Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots, Jerod Mayo Back to Business in Foxboro: Coaching Staff, Free Agents, Draft

Starting point is 00:00:00 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. Not only is Locked On Patriots a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day, but we are also free and available on all platforms, including YouTube.

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Starting point is 00:01:30 Terms and conditions apply. And Pats fans, the 15th head coach in New England Patriots history has been named. Gerard Mayo is on the job. The pleasantries have been exchanged. It's time to get back to business. And the new guy on the block is definitely hitting the ground running with both feet folks to help break it down today and to help break down your amazing questions on what was one of our best monday mailbag

Starting point is 00:01:57 submissions i've seen in quite some time is the great man himself the guy who's always there for the handoff when i need him this show wouldn't be what it is without this gentleman, and I say that without hesitation. He is the great Thomas Murphy. Thank you so much for coming to me in friendship today, Don Murphy. Always my pleasure, Michael. Always my pleasure. There's no way I'd rather start a week, end a week,

Starting point is 00:02:21 or stop in on hump day and spend a little time talking Patriots with you, man. Well, you know, bottom line, you have an open invite. I've said many times, folks, on these airwaves that Murph's embroidered chair is always ready for him. If he's going to stop in, we'll make sure to bring out the coffee and cake for him. But bottom line, we're going to record it. We're going to lay it down because it's always going to be informative Pat's talk. And Murph, amazing questions today from the mailbag. And I think our listeners really hit the nail on the head of what is in the pulse of Patriots nation right now. Let's dive right into it. And the New England Patriots over the course of the next couple

Starting point is 00:02:57 of days, Murph going to be interviewing quite a few interesting candidates for the open offensive coordinator job, the open defensive coordinator job the open defensive coordinator job and right now it's looking like the open special teams coordinator job and that's where our listener today one of our everydayers out there abigail from lincoln rhode island wants to know who among the coaches the patriots are interviewing is the most intriguing to you murph i'm going to give this one to you first of the candidates that have been reported over the course of the last couple of days whether it be guys like Nick Cayley and Zach Robinson coming over and bringing that McVeigh wisdom and counsel to New England or

Starting point is 00:03:36 some of the internals that are going to be interviewed as well some names Patriots fans might be familiar with some not who stands out stands out to you, my friend, and why? Obviously, tight ends coach Nick Cayley stands out to me. He's somebody who went out there, studied under McVay for a long time. He's got ties here. Another name that's been bandied about is Wes Welker. I think this could be an interesting direction. I'm not sure it's the direction the Patriots want to go, but, you know, help yourself hurt, hurt your enemies at

Starting point is 00:04:14 the same time. You know, we could, we could go in that direction. Another name that we could, that's been bandied about, and he's coming in for an interview with Zach Robinson. Um, you know, the Patriots, uh, took, uh, Robinson out of Oklahoma state and the seventh round way back in 2010. And, uh, he's been bebopping around ever since, uh, the former quarterback only lasted, you know, through the end of the preseason that year, but he, slid over into the coaching ranks, and he joined McVay's staff, I don't want to say 2016, 2017. In 2019, he became the assistant quarterback's coach out there. This is somebody that might, ready to take that next step and, and bring some new ideas in here, uh, to new England, you know, and lastly, and this is

Starting point is 00:05:14 just, you know, a total shot in the dark. Why isn't anybody talking about Eric, the enemy coming here? Good. Why? Yeah. Very good. All right. Eric, theemi has been one of the best coordinators in the league for years now. He took a job to get out of the shadow there in Kansas City and I think did a pretty good job in Washington. He's innovative. He's innovative. He's decisive. I don't know why this man hasn't been given a shot as a head coach somewhere. Maybe he just interviews poorly. But he knows this game. He knows the offensive side of this game like maybe nobody else in the league right now who could be looking for

Starting point is 00:06:00 a job. I'm not sure what his contract status is in Washington, but to me, he's somebody that should definitely be given a look. I think that's a great point. And look, by enemy is someone that is no stranger, folks, to coaching in high-pressure situations. I mean, when you're an offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and you're in charge of being able to navigate Patrick Mahomes you're navigating Tyreek Hill you're navigating Travis Kelsey some of the best players of their generation and then you're trying to manage them personality wise as opposed to just professionally

