is definitely at the top of the list as well. You can make the argument these two guys are one and one A. They've been very popular in Patriots draft selections, yet Daniel Jeremiah went a little bit of a different route here. He said that if New England is all in on upgrading their receiving core, then they would be smart to go for USC's Jordan Addison. And this, to me, could be interesting for the Pats. He gives a good example and a good, I think, reasoning as to why Addison would be an optimal choice. He believes that he is a complete route runner, and Daniel is right on the money here.

Go back and take a look at some of the film on him from USC he really does run routes with the best of them he knows exactly how to find the open scene and really was able to read the quarterback as well as anyone in terms of making a connection he gives you bursts he gives you explosiveness to make plays over the top and I think he has outstanding hands that's Daniel Daniel Jeremiah's words, but I agree with him there. I think he has outstanding hands too. The only problem with going after Addison is I just don't believe he's going to be there at the time the Patriots are going to pick at 14. He's currently ranked as the top wide receiver prospect by several national outlets, so Addison may be a tough one to get. If the Patriots are going to go all in, they may have to trade up for his services.

And I don't know if the Patriots are going to go that extra mile and trade up for him. If he's there at 14, I don't see how you can leave him on the draft board. He is that good and that much of a surefire success in this league. But if the Patriots have to trade up to get him, I think it might be a little bit rough.

To be honest, I'm a little less optimistic than I was last week about maybe grabbing someone like Jackson Smith and Dejiba or even Quinton Johnston at number 14 wideouts are abundant in this draft and the Patriots may find themselves on the outside looking in at least one of them should be there though it's going to be interesting to see which one it is, if the Patriots do decide to go for tackle help or if they go all-in on a pass catcher from Mac Jones. Arguments can be made for both, and we'll continue to make them both here on Locked On Patriots. But the last suggestion that Daniel Jeremiah made was one that raised my eyebrow a little bit. And again, Claire, if you're paying attention, listen to this one. If the Patriots swim against the current on draft weekend, Daniel Jeremiah believes that the New England Patriots could solve their pass-catching problems by drafting a tight end,

even as early as the first round. And it's hard to argue the logic. By consensus, this positional group is as strong as it's been in several years. Notre Dame's Michael Mayer Oregon State Luke Musgrave these are the guys at the top of the list but Jeremiah is most impressed with Utah's Dalton Kincaid I'm going to quote him verbatim here from what he said to answer the question I think he's a big time player he's one of my favorite players to watch in this draft I think he is one of the best players in the draft. He is just something in everything that he does. He separates. He's

outstanding after the catch. You know he can win on contact over the middle of the field. He is really, really good after the catch. You know as a blocker, he's going to more shield you and wall off. And if you're looking for a pass catcher catcher folks this kid may be the way to do it he's got tremendous size he's got tremendous hands and the ability to be a receiver in all parts of the field in fact jeremiah went all in and compared him to travis kelsey now i think that's a little bit lofty i think right now in terms of where this kid's ceiling could be it might end up being close to that but i think in terms of having a little bit more realistic approach, Zach Ertz of the Arizona Cardinals, to me, is a very good comparison.

And that's far from being an insult. Ertz is one of the top tight ends in the league, without question. This kid is a natural pass catcher. The Patriots do typically prefer their tight ends to be more adept as blockers, particularly on the inline. But if New England is inclined to invest first round capital at the position, their selection would probably support that prototype. And I'm not saying that to knock Donald Kincaid. I think he can be a very top flight receiver in this league, a receiving tight end, but I'm just not

sure the Patriots would go that route at number 14. But again, Bill Belichick has always been someone that will draft the best player on the board if he believes that he can be a fit in his system. So all things to keep a sharp eye on. Daniel Jeremiah never disappoints, folks. It was honored to be on the conference call and definitely picked up a lot of interesting Patriots tidbits. But with the Patriots having so much to watch with the scouting combine coming up, it's time for you to be the judge. And we do have two amazing mock drafts here to share with you today on Locked On Patriots.

We're going to do that in just a moment when my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto himself, joins me right here as Murph and I break down your mock drafts on today's episode of Locked on Patriots. But first, folks, today's episode brought to you by our good friends at FanDuel Sportsbook. The midway point of the NBA season is here, and now is the perfect time to download FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because new customers get a no-stw sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's bonus bets back if your first bet doesn't win. Just download the FanDuel Sportsbook app.

