Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Robert Woods and More on Free Agency Friday

Episode Date: March 4, 2023

The New England Patriots are reportedly more open to pursuing a veteran to upgrade their corps at wide receiver than choose one with the 14th selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Nijgba may be the player to change the Pats’ mind on the subject. Host Mike D’Abate makes his case to choose Smith-Nijgba in the first round. He then welcomes Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy of E2G Sports to talk potential free agent target Robert Woods and grade a listener-submitted free agent “wish list.”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

The New England Patriots may prefer to go the veteran route for help at wide receiver, but one draft prospect is making the case to be their pick at number 14. Find out who by staying 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, follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So give me a follow. Drop me a line. Let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And 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 today is free agent Friday closing the week in style here on Lockdown Patriots and that means a visit from the Count of Murphy Fisto himself he opens the week in style closes the week in style here with us and we're always glad to have him Thomas Murphy of E2DSports.com and I will discuss the potential of a free agent wide receiver target and whether this target will be a good fit for your New England Patriots. I'm talking about the recently released Tennessee Titans receiver, Robert Woods. Interesting, folks. Stick around for that one because we definitely want to hear what you have to say on this. And, of course, the amazing listeners of Locked On Patriots have spoken and we will respond.

We definitely love getting your free agent wish lists for Murph and I to grade. Very similar to how we do things for Mock Draft Monday. And Murph and I will give you our thoughts on a listener submitted free agency wish list that just happens to come from the man that resurrected the idea to begin with. Our good friend Jason Sullivan submits his list, and Murph and I will break that down. So stick around for an interesting weekend edition of the Locked On Patriots podcast. But folks, it is also combine week, and we're kicking off today's episode by saying that all the mock drafts that we've been filling out, a lot of user mock drafts,

a lot of listener mock drafts, a lot of expert mock drafts, well, they may have to be adjusted a little bit, especially in round one, because according to my colleague, the athletics, Jad Graff, the Patriots are indeed in the market for a wide receiver to help this offseason. But Jad's report indicates that the team's preference at this point will be to address the position with a veteran rather than using their first-round pick for a receiver. And he cites a former team official as his source. Folks, in my humble opinion, there is one guy that I would break this rule for.

And apparently, this player would love to play in New England so before we get to the free agent aspect of this we'll get to what I alluded to in the opening day I'm talking about Ohio State's Jackson Smith Najigma now you've seen me and heard me break down the ins and outs of guys like TCU's Quentin Johnston or USC's Jordan Madison as being the ultimate pie-in-the-sky hopes for the New England Patriots. We'll get to those guys in just a minute, but Jackson met with the media on Friday at the Combine in Indianapolis, and he informed the masses that he'd actually met with the New England Patriots already, and he had some interesting things to say about your Pats without any question.

He is still considered a Patriots target, by the way. ESPN's Mel Kuyper has him going to Foxborough in his latest mock draft and actually might be available when the Patriots pick at number 14 overall. That's why I think he's the guy, but we'll get to that in just a moment. When Smith Najigma was asked about the New England Patriots, glowing praise for both Bill Belichick and even Mac Jones saying that his meeting went very good and then going into the specifics and saying coach Belichick he's you know what type of franchise program they have over there so it definitely would be awesome being in that system Mac Jones great arm talent great quarterback definitely would like playing there. If you're an New England Patriots fan, that has got to make you smile.

You'll love hearing it. I love hearing it. I know you do as well. And getting the opportunity to cover him and watch him play here with the Patriots would really be something special. Now, if the Patriots draft Smith the Jigma, they're going to be going on his 2021 output. Don't forget, his 2022 season was cut short by a nagging hamstring injury, only five passes, 43 yards. But when you consider that he caught only 10 passes in seven games as a freshman in 2020, you also have to take a look at what he did in his junior season. His 2021 season,

where he caught 95 passes for 1,606 yards, that to me is the true value of what this kid brings to the table. Now, that in itself should make a pretty good case for the Patriots to at least consider this, especially if Jackson is still there at number 14. But getting back to Chad's report from The Athletic for just a moment, the wide receiver market really notably thinned this offseason, if I'm giving my honest opinion. And Murph and I have discussed this several times, discussed it with Claire and several of our guests and even solo appearances here that I've done, basically stating that there's not a whole lot beyond Jacoby Myers. Jacoby right now is one of the top options on the list.