Starting point is 00:06:37 on the field that's a hell of a task and it is surprising to me that Biannimi hasn't gotten more play as a coordinator or even as a head coach. We've seen him interview before. But like you said, maybe there's a situation where he just doesn't interview well or something to that effect. But those are all factors, folks, to consider. I love that the the notion of Robinson actually wrote about Robinson yesterday and called it Zach to the future. Trying to get a little jump on maybe the Mac to the future that I missed out on. But it is, it does come full circle. 2010,

Starting point is 00:07:10 he's the Patriots pick. Doesn't make it out of training camp, goes kind of the roundabout way to get back here, but wouldn't it be a great story for him to return and the knowledge that he brings in that McVay, Shanahan type offense that I know Patriots fans are clamoring to find and I think that that's something that could be there as well I'm going to flip it to the defensive side of the ball just because I feel like playing devil's advocate and I feel I agree with everything that you said Murph and I think you're spot on um I'm always going to be intrigued anytime I see DeMarcus Covington's name come up as a potential coordinator yeah that's it. I want it. Sentimentality will always lead both Murph and I to want to see this happen. And folks, he deserves it.

Starting point is 00:07:50 Absolutely deserves it. He really does. He was the co-defensive coordinator, defensive line coach, Eastern Illinois, coming to the Patriots in 2017. Just an example of what he's been able to do moving up as a coaching assistant and then as an outside linebackers coach and then to the defensive line he has earned the respect and the trust of his colleagues in such short order that really makes him such a hot coaching candidate as a matter of fact i'm surprised his name is not being listed as candidates that are being

Starting point is 00:08:20 interviewed for head coaching positions throughout the league. Let's not forget that this defense this year helped keep the Patriots in games. I know everyone wants to just, you know, shovel everything that the Patriots did last year out the door, but that defensive effort was such a key part in the Patriots being in a lot of one score games. And Covington was a big part of that in that defensive line. Seventh and overall defense in the nfl allowing a defensive yards average of 301.6 as a patch run defense fourth overall 93.2 and they had a 3.2 average coming into the final game of the season covington steady hand at that defensive line was a big reason for that so if he's getting a strong look from Gerard Mayo and his brain trust at

Starting point is 00:09:05 one Patriots place as a potential D coordinator, I love it. I love this move. And that's intriguing to me. I don't want to talk about anybody else. I really don't. I really, no, no, honestly, as much, as much continuity as you can keep on that side of the ball, you know, and bringing the Belichickian kids back and, you know, having DeMarcus there to run the show. He's somebody that Mayo knows and trusts and is open to working with him as a head coach. As we all know, they've been together now for a few years. It's the right move to make.

Starting point is 00:09:43 It really is. He's a fantastic man, a great coach, and he deserves this. He deserves this shot for the work that he's doing. He truly does. And you know what else makes this intriguing about it is there's another name on this interview list that is coming in. Michael Hodges coming over from the New Orleans Saints. Now, Ross Jackson, our fearless leader here on the Locked On Podcast Network,

Starting point is 00:10:06 is also host of Locked On Saints, covers the Saints, does an amazing job. He was one of the first people to tweet out that Hodges is a guy that should be getting a lot of play when it comes to coaching staffs. If Demarcus Covington is going to be your choice at defensive coordinator, there is a synergy between these two guys they work together at eastern illinois in 2016 they shared the duties of linebackers coach so if hodges is willing to come in as a linebackers coach maybe with a little bit greater title than he had in new orleans and work alongside demarcus once again this is a coach right now

Starting point is 00:10:41 that has helped to preside over a defense which is ranked in the top 10 in scoring for each of the last four seasons he replaced Mike Nolan when Mike Nolan left in 2020 he's coached all over that defense and the Saints have been formidable in that area so that's a name to keep an eye on folks I'm not saying the Patriots might be able to make it happen if Covington is their choice or if another person is their choice, Hodges is probably going to want to seek a job upgrade elsewhere, but this could be intriguing if Covington is hired. Maybe he can use his savvy and a little bit of Mayo's savvy to convince this guy to come, because I think he's definitely a rising star in the coaching ranks. I think he'd definitely be well-received in New England.