It's safe, it's secure, and it's super easy to use. And then you can bet on everything from the money line to the point scorers to the three pointers drained. Plus, FanDuel lets you even combine your bets for a chance at a bigger payout with the same game parlay. So don't miss the chance to get your no-sweat first bet up to $1,000 in bonus bets when you go to FanDuel.com slash locked on. That's FanDuel.com slash locked on to learn more. Make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook betting partner of the NBA. Patriots fans, the Patriots trading

back in the first round on draft night is always sure to bring a collective groan from all of you out there. And I, for one, don't blame you. It's frustrating. You wait all year for the NFL draft. You wait for the Patriots to get on the clock. And then you see the commissioners stroll to the podium and say the patriots have traded and they will be picking in the second round but not every trade back is always going to be a problem if you do it the right way you can even get yourself on mock draft monday and that's exactly what one of our great listeners has done here today we have a draft that has nailed the trade back and as you

can see joining me as he does each and every monday is the count of murphy fisto himself the man who puts the murph in locked on murph monday thomas murphy of e2g sports thank you for coming to me in friendship today don mur Murph. Oh, my pleasure, man. My pleasure. Especially when we've got a couple of drafts to pick apart like these two. Oh, my God, man. You folks are in for a treat. And quite honestly, what am I going to do? Sit back and watch a rerun of the SAG Awards? No. Oh, come on, Murph. You don't want to see who won the SAG Awards? No, we are all fixated on the draft. Comb combine starting this week.

Draft talk up in full swing. We love it. As you can definitely see Murph and I live for this stuff. And my draft Monday is our favorite day of the week here on lockdown Patriots and Murph. Let's dive right in. We get to work on a great mock draft brought to our attention by Ashley found on Twitter at little hashtag.

Gotta love that Twitter handle. One of the great ones out there. Gotta love it. And she has the Patriots doing a trade back, like we said, folks, the right way. And folks, she has the Patriots and the Detroit Lions swapping the number 14 and 18 pick in the first round. That's right. Trading back into the first round of the New England Patriots and even getting a second and fourth rounder for the future.

Brilliant. Murph, just amazing. You make the trade, you pick up the future capital, and you walk away with one of the most complete receivers in the draft class. Murph, this is how you trade. This is really how you work a board. This is how you trade this is really how you work aboard this is how you move around uh i don't i don't mind when you folks do trades and and you're trading but when you trade out and

you come back and you say yeah murph i got a first rounder for next year and i'm picking you know 30 31st in the second round and no that's not what we want. We want help now. And Ashley certainly got us help now. I mean, she traded back to 18 and still ended up with who I feel is the number one should go in the first round. I'm a big proponent of solidifying that offensive line. I'm not sure who else was there at tackle or at guard at pick 18, but I'm not going to be upset when she grabs this young man and then comes back with DeJuan Jones in the second. Oh, my God. Yeah, you want to talk about a one-two combination, a really, really strong one-two punch to open this draft.

Not only are we walking away with two additional draft pieces, Murph, if we're the New England Patriots, but coming away with DeJuan Jones in the 46th pick in the second round, that is a very good consolation prize if you're looking to upgrade this offensive line. We we've talked about the one several times. There's so much to like about his name, so much to like about how he'd fit on this offensive line. My friend. It is. He he's just fantastic. He's probably one of the most complete tackles in this draft and anybody coming out of the, uh, the, uh, Ohio state program at, on the offensive line is somebody that immediately gets a bump in my book. Absolutely, without any question.

Going down the line, Ashley did not pull any punches. She took no prisoners here. Cornerback, another, I tell you, the top three needs on this team. Wide receiver, tackle, corner. You can kind of shuffle those and put them in whatever order that you like you know that Murph and I are always a proponent of adding to the offensive line first but these are the top needs and she came away with a good one Garrett Williams out of Syracuse number uh number 76 in the third round another solid pick here fantastic pick

fantastic pick and you're talking to a man who's a UConn man. So yes, I am completely biased when it comes to anybody from Syracuse. Really? Syracuse and BC, I just don't want to hear about it. You guys all ran off to the ACC and pissed me off. But no, this kid has it all. He's a starter from day one, or at the very least, a well-used rotational piece here in New England right out of the gate. Yeah, without any question. And the Patriots definitely have a need at corner. You can make the argument that whether they need a little bit more physicality on the cornerback position at the perimeter or whether they need that type of ball hawking corner, Williams can be a little bit of both. He does have the hybrid ability to play either one and with the proper coaching and the proper development you can bring this kid into a system and he can end up doing great things so right off the bat you got three top level