And if the Patriots want to go a veteran route, they may be better off trying to do everything they can to re-sign the guy they already have. Yeah, there's other opportunities out there. Juju Smith-Schuster I know is going to be out on the open market. He'll command huge money without question. And there's always the possibility of Odell Beckham Jr. I know that's interesting. I know it makes for great copy.

And I know a lot of the fans are still interested in that. We're going to talk about him on Locked On Patriots. But if I'm being honest, it's going to be a conversation for another day, folks. But keep a sharp eye. We're not done talking Odell just yet. But if the patriots are looking to make a major splash at receiver probably not going to be done free agency the best chance they have would be to pull off a major trade and that market looks like it's drying up a

little bit as well because executives are talking at the combine we've already heard the bengals openly talk down rumors about t higgins we've heard the Chargers claim they're not willing to move veteran receiver Keenan Allen. A little bit of a disappointment to myself as well. Had the chance to cover Keenan when I covered the Chargers. He looked great in a Patriots uniform. But if that's the case right now, Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins looks to be the crown jewel. We've gone over the ins and outs the pros and cons of a move like this it's possible but it's going to take a lot for the

Patriots to pull it off but all of this can change in the coming days and weeks because there's a lot that can happen in free agency money starts to move around the league dominoes begin to fall and then all of a sudden there's teams that are creating gap space patriots may look at the entire market and say you know what the guy that we want is just not out there he may be available at number 14 when we go to pick in the first round and if that's the case i think smith nejigma is the guy that's going to be able to make this work because he may be there at 14 whereas i don't believe guys like addison and johnston will be and if that's the case here's the guy i want and here's the guy that i think i want if

i'm the patriots outstanding route runner this is something that new england absolutely values above all else in their offensive weapons and jackson is about the best in this class of being able to do that excellent at getting separation got great footwork, excellent body control, and above average ability to read leverage. That's something that really will endear him to Bill O'Brien. He can make sight adjustments, and then he can run to the open space. If you want a guy that can give you yards after the catch, Jackson Smith-Majigla is the guy that can help you do it.

That made him constantly available for Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. Got him, allowed the opportunity to work in the football in 2021. And these two were really something to watch when they were clicking. I encourage you, if you haven't done so, check out some of the clips on Jackson on YouTube. You'll see what I'm talking about. Always finds his way open. Easy targets, easy paths to the end zone not going to be quite that easy in the NFL folks but this kid is very intelligent he knows how to

find the space and he's very aware of the space that he creates so if you want to make a splash folks pair him with Mac Jones pair him with Bill Belichick the Pats are in business I've said it before I'll say it again. I love Jordan Madison. I love Quentin Johnston. I don't think they're going to be there at number 14. They're top flight receivers, but Jackson Smith Nijingma does belong in that category. And because the Patriots won't trade up for a wide out, this is the guy that I think is a good possibility. So if he's there, I make him him a patriot and I'm not feeling too bad about myself at that point but that being said folks if the Patriots go the

franchise route a recently made free agent is also being rumored as a potential Patriots target as I said earlier Robert Woods formerly of the Los Angeles Rams and most recently of the Tennessee Titans. Highly skilled player, but is he really a fit in New England? Well, the Green King of Sting, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com, folks, is going to join me in just a moment to discuss that very topic when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, today's episode is brought to you by our good friends at Built.com.

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Flushing the format a little bit and along for the ride. Now you've been waiting for it and I'm going to deliver it because it is what we've been waiting for. The legendary Connor Murphy Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports joining me. Murph, in the previous segment, I talked a little bit about the Patriots not wanting to go the draft route for wide receiver help this time around in 2023 upgrading.

I did mention that Jackson Smith Najiba would probably be the guy that could break the mold. This is a prototypical Patriot, checks all the boxes. I love this kid. I'd love to see him in a Patriots uniform. But let's face it, the chances of that happening are probably slim, especially with the Patriots tipping their hand, that they'd probably rather go the veteran route. So that either means one of two things. It means trades or it means free agents.

And because it's free agent friday and i love alliteration that's where we're going to go today interestingly enough nfl networks nick shook through a little bit of a wrench into these plans because when you look at the actual free agent list for whiteouts that are available it's not that robust beyond what you already have on your roster, and that's Jacoby Myers. But a recent addition to that list, Nick Shook of NFL Network thinks might be a good fit here in New England, and that is wide receiver Robert Woods, recently released by the Tennessee Titans. We all know him from his time with the Rams.