Starting point is 00:11:24 That's it. Yeah, I agree with that. Building out the back end, having that depth there is just as important in a coaching staff as it is on a roster. Absolutely. And especially if you're looking at potentially Steven Belichick going and coaching with his dad, bottom line, I think there is intriguing options that the Patriots have all up and down that coaching staff. But a great question, Abigail, a tip of the cap. And thank you for asking a question that I think everyone is wondering about in New England. And keep a sharp eye on the wire, folks, because as soon as these interviews are completed and as soon as we have word on who's going to be filling out Gerard Mayo's coaching staff,

Starting point is 00:12:02 we'll be discussing it right here on Locked On Patriots. And we'll finally have a better idea of the direction that this offense is veering off into. Absolutely. Okay. I personally would not veer away from this offense as far as other people would, but it's going to – once this is in place, we're going to know which way

Starting point is 00:12:27 the offense is going. It's going to give us a better opportunity to know which way that they're going to attack free agency and the draft. That's exactly what Patriots fans are looking for. They're looking for clarity in moving forward on the direction of this team, and it's going to help set up for what the team is going to do in the draft and also what the team is going to do in free agency. And Murph, that happens to lead us quite nicely into the next couple of questions we got for you on Monday's mailbag. I have a number of internal free agents on this team, Murph,

Starting point is 00:12:58 and I know you have your eye on a few you want to keep in-house, but is there one guy you absolutely have to have? Yeah, I think I know which way Murph's going to go on this one, but we're going to pick his brain and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, at the start of the new year, every small business owner is asking

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Starting point is 00:14:28 Don't delay. Do it today. That's LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on LockedOn Patriots and spending part of again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots and spending part of your Monday here on the pod and Murph it is mailbag Monday we always love mailbag Mondays this was a great mailbag this week Murph a lot of great questions in the first segment obviously

Starting point is 00:14:58 a lot of Patriots fans like Abigail from Lincoln Rhode Island were very concerned about what the Patriots are going to do to fill the coaching vacancies that are on this staff. But you and I both know the games are won on the field. You need the players to be able to execute. We also know that 23 members of the team in 2023 are headed for free agency in some way, shape, or form. So Murph, when you look at the list of Patriots free agents, internal free agents, I know you've got some visceral reactions as to who the Patriots need to keep and who they might be able to live without. Well, our friend Ryan from Ledyard, Connecticut, and I pose this question to you because he's down in your neck of the woods, my friend.

Starting point is 00:15:41 Ryan would like to know who is your must re-sign internal free agent for the New England Patriots in this off season. Mike Conway, you is, is, is the, the must have the, the guy that I want. I don't care what you have to do. We shouldn't even be in this position right now. Should have been extended a long time ago. This should have been taken care of and mopped up. Take care of it now and bring back the man I believe, after David Andrews, is the best offensive lineman currently on this roster and has been for some time now. Yeah, without question. I mean, folks, Michael Wainu is so important

Starting point is 00:16:19 to what this team wants to do in 2024. They have to do a much better job of sealing the edges than they did this season. Michael Wayne, who proved at the tackle position that he is capable of doing that, I would leave him at the tackle position at this point. I think the switch was something that really helped spark this line. I know he can play guard. I know that's more of his natural position, but his size allows him to be so effective at both and I think they really could use that at the right tackle position phenomenal length impressive ability to overwhelm his defenders especially when he's blocking for the run folks I think that's also a very big point

Starting point is 00:16:58 is even from the tackle position Michael Wayne who was a beast against the run he'll anchor well he'll protect the passer you saw when he was on his game that Bailey Zappi definitely felt a lot more comfort in that pocket. Even Mac Jones, you know, early in the season, we get on Mac a lot for his lack of comfort in the pocket. But when a way new was on his game, Mac had a few more seconds to make throws and it made all the difference. I think that's a phenomenal choice. Many times during the year that the switch that the Patriots needed to make,

Starting point is 00:17:30 that they waited too long to make, was moving on Weyu out to tackle and not the switch at quarterback and bringing in Bailey Zappi. I think things would have gone much smoother for Mac Jones if this had happened earlier. And I think City So did a very good job for a rookie. You know, he was good enough to be named an all-rookie. And that would have, you know, Bill can't draft. You know, he would have, you know, in his last draft here, he would have ended up with two all-rookie players, one on each side of the ball, if one guy hadn't gotten injured and spent the entire season on IR.