prospects that are coming back to the new england patriots a couple of additional draft picks so far i'm loving it i don't know about you i I'm loving it so far. A couple of additional picks here. Sam Laporta is a guy we don't hear an awful lot of out of Iowa. The tight end. Hi, Claire. If you look at this, again, I think this is such a deep tight end class. Laporta would probably be someone that would have gone a lot higher last year. But that is a loaded, loaded group at tight end right now.

And I like what this can bring to the table as well. I do. I, I, I really do. This is a, another fine depth piece, a kid that can come in here and is, is definitely a top five tight end in a draft that's being called the tight end draft. Okay. There might only be one or two guys that, that anybody would take a run at in the first round.

But no, this, this kid, Sam LaPorter is right there with, with anybody else after that, who's not, you know, coming out of Georgia and that somebody is going to stupidly take him,

you know, at 20. Yeah. Without any question. Very, very good point. I opened the show today by talking about our draft conference call that we had with Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network on Friday,

who opens the Combine Week every year as he does the Friday before and talked about the New England Patriots dipping into the tight end well and mentioned Dalton Kincaid, obviously. I mean, one of the top guys in there, you know, with the exception of Michael Mayer of Notre Dame, he may be one in 1A about who's taken early. But if you can dip into the early part of the middle rounds of the draft, yeah, folks, say that five times fast. But that's exactly where he is. He's the early part of the middle rounds of the draft. To me, this is a great pick and a great value for the new england patriots if they can cultivate him out of this position so excellent excellent job here uh addressing the need on the edge with carl books excuse me carl brooks of bowling green um yeah another another solid one

here uh you know really i think that uh you know ashley's really hitting the mark really is really really quickly and yeah you know and von trowontrell Miller, I really like this pick. It's going to come down to, again, what the Patriots do in free agency and who they bring in. But this is a young, versatile kid that just lays wood every chance that he gets. Absolutely. And I really like that pick. Jacob Slade is a sleeper there at, I think she got

him at 187. And, you know, Scruggs, the center out of Penn State, that's another fine pick. Ashley has, honestly, this is the best draft that I have seen to date when we're talking about hitting at every spot that the Patriots need to get deeper at or find themselves a starter. She found starters in three of her top five picks, and she found guys that are going to make this team all the way down to, I say, pick, what is that, 192 or 182? Don't get old, people. Don't get old. 192. 192. They're all guys that are going to make this team. Hargrave is another young tackle that I like of what I've seen.

And Hunter Lemke, what can I say, man? We've all been in love with Hunter Lemke. I'm not sure if the Patriots are going to go this way. O'Brien has never been a big fullback guy, but you never know. You never know. Yeah, you never know. I mean, you saw the Patriots miss a guy like Jakob Johnson so much last year. You know, I know they wanted to incorporate the outside zone run.

And to me, that's where someone like a TCU's Keandre Miller might come in a little bit handy. I noticed Murph skipped over him and folks, I didn't even tell him not to do that, but I actually liked the pick of miller and not to call ashley out i saw her answering a couple of um uh twitter comments uh and some of the uh the additional feedback that she received about uh picking a halfback or picking a running back here in that position and saying that well i did it because there's a possibility that stevenson could get injured and you can't always rely on guys like Pierre Strong and and uh you know and then Kevin Harris to come in and be able to do what they need

to do uh Ty Montgomery right now is a wild card we don't know what his situation is going to look like so if they do want to get someone that can come in and be a contributor on this team Miller is someone that I think is a little bit more of an early down back i like what he can do here he's got great balance great body control on this kid go and take take a look at some of the youtube footage on him from tcu uh really a tremendous athlete sees the field as well as anyone this kid's got great field vision he can find a hole he can find a scene and knows what's going on on the field at all times that's something that won't have to be coached a whole lot of no matter where he ends up in the nfl uh really thrives in the gap scheme the patriots i think are still at their best in those gap runs leave the outside