Nick's exact words in this report were, Bill O'Brien oversaw an offense that threw for over 5,000 yards in his first season as offensive coordinator in 2011. Mack Jones needs a veteran who he can rely on to get open. Woods is that man. Murph, I like the player. I'm not sure I love the fit in New England. Why am I right here or why am I wrong here? You're absolutely right here, Michael.

The Patriots have this player. They have these players. When you're going to go out and spend money, you're going to spend money to make your team better. Nothing against Woods whatsoever. We already have the guy on the roster. We already have these guys. Spending money at the wide receiver position is not the way to go. All right.

Drafting those wide receivers is going to be the way to go. I don't care. I don't care, people, that Bill hasn't been able to hit a home run with a draft. This class is not the class to go out and get this kind of ball player for this kind of money. It's going to cost too much. I don't like it. And we'll just be moving on. Yeah. I think in a lot of ways, Murph, you're spot on. And again, this is no disrespect to Robert Woods, who I do think will make a very good wide out addition to a club that's in need of the type of receiver that he is. Not a whole lot of size, not a whole lot of speed,

but what he does bring you is the ability to make catches in traffic. He can make catches outside his frame. He's very good at being able to lunge, reach for the ball, got very, very good field vision. You're absolutely right. There is a guy on this roster right now that does just that. Well, he's on the roster for another couple of days. Let's be honest.

We're talking about Jacoby Myers here, and this is a guy I think that really is very much similar in terms of his skill set. Woods can be a very effective guy out of the slot, maybe a little bit more of a perimeter fit if you want to go for versatility. I can definitely understand that. There's no question about it there. But you look at the key components of this passing game, and I think that there are guys on this roster that can fill that bill. Kendrick Bourne is on this roster right now. I think he can do that.

That's who I'm talking about. I'm not talking about Myers. It's Kendrick Bourne. There's been somebody in front of Kendrick Bourne for the wrong reasons almost his entire time here. It came to a huge head last year and i don't want that all right get born in there in the slot and let's take care of business he's already on a very good contract yeah you're absolutely right and if you want perimeter help at that level in kind of i think very similar production that someone like a woods would give you in that role you're probably looking at davante Parker at that point,

making the contested catches and making the catches outside his frame. None of these guys that we've mentioned with the exception of Bourne, when he's on, he can give you some yards after the catch, but Parker, Woods, these guys aren't big yak guys. That's not their component. That's not what they're built for. And, you know, you have to take a look at, you know, career low numbers in Tennessee last season, although Woods looks like he's happy to get out of there,

judging by what he had to say on social media, just tweeting out the word free. You have to think that he's looking to necessarily go elsewhere. He's not going to be playing for free. Oh, no, he's not. Somebody's going to pay him. It's not going to be playing for free. Oh no, he's not. No. Somebody's going to pay him and it's not going to, it's not going to be the Patriots. Okay. This is not where Bill spends money. Okay. And, and especially for guys that, you know, quite frankly, this is, this is one of the weaker classes of free agents at the wide receiver spot in a very long time.

Spend your money wisely, Bill, Go spend your money on the offensive line. Yeah. And in my opinion, I think that's exactly why you get guys that are going to either add to a veteran presence here. If they want to go that route, it's going to be via trade or, you know, I haven't completely given up hope yet that the Patriots are going to add to this squad by the draft. I think they will draft wide receivers. I don't think they're going to add to this squad by the draft I think they will draft wide receivers I don't think they're going to shut the position out by any stretch of the imagination but someone like an Addison or a or a Smith Najiba or a you know um you know some of these guys Quentin Johnson of TCU trying to clear the cobwebs folks but that's exactly where it is those three are I mean top of

the heap those are the prototypical plug and play ready to go from the bat. I don't think the Patriots are going first round wide receiver talent. If you're not going to do that. Go get me Nathan Dell, okay, in the third round. That's fine. You know, go do that. That's somebody that can fill a role here and is going to go get me the yak that I love. And I'm not going to have to pay them $18 million a year. No, if I'm going to pay you $18 million a year, you're going to be six

foot six and weigh 320 pounds. No, you're absolutely right. And I agree with that 100%. And these are the types of guys that the Patriots may look to bring in spending that type of money off the bat for someone like Woods who gives you a similar type of skill set to what you already have on the roster yeah I can't see the Patriots doing that if they're going to spend that kind of money they're going to go and trade for a guy like a Brandon Cooks or maybe the Andre Hopkins I don't even want Brandon Cooks back there's been nobody on the planet nobody on this planet in the history of the NFL has been traded for more first-round picks and second-round picks than Brandon Cooks. That includes a lot of really good ballplayers.