Starting point is 00:18:13 Offensive tackle is one of those positions that doesn't necessarily get the glamour that it should, but it is the glamour position when it comes to the offensive line. I think we can agree with that there's not a lot of glitz and glamour on the o-line but the tackles are considered the gems of where you go in free agency where you go in the draft you need solid play at the tackle position and again folks this is why murph keeps preaching what he's preaching about the draft we're going to get into that in just a moment buddy don't worry i am not going to steal your thunder there but i think a way new is a perfect choice as the must- have retention now we are hearing reports unfortunately some within the patriots front office that are choosing to speak on the condition of anonymity are saying they are not very optimistic about retaining mike they think that he's going to test the open market and he's going to get

Starting point is 00:19:00 blown away by an offer that the patriots are not going to match. Well, if he's important enough, Gerard Mayo went on WEI's The Great Show on Monday morning and said, we've got a lot of cash. We're ready to burn some cash. Gerard, this is a guy you need to burn the cash on. This is an important part of what you need because I don't think Trent Brown is going to be returning in 2023. Just my own personal feeling on that matter. And you need continuity on that line. You can't go into this season with potentially a rookie tackle and then another tackle without experience in the system.

Starting point is 00:19:34 It's not going to work, folks. I think you need continuity. So Michael Wayne, who is a guy that I would make every effort to re-sign, and Murph, I think you've articulated that perfectly. You can't cheap out here. If you're ready to burn cash, this is a slow burn. This is a man that you can play almost anywhere along the line with the exception of center. I don't know if he's ever taken a snap at center. He's probably too good looking to take a snap at center. We're not the best people on the planet. But it's something that, as I said,

Starting point is 00:20:07 should have been taken care of a long time ago. I think stupidly he was kept in there at the guard position to keep his price tag down. Bill has done this in the past. You've seen guys that are coming up on free agent years who aren't getting the ball as much as they they had in the past who didn't you know see the field as often as they they did in the past and that was to you know actually to drive the price down it really was it was one of the things that i i

Starting point is 00:20:37 have never liked about bill belichick's uh team building uh scheme and everybody knows that I love Bill. But this is a, yeah, whatever he gets offered out there, you need to top it. Okay. And you also need to show him that he's not going to be alone out there, that you're going to keep building and building in the right way. As I've always said, there are two kinds of players that hit free agency. The ones that are looking for rings and the ones that are looking for payday. Right now, you are not coming here to get a ring. So you would better be willing to pay these people, Robert Kraft. Yeah, absolutely. You've been 30th in the league.

Starting point is 00:21:19 30th in the league over the past, I don't know how many years. I think I heard it was 13 years or 11 years in spending, in cash spending. All right. That time's over with. In the past, people came here to play for Bill Belichick. They came here to play with Tom Brady. You don't have that now. You don't.

Starting point is 00:21:39 Very good point. And, folks, it does. It resets the table in New England. And now the selling point for the Patriots needs to be a place where you can come, where you're going to be paid accordingly with what you're worth on the open market. And I think you articulated that well. This is something that the Patriots need to push. Yes, there is a fresh way of doing things here. It is a more open, a more lucid situation where the Patriots are going to be a little more transparent in the way they do business but that's not going to be enough to attract the free agents you need to get back into contention in short order if I'm going to choose my must-have because Murph I agree with Murph I think Michael Wayne who is the must-have free agent that needs to be had here Ryan but again if I'm going to play devil's advocate I'll flip it around and I'll go to the defensive side of the ball I do think Kyle Duggar is a guy that needs to come back. I almost went with Anthony Jennings here because of the season he had and leading the team with 14 tackles for loss, run defender,

Starting point is 00:22:35 pass beast, but Duggar is such an important part of how they do business in that defensive back field. I understand that they drafted Marte Mapu with probably an eye on the future. Maybe Kyle Duggar was going to be walking out the door, but if you want continuity in that defensive backfield, folks, this is a guy that is so adept at being able to run the Patriots' defensive system. And as much change as you're going to see offensively, I don't think you're going to see a whole lot of change defensively. If it ain't broke, folks, don't fix it.

Starting point is 00:23:06 Keep that secondary intact. Bring back the guy who led all defensive backs with 109 total tackles, seven pass breakups, two interceptions, and one and a half sacks from the safety position. That's the guy I want to see here for a while. Kyle Duggar's a linebacker. I want to see him here for a good long while. And maybe at the expense of a guy that i have a tremendous amount of respect and affection for both

Starting point is 00:23:30 professionally and personally adrian phillips i think you're probably seeing him go elsewhere next year bottom line i think duggar does need to be back so brian excellent question once again finger on the pulse of bats nation Nation. Internal free agents and coaches. But Murphy and I both know that it's – That's the punch I want back. You know, we just gave up one. It's true. It's true.