zone for leave it for in case of emergency break glass people this is not what the patriots offense should be run bread and butter i don't think bill o'Brien's going to run that type of offense but like the value here late in the fourth round and you mentioned Haggard earlier this actually may be one of my favorite sleeper type picks in this draft right now uh from Ashley um you already have DeJuan Jones in this draft and you know early early rounds but this kid is so good when he's asked to pull now I know he's a tackle but he does have positional versatility right he can get out front as a lead blocker and that's so important when you're trying to pull those guards trying to pull the tackles and utilize that gap run right that's how they're going to run this this kid can really

thrive here he knows where the defenders are at all times he's got the ability to adjust he can land his blocks and he can stand up against the linebacker so uh the aggregators love this one i love this one as well um i really i i love this whole draft jesus mary and joseph i mean it's just like if this draft came down there would be a lot of nervous people in the new england locker room wondering whether or not they were going to have a job at the end of training camp. This is just a beauty. It's just a beauty. Without question. Without question.

So, Murph, it's a great time here. We're taking a look at Ashley. I'm giving her a solid A on this one. I thought this was a masterpiece from start to finish. This is the first A-plus I'm giving this year. I have no idea what the grade. We can't see the grades on the side here, but it is. It's an A-plus I'm giving this year. I have no idea what the grade. We can't see the grades on the side here, but it is. It's an A-plus.

From the trade back to what she was able to do with getting future assets and assets in this draft, you can't bump it down. I'm not trying to rain on Mike's parade with just an A, but I'm going A+. Yeah, absolutely. And I really don't have a problem with you doing that. As a matter of fact, I might bump mine up as a matter of fact, because you just, you look at what she's done from start to finish here, addressing every need, addressing every need. And I think addressing every need with a competent player that could really fit well in this

system. It's one thing to bring in guys who are well thought of nationally, but it's another thing to bring in guys who can do well in New England. That is such a fine, slippery slope that so many analysts and guys who have covered the team, girls who have covered the team for years, they just sometimes don't get that point. Nailed it. Absolutely nailed it. They really don't, get that point. Nailed it. Absolutely. They really don't. And, and, and she does, she nails it. You know, so often we talk about Bill Belichick's draft busts. All right.

And the guys who don't make it, the guys who don't make it here often don't make it here because of the talent in front of them. And they don't have a, they don't have a path to growth and you, you need, you need playing time to get better. You don't just get better in practice and in, in, in the film rooms, you actually need time on the field. And sooner or later you age out of your, your window, you miss your window to become an impact player to become even a rotational player because i can find somebody else that's going to come in here and ashley did that okay she found

she found that next group that if they're not starters they're number two say there isn't there isn't anybody on this team on this in this draft that i would i would immediately say there's a practice squad guy yeah you know they're, they're all on the roster. And that is not easy to do. So by all means, Ashley, please be sure to keep them coming, but make sure to continue dabbling into the draft prognostication because you've got definitely a bright future ahead of you when it comes to that.

Thank you very much for your submission, and we hope that you enjoyed this draft as much as we did. Drop us a comment in the line below. Let us know what you think of Ashley's draft. And Murph, good news is we are not done yet, folks. Not even close, because we're going a little controversial with this next draft. I made a little wave on social media, and I thought it would be great to bring back one of our all-stars here, to bring back one of his more controversial selections.

Not so much in the first round, but in later rounds. The aggregators didn't really like this one too much, but what do Murph and I think? We're going to tell you in just a moment when this Mock Draft Monday episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, the legendary Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com, bringing you all of his wisdom and counsel when it comes to the 2023 NFL Draft.

It is Mock Draft Monday here on Locked On Patriots. It is hashtag Locked On Murph Monday. And Murph, we're going to go right into the next draft that we have. And of course, we've got to bring back one of our all-stars, Andrew Carraway, one of our very favorites. Andrew will be joining us on the airwaves here on LockedOnPatriots soon to break down some of his analysis. But he has submitted, I think, another great draft, another controversial draft. I shouldn't draft another controversial draft i shouldn't say another controversial draft because andrew really doesn't walk on the wild side but this one drew some interesting responses on twitter it drew a little higher and the aggregators i'm not going

to mention any names here folks about where he got the draft from but the aggregators didn't really like this one too much. So, you know what? We're not going to waste any time, my friend. We're going to go right at it, and we're going to bring it up. So, right off the bat, Georgia tackle. He went with the Georgia guy. He always got to. And really, I think I can't complain with the guy that he went with.