Like I said, here I am rambling again. Brandon Cooks doesn't bring you what he makes. He makes the catches, and unfortunately, he's concussion prone i just i can't have it i can't you know yeah to me to me that's the biggest knock on cooks right now i mean there is a familiarity with the system he does know a little bit of what bill o'brien brings to the table that was a very small sample size of brandon playing for him in texans folks um but at the same time you also look at the injury history here and the patriots have to be very mindful i think any team that is looking to trade for brandon right now has to be very mindful of that the player is

always going to tell you he's 100 ready to go right i have no reason to disbelieve him i think at this moment he absolutely is he says he is he's ready but all it takes is one bell hit that can really i think change the complexity of a career and the patriots have to be mindful of that and brandon has to be mindful of that with his own uh safety as well please please yeah because he's a great guy you know who else murph likes murph likes football players with the last name bolden on their jersey. I really am excited to ask you this question because earlier this week, there were reports, I talked

about it here earlier this week on Locked On Patriots, that Slade Bolden, former teammate of Mac Jones in Alabama, former pupil of No Relation, yes, No Relation to Brandon, who is doing great things out there in Las Vegas, and we miss him up here in New England without any question.

And I know we do. We definitely do. I know Murph does. But he's also a former pupil of Bill O'Brien. Your thoughts on him coming in here. You think it's worth the Patriots taking a flyer on this? I say maybe a very low risk, high reward type deal might be worth kicking the tires on it, seeing what's there.

Yeah. Super low risk, reward type deal might be worth kicking the tires on it seeing what's there yeah um super low risk super low reward slate bolden is slow people okay he's slow all right the reason that he had so much success at alabama is because he had the best wide receiving cores around him in maybe college football history okay That's why he was constantly wide open, because you had to double team everybody else on that field. Okay? Nothing. Yeah, Mike's right. I love me a Bolden family reunion. You know, please invite me to the next one, guys.

The mac and cheese is fabulous. The company is you can't beat. And there's always a good little flag football game to watch with the kids out there. But no, I don't want Slade Bolden here. If you want to get Mac Jones a pet, sure, go buy him a gerbil. On that note, folks, I don't know how to top that. So what we're going to do here is we're going to transition off into making this a true free agent Friday, because the concept itself really was reborn

here on Locked On Patriots thanks to the Twitter musings of one of our favorite listeners here. Jason Sullivan resurrected the idea, so why else can we honor the man but to make his free agent wish list our first free agent wish list of the season right here on Locked On Patriots. Murph and I break down our favorite members of this list when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Pats fans, once again, the legendary Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com joining me here to close the week in style, just like he helped us open the week in style here on Monday.

It is free agent Friday on Locked On Patriots. And Murph, in the previous segment, we talked about how wide receiver Robert Woods is now a free agent. Great player, will get his money, will get his time, and will get his statistics. It just probably will be outside of New England. And I think we're both in agreement as to why. But that doesn't mean that the Patriots are not going to be active in free agency. They've got internal and external players that they definitely have their sharp eye on. And our listeners here on Locked On Patriots always do a great job of keeping their sharp eye out for potential talent. And a tip of the cap to our good friend Jason Sullivan, found on Twitter at Sully6827.

Sully thought it would be a good idea for Mock Draft Monday to have a sister show to kind of spin off and make it a free agent Friday. And because it was his idea to resurrect this idea that we did do a couple of years ago here on Locked On Patriots, we're giving him the charter. We're giving him the first free agent wish list breakdown of free agent Friday. And folks, as you can see, if you are viewing us on YouTube, there it is. There is Jason Sullivan's free agent wish list. How about that Murph? Slate Bowlin right on the top of the list. After we just sang, or I tried to sing his praises, Murph, not so much really impressed,

but you know what that's why we play the game folks uh James Ferentz on this list some interesting Joe Cardona a lot of internal names here uh but then again a lot of names that are external and Murph if I'm my calculations are correct we're seeing a lot of uh 2022 Las Vegas Raiders yeah on Sully's list. So your initial thoughts on here, what do you think of Jason's list? And are any favorites jumping out at you when you take a look at what he's got here? I looked at this and Sully smartly is putting together a free agent wish list. He's hitting on a lot of players that fill holes here. So yeah, I do.