Starting point is 00:23:52 There really are. Every free agent that's on the defensive side of this ball, I would bring back. Absolutely. I really would. Yeah. Oh, definitely. I think that, you know, you look at Miles Bryan.

Starting point is 00:24:03 I think he's a guy that needs to be retained as well. You know I love my Miles Bryan. I'm going to beat that drum. Yeah. Oh, definitely. I think that, you know, you look at Miles Bryan. I think he's a guy that needs to be retained as well. You know, I love my Miles Bryan. I'm going to beat that drum. Yeah, we could sit. Yeah. But we could sit here and do an entire hour on why Kendrick Bourne should be back here. You know, why Hunter Henry should be back here. For Christ's sakes, man, please. Zeke Elliott. Zeke Elliott. Thank you.

Starting point is 00:24:21 You just took the words right out of my mouth after what he accomplished here last year. Even Mack Wilson. You know, there are guys like Anthony Jennings. You know, there are a lot of very good free agents on the defensive side of this ball. And as Mike said, it's a top seven defense last year. I think it would be a top five defense or a top three defense if we didn't have the injuries that we did on that side of the ball and guys that were just jettisoned because they couldn't figure it out. These are the questions that are right now burning a hole, so to speak,

Starting point is 00:24:56 in the pockets of Patriots Nation. And you all want to know who's going to be the coaching staff? Who is going to be the free agents that the Patriots retain and bring in from outside the organization? But folks, I don't think this would be a robust mailbag enough if we didn't talk a little draft folks. And that's exactly what we're going to do. Murph and I are going to delve into the draft and a position that we haven't discussed a

Starting point is 00:25:20 whole lot of here. And there's a reason for that, but we are going to discuss it today 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. Every day. Locked On listeners, the NFL regular season has wrapped up, but there is still time to get in on the action with FanDuel, America's number one sports book because right now new customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place a $5 bet. That's $150 in bonus bets win or lose. The app is so easy to use and there are so many different ways to bet like live same game parlays. Find bets in the new Explore tab. Make a parlay in the Parlay Hub, the best way to find popular parlays, and more.

Starting point is 00:26:11 So visit FanDuel.com slash LockedOn and make your first bet a layup. FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on locked on Patriots and kicking off your week in style. And when we talk about style, we talk about the man who styles and profiles. That's right. My good friend,

Starting point is 00:26:35 the Don of locked on Patriots here, Thomas Murphy, joining me as he does each and every Monday to help wade through the locked on Patriots mailbag. And Murph, this was good. This, this was good. This needed to spill over into a different truck.

Starting point is 00:26:48 Newman was not happy. It involved a lot of work. He had to work in the rain and the cold. You know he hates that. But he did help us out this time around. Nobody needs mail. Yes. Because the mail never stops. That's a good thing here, folks, on Locked On Patriots.

Starting point is 00:27:02 We love it when the mail doesn't stop. And in the previous segments, Murph, That's a good thing here, folks. We love it when the mail doesn't stop. And in the previous segments, Murph, we discussed the Patriots coaching staff and the potential new hires. We also discussed the internal free agents and the guys we need to keep in-house in order to make sure that the Patriots are competing at the highest level. But we know that the Patriots fans are excited about the NFL draft. And I know a lot of the fan base believes they're going to take a quarterback with these top three picks. You have been very vocal about why offensive line should be the focus and why Joe Alt should be that first pick that the Patriots are announcing on draft

Starting point is 00:27:38 night in late April. I think it's a compelling argument. I understand the argument for quarterbacks, but there's a large section of the fan base that believes receivers should be the priority. And it's understandable when you see a generational talent like Marvin Harrison Jr. And the stuff he's able to do on the field. But if you don't have the right guy throwing on the ball or the right guys blocking to

Starting point is 00:28:00 make sure he gets those routes open, it's going to be a lot of years where you're essentially wasting his talent until he gets the talent around him where he can shine that being said i do think the patriots need to address the wide receiver position and you know who else does our good friend ted and chickpea mass a long time every day or going back to the mark scofield days and he's continued to stick with us yeah i do appreciate it ted a tip of the cap and he has a great question here he says mike i haven't heard you or murph mention a wide receiver a whole lot as a primary need in the draft the patriots need help there is there a prospect that has caught your sharp eye double tip of the cap ted for the

Starting point is 00:28:42 sharp eye reference yet murph i always extend the hospitality to the don is there a wide receiver prospect out there that you've identified that would look good in the early rounds of the new england patriots 2024 draft hall yeah now i get it folks i i really do i get the marvin harrison uh junior love uh because all you have to do is look at Marvin Harrison senior. Okay. And then add four inches and 20 pounds to him. And I get it, you know, all the talent that dad had plus more physical skills.