You can't call the guy a homer when he's hitting home runs. Exactly. This is a great pick. I would love the patriots to walk away with roderick jones at number 14 in the first round checks every box ticks every you know need uh this yeah this is another home run right here for the patriots so it really is it really is roderick jones is just a plug and play tackle that could be here for the next decade i know some of you out there out there may have misgivings about tackles from Georgia,

but I don't. Yeah, absolutely. I don't think that we should be shying away from any previous tackles that might have not lived up to expectation. Not going to mention any names here. We're trying to be positive. We're going for the positivity. It's all about the positivity here.

But again, I think Broderick right now brings you an opportunity to do a lot with this offensive line. And if nothing else, Murph, it just brings one more Jones into the fold. The Patriots don't have enough Joneses. We need more Joneses, folks. We just need them. We just have to have them. And it's always

fun. Um, moving on second round, number 46, no trades here. Patriots go with their second rounder. We talked a little bit about Keishon Bouthe last week. Um, as this week talked about him as maybe not being the greatest hand in glove fit for the Patriots. Yeah. Have you warmed on this or anything or are you still the same milk? I'm still of the same ilk that I was, but I mean, my man, Andrew, he sees stuff that we often don't. Right. He's that dialed into, into not only New England, but into the college game. And so, yeah, I've got to give pause to, to, to what I have said previously about this kid and maybe rethink things a little bit yeah I think so you know we'll take a quick look at what he does bring to the table I think a lot of ways if you're going with a top level flight talent at wide receiver for the New England

Patriots in the second round there are a lot of guys that can fill that role do you want to go you know the slot route is somebody like a josh towns i think is you know out there i mean i know zay flowers is really rising right the ranks he's a probable first rounder i thought maybe the patriots could wait around to the second round number 46 and grab him but it's not looking likely he really impressed a lot of people at the scene at the other uh the shrine bowl and rightfully so. So that could be difficult. Anytime you get a guy from LSU and you know these guys are going to be well-coached. So Andrew, yeah, and for him to go with an LSU Tiger as a Georgia Bulldog fan,

yeah, you know he's got to be doing something right there. This next pick is one of the ones that drew some of the difficulty. And that's where I'm looking at this one. This is one that kind of raised my eyebrow a little bit as well. We're talking linebacker Drew Sanders out of Arkansas. The aggregators did not like this pick at all. Sanders is being touted as one of the top, maybe even the top linebacker in the draft class. Very good in terms of an odd front. This is where he's best. He's at his best in a gap control defense

size ticks all the boxes but from a Patriots fit I don't know if I'm necessarily feeling this one with all due respect to my guy I love Andrew but I'm not necessarily feeling this one Murph how are you feeling about this man I love it I do I'm on completely the other side of the coin. Sanders is the prototypical new style linebacker. 6'5", 233 pounds. He's long and lean. He's got a fantastic reach. And for his size, you would have to consider him a complete athlete. You know, he he's got

fantastic burst. Um, he, he can, you know, chase somebody down from sideline to sideline. I really like this pick. I like it a lot more than the prognosticators out there do. And, you know, sorry to say more than you do, Mike. Well, I mean, the thing that, uh, there's no disrespect on the player. It's not that i'm really not a fan of drew at all i mean if you can grab a talent of his capabilities at number 76 in the third round that is a steal of epic proportion without any question but this is a solid mike linebacker the patriots are pretty well set there the last night i'm not sure if the needs that the patriots have at corner additional tackle help uh maybe even going to safety here or some position of need, I thought was a little bit more, you know, maybe pragmatic for the Patriots to go in that direction.

But, you know, at the end of the day, I think Andrew has a point here. Bill Belichick is not someone who always drafts off of need. He'll draft the best player available from strength and i can't imagine if drew sanders slips to the third round and number 76 anybody else being out there that's a more talented potential pro than this kid so yeah maybe you know what maybe i'm coming around maybe maybe warming me to this i'm telling you right now you want somebody that is going to chase down josh allen not only chase him down but drag him to the ground. This is the kid. This is the kid that can do it.

And getting this, that, that person at 78 and not at 17 is, is a fantastic grab. Well done, bud. Yeah. Good, good move. Good move. I think, you know, you've made a good point and well noted, you know, folks, you know, we're always, always on the learn here and always on the fly.