And I really like the fact that he's just taking a jab at the Raiders here. Okay? You know, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. And, yeah, I'm going to come in and I'm going to take your best players. I like, you know, bringing back Carl Davis Jr. I thought is a fantastic move. Farrell, I really – this kid was a very top of the board pick for the Raiders just a few years ago. I think he went fifth overall.

Was that right? It's – oh, man. That's killing me. But it wasn't his fault where he was picked. Okay, let's just put it that way. He was a top end of the draft kid that has not panned out in the way that anybody wanted him to. Most of all, the Raiders, they spent a great deal of time and capital in trying to replace him over the past couple of years. So that may scare a few people off,

but he's a really good special teams guy. And I think he'd come in here and do well. Yeah, without question. I think the special teams prowess of a lot of the guys that you're seeing right here on the list with Sully spelled New England Patriots. And I think that's why he's bringing some of these guys in. Farrell right up at the top of that list. Not necessarily the statistical output that you'd want to see. I think a lot of Raiders fans will probably be happy to see him go. But in the right

system, I think this kid can resurrect because the talent is there. It was always there. Yeah, it was always there. He was one of the top guys on the board last year, probably that year, probably the second or the third ranked guy at his position. And it just, it just didn't work out. Nobody saw the pick coming. And I think a fresh start would be really good for this, this young man. I think you can bring them in here for a, um, not a league minimum deal, but a very team friendly deal, a very, you know, let me come here and get myself right. Working with the defensive coaches here in new England and see what I can do.

Yeah. And I think in a lot of ways, sometimes what these guys need is a second chance at an additional look and a system that knows how to utilize their strength. And that's what lead me into my potential diamond in the rough here among Sully's suggestions. I should say, yeah, yeah, you kind of do. You kind of want, everybody wants a little sin in their life. And Rakia Sin, I think, is someone that can provide that.

Look, he hasn't lit the statistical sheet on fire, folks. There's no question about it. I know a lot of you are probably groaning hearing this and saying oh it's really all about the name it's all about the hype that he had pre-draft never lived up to it um 27 passes defensed in four seasons right she spent in indianapolis one with the las vegas raiders uh last year um kid compiles a good amount of tackles 183 combined tackles in four seasons 154 of those solo only two tackles for loss um two career interceptions i mean that's not exactly what the patriots look for in terms of corners that can come in and that can make an impact but where you can see the potential here with this kid is you can see the average depth of target

when you look at the statistics that he's put up, especially the ones that he put up in Indianapolis. It goes down every year. Started off with 12.2 average depth per target in his rookie season, dropped to 10.7, drops to 10.6 in his third year in Indy, only 8.1 last year with the Las Vegas Raiders. He's getting much better at containing and being able to prevent wide receivers from getting into their motion and really getting out there and be, you know, threats. And we saw him defend some third down backs last year as well coming out of the backfield. So this to me is intriguing. I like the upside here.

I don't love the fit right off the bat. Could be a project, but someone, if the Patriots can get him on a relatively moderate deal, I'm not going to say a cheap deal because I don't think Rock's going to settle for a cheap deal, but this is a moderate, moderate short years. This could be worth taking a plunge on, in my opinion. I'm intrigued by this. I like what Sully did here. Yeah, so do I. You know, Rocky Sin is probably one of the more underrated guys in the free agent class. And I think there's going to be. But see, this is the issue.

I think he's only underrated by the general public and writers when they're going over the best of this free agent class. I think he's going to demand, command a lot more money than maybe the Patriots are willing to go for somebody that is above average to above average, depending on where you're playing him. And really, but on the downside, you don't have to really game plan around him. Yeah. You really don't.

And once again, are you paying $15 million a year to a number two corner? Yeah. And that's essentially money that could be allocated elsewhere. Yeah. And I think a lot of Patriots fans would probably agree with that. And if the asking price is beyond what the Patriots have set for him market value, then yeah, you're getting into the areas where you're not going to get into a bidding war for his services. He's willing to take what you're willing to give.