And yeah, I think the more you're describing this, the more I'm liking it. Yeah. Honestly, he's a large hybrid. Put it that way. This man is a large hybrid. Yes. We always talk about the hybrid guys when they're safeties

and can come in and play some linebacker role. This is a hybrid guy that's a linebacker that can almost give you some safety aspects to his game. You know, that guy that you want to put out there to spy the more athletic quarterbacks in the NFL that the Patriots have had problems with over the past couple of years. Problem solved. Yeah, absolutely. Problem is solved. So you know what? At the end of the day, Murph, defense wins championships and maybe the Patriots would be smart to go defense in this area. Andrew has the Patriots making a trade here. Next up at round three, 78, they get obviously because of Drew Sanders, they have the 76th pick they dealt that off to the

Green Bay Packers they also received number 151 in the fifth round where the Patriots currently don't have a selection so pretty good job by Andrew there to get the Patriots into the fifth round you know Belichick loves to be able to save a pick in every round um I saw a couple of comments about Green Bay would never do this trade I think they do it if they got someone on the board that they really can't afford to miss yeah i absolutely think they do it in this situation and the lines of communication have always been well fed through new england and green bay i can definitely see this one happening and possibly the patriots making this deal and definitely the the packers making it right if they need you know, some help, which, you know, it's looking like. And Andrew comes right back.

He comes right back and hits on a spot of need, somebody that's going to come in here, be part of this rotation, give blows to guys that need it. And, you know, the Patriots have not been all that healthy on the defensive line. So, yeah, I mean, he hit a position he hit a position of need and Coburn is, is somebody that is going to come in here and I don't want to say be an impact player, but a player that can impact plays. I love this pick. This was one of my favorites of Andrew's. Um, if I thought maybe the reach was there, uh, for Drew in the previous round. I think Yandre definitely gives you so much value at this pick.

And like you said, this is an area where you can never have too much firepower. You have injuries along the defensive line all the time. You're always looking for younger athletic players that can come in and play the game the way you need it played. Some tells me that, yeah, they would really, really love to have this kid in New England. So this was definitely a good pick.

Dipping into the Michigan well again for the center. All about Timmy is just he's someone who shows up on a lot of Patriots mock drafts. The Patriots do have a need at center. Maybe Cody Russo is the guy that they thought he could be. Potentially Chase Hines as well. You can't forget about him because he did play some center at LSU, but Patriots may need to go into the upper rounds to try to get someone in. These Michigan guys know how to play the line.

Somebody that you know is going to be able to come in there and not force this Patriots offensive line backwards. This is a guy that's going to be able to come in here and hold his own. He's not going to be dependent on the guards to the sides of him. Like you said, Michigan guys know what they're doing when it comes to pass blocking and run blocking, and this kid's got a nice little mean streak to him. I like the pick. I like what Andrew's done here, dipping into the go blue well.

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, a lot of Michigan fans are Patriots fans as well and vice versa. And we got a certain sixth rounder in the 2000 NFL draft to thank for that. And we're continuing to thank him for that. No question. But one of the picks that I really wanted to just delve into before we grade Andrew's overall positioning here. Cornerback is arguably one of the top positions of need for the New England Patriots. Andrew takes the number 151 acquired from the Green Bay Packers and turns it into a cornerback.

Kansas State's Julius Brents. Now, I love the size this kid brings to the table. 6'4", 210 pounds. You want a sizable corner, folks. This is the kid that may be able to bring you that. One of the larger corners right now out there in this draft class. Exceptional length. He really utilizes his height very well.

He's a thumper. This kid is a physical tackler. He definitely knows how to utilize his body to make what he needs to make in terms of plays. Love this kid in the zone. A little bit of question in man coverage here, but my question to you, Murph, is did Andrew wait a little too long to address the cornerback position, or is this still in line with what the Patriots could need? This is still in line with what the Patriots would need.

I would like to have seen Andrew go and hit this position a little bit earlier, but the value probably wasn't there when he was picking, and he got a solid guy when the time was right. Brents is older. He'll be 23 years old coming into the league, 24 in January. But, you know, the upside for him is there. You know, Iowa, he was coming out of Iowa. He came to Iowa. They noticed him signing him as he was a three-star recruit in 2018.