I think you do it. If it goes beyond that, probably a situation where you move on. But there is an intriguing fit here, folks, and don't necessarily roll your eyes at that. If the Patriots somehow make this happen, this could end up being a diamond in the rough. I really want to give Sully a lot of credit for this, and if for no other reason, he's prioritized re-signing Joe Cardona. Like Murph said earlier this week, he definitely made this a big part of what the Patriots have to do. Long snappers are important, folks. Don't let anyone fool you. And Joe Cardona is the best of the business. Long snappers are people too.

Absolutely. Murph, it's grade time. We love to grade the mock drafts. Free agency wishlist for Jason Sullivan. Your thoughts, your grade on his list here. I'm going to give Sully a B minus on this because, you know, there's a little bit of a stretch. There's a little bit of a stretch. There's a little bit of a reach here and there. A little too much money being thrown around at guys that I don't see as a huge upgrade as to what's already here. So a solid B- with maybe a little kicker you take somebody else out of there.

Absolutely, folks. I mean, you know, you look at the types of issues or the types of, you know, deficiencies that the Patriots had last year. He's hitting a lot of those. I do think there are a few stretches, but there are a couple of potential stretches here that I think give you the opportunity to make what looks right now on paper, especially with Sully's list, to be an average type hall to something that could be a slightly above average if these guys can round into form i like bringing back jabril peppers i like bringing back carl davis physicality guys that have the attitude guys that have the veteran presence and the wherewithal to be able to get you where you need to go and then you can take

chances on guys like rakia sin or cleland fer, and someone can come in and be able to maybe resurrect a lot of pre-draft hype in those years that didn't quite necessarily live up to expectation. Yeah. You know, Richie James, really? Richie James? No. You know. I'm going to have to talk to Sully about that.

So we absolutely applaud you. Thank you for resurrecting this idea. Folks, please send in your free agent wish lists here on a Friday. We're going to be doing a little financial breakdown very soon, so keep a sharp eye open for that because obviously finance is a big part of free agency and we are coming close as the combine wraps up in Indianapolis at the end of this week. But folks, continue to stay locked in to Locked On Patriots

for all of your free agency, draft updates, coaching changes, anything you need to know about Locked On, anything you need to know about your New England Patriots, we're covering right here on Locked On. And please continue to send in your free agency wish lists. And most importantly, send in those mock drafts for Monday. Murph and I are still accepting applications to view some of these for Monday's show. And you definitely want to get your opportunity to have yours shared with all of our listeners

here on the Locked On Podcast Network. Murph, what can I say? I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for coming on, classing up the place each and every day that you come on the show. Before I let you go, my friend, please, for the weekend, let everyone know where they can find you, your great work, and just what you have coming up on the horizon from the great Ben, the great voice of Thomas Murphy. Whatever tickles my fancy on the Red Sox beat over there at E2G Sports. Go right ahead. I got a nice piece up there over the past couple of days about the middle infield and the lack of depth there at.

Of course, you can follow me on the Bird app at Team Earth 207. We will be back on the air on Tuesday this week with another One Patriots Place. And the one and only Alex Barth is going to be stopping by to talk about everything that happened this week at the Combine. Definitely, folks. Make sure to check that out. Make that a definite part of your New England Patriots coverage this week.

Whenever Alex hits the mic with Murph and Claire, it is appointment listening. So do that on One Patriots Place and always check out everything he does on E2GSports.com. And of course, if you want your Murph fix first thing on a Monday morning, you check it out here on Locked On Patriots because we're going to be breaking down your great mock drafts on Mock Draft Monday. In the meantime,

continue to please stay safe and stay well, folks. Thank you for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and your first listen every day. Now that you've done that, make your second listen. Our good friends over at Locked On NFL Draft. My friends and colleagues are absolutely crushing it right now.

Damian Parson and Keith Sanchez from the Draft Network give you all you need to know from the Combine and Draft profiles when it comes to locked on nfl drafts so download subscribe to follow wherever you get your podcasts and also don't forget to smash that subscribe button and download subscribe to and follow locked on patriots on behalf of the count of murphy fisto himself i am mike debate stay safe stay well be the change that you wish to see in the world have a great day everyone and have a great weekend