And, you know, he worked really well. He came in, you know, with his size and his explosiveness. He's somebody that's going to come in here and once again, be a part of this rotation and do really well. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, at the end of the day, once again, you know, Brent's selling point is definitely his size definitely the physical way that he plays corner and maybe that's a good decision and transferring out you know he moved out he transferred over to Kansas State and and that was a good move for him they really started using him in the right way over there and when you look at his tape you can see why this was a good value pick at 151, 161?

I can't. 151. 151. This is a good value pick, and I like it. Absolutely. And at the end of the day, you look at positions of need, and maybe the Patriots decide to go a little more physical in their corner, thinking we've got the athletic ball hawk in Jack Jones,

someone that can come in, be that type of perimeter presence, and maybe even utilize someone like a Marcus Jones in the slot eventually. And I'd love to see them re-sign Jonathan Jones. But again, folks, there's a lot of work that has to be done. And if the Patriots have a little bit of a rough time in free agency, then they're going to be looking to the draft to fill a lot of these holes. And you can do a lot worse than what Andrew did here. I don't know. I don't see what the aggregators saw in this.

I actually loved most of this draft from top to bottom. I think you've had me come around a little bit on Drew Sanders. You see this in drafts after drafts. You see guys that get a D grade from these people two weeks ago that are suddenly a B grade now. And you're taking them in the same exact spot, folks. It's an algorithm. Don't worry about that. Listen to us, not them.

Well, listen to Murph anyway. That's definitely where you want to be. Final grades for Andrew's draft, Murph? I thought it was fantastic. I love Will Mallory down at the end. Cameron Young is somebody that's going to come in here and do something. We all know how I feel about Jake Moody. Solid B plus.

Yeah, I think, you know, I started off with a B on this draft because of my feelings on Sanders, but you've kind of talked me into this. I think you've kind of run me to the linebacker. No, don't apologize. I think this is a good point. And again, if you're going to go with best player in the draft, I think you, you know, I think he's got great value at round three, 78. I think Sanders comes off the board, you know, before that, but if he's laying there for

the Patriots of the third round of obviously 76 is going to be their pick. But if that's the case, you have to pull the trigger there. So I like it. I'm going to give him a B plus as well. I've given the rising from B to a B plus. So Andrew, what can we say? Thank you so much, my friend, for once again, knocking it out of the park. Really want to give a tip of the cap and a nod of the gods to Ashley for her amazing

draft as well. Two solid, solid drafts here and you folks keep them coming. You absolutely continue to wow Murph and I with some of the drafts that you guys send in. And we, again, we will definitely do our best to feature as many here as we possibly can. We try to do two a week. We're going to try to increase that pace as we get closer to the draft to give all of you a chance to get in here on Lockdown Patriots.

But in the meantime, please keep them coming. And also, folks, don't forget, Free Agent Friday is an important part of building a roster. And Murph and I are going to continue to take a look at your free agent wish lists as well. And we're going to sprinkle in Murph every Friday now and then here on Locked On Patriots to do a little free agent work for us. So keep those all coming either to the Locked On Patriots account at LO underscore Patriots. Or drop either one of us a singular line, myself at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, show some love to the man with the handle that reads TeamMurf207.

Before I let you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can find you and all the great work that you have coming this week and beyond from E2G sports of course you can you can check me out at e2g sports.com i've got a lot of good red socks content up there right now uh you know you know covering jumping around the league uh a little bit today uh tomorrow or tomorrow yeah actually to later today i will be be on with Patriots. Oh, God, I'm at a loss. One Patriots plays with Glazzy Clare, and Evan Lazar is going to be joining us a little bit earlier than normally. We're going to get off at 9 o'clock in the morning. You're not going to want to miss that.

Absolutely. You do not want to miss that, folks. Definitely. As soon as you've done listening to Locked On Patriots. No, I'm only kidding, folks. Definitely check that out. They are live in living color. Evan is a great friend of the program. We are going to have him on our hair waves also

very soon, so stay tuned for that. But definitely, you do not want to miss it anytime he hits the microphone. And when he hits the microphone with Murph and Claire, it's always special. So, my friend, thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for your counsel. Thank you for making Mondays what we love about Locked On Patriots.

But most of all, folks, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules each and every day and making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. On behalf of my good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy. I'm Mike DeBate. Continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you tomorrow right here on Locked on Patriots.

Dinner's on Manny Machado.