Starting point is 00:29:16 Can you imagine having more physical skills than Marvin Harrison? It's, you know, another guy that's moving up the boards and is, you know, well within the top 10 Malik neighbors out of LSU, uh, Romo Dunez in Washington, you know, but we're talking if, if the Patriots are going to play this draft smart and they have to play this draft smart, I still want them going with the, with the tackle in the first round. I still want them going with the tackle in the first round. I still want them to go with alt. But if you trade down, now I have done multiple mocks where I have moved back one

Starting point is 00:29:54 spot with Arizona and ended up getting their first and second round draft pick. I mean, their first and second first round draft picks. you can do pull off something like that, then you could be, you could be looking at a Brian Thomas out of LSU. You could be looking at a Troy Franklin out of Oregon. You know, he's another fantastic talent, you know, a top target for, for any team in the NFL, but a guy that, that if, if we don't, if we don't, a guy that I'm looking at at the top of the second round is Ladd McConkie. All right? He's out of Georgia.

Starting point is 00:30:32 McConkie is one of the best route runners in this entire class. And he can come in here and run whatever offense that you want to go. He doesn't have quick speed. Doesn't just have quick speed. He's got long speed. So he can stretch the field too. He can play inside. He can play outside.

Starting point is 00:30:53 He's been a slot because of his size. But I do think that he could move to the outside. Another game, another guy that I really have a high opinion of is also a second-round pick, and this is why I want – I was talking about those trades before. I ended up with seven top 100 first picks just moving around with the Patriots' top pick and ending up still getting alt at six. Donald Mitchell out of Texas. All right. This kid is six foot four, uh, has all the body control of somebody that is six

Starting point is 00:31:32 foot one or six feet tall. Um, the way watching his, his film, watching him go through the, through his gears downshifting and then going back up is, is amazing. He switches speeds like you guys that I've seen in a single route, two or three times. All right. He's, he's,

Starting point is 00:31:56 he's a fantastic target there in second, in the second round, Xavier Leggett out of South Carolina, you know, six foot three, 223 pounds. He's a day three prospect, but if you end up with multiple seconds, he's somebody that you could steal there. Um, you know, there there's, this is a really deep draft folks at the, um, at the wide receiver spot, but most of that depth is, um, in rounds. Xavier Worthy, the other kid out of Texas,

Starting point is 00:32:28 he could be a fantastic fit here. There are a lot of very talented wide receivers coming out of college this year. And it's really going to depend on the questions that we answered at the beginning of this show today as to who the offensive coordinator is going to be and which way that they're going to steer this offense. Also, again, what happens in free agency is going to dictate how things in the draft play out. Who's still going to be here? Who the Patriots are going to bring in? Who are they going to burn some of that cash on?

Starting point is 00:33:07 Is it going to be a wide receiver? You know, those guys are out there. But these are the guys that I'm looking at quite early are guys that the Patriots should have a sharp eye on. Absolutely. I think every one of the names that you've mentioned is intriguing. And for so many reasons, Worthy is a name that you mentioned a couple of weeks ago on Locked On Patriots.

Starting point is 00:33:27 And obviously I've been trying to do my due diligence about keeping up with all of the names on this list. But because you mentioned him, I went back and I gave Xavier Worthy a third and a fourth look. And I absolutely love this kid's game. I love the fact that he can align as an outside receiver. He can play in the slot. And I love the fact that he can align as an outside receiver. He can play in the slot and I love his ability to run a route. And again, if the Patriots are going to deviate from that a little bit, you know, maybe this is not necessarily the fit for him,

Starting point is 00:33:55 but this is not only a kid that can thrive in running routes, post corners, circle routes, pivot routes. You see him in his tape at Texas and he does this on a regular basis. One of the things I love about him is that he can create a break in the coverage. He can cause separation simply by selling the move one way to get a defensive back to bite onto it. And then he has the physical ability to break the other way and really make a big play out of it. This is something that the Patriots have not had a whole lot of in their arsenal. We see Demario Douglas do it a little bit. I think he's going to be your primary weapon in the slot.

Starting point is 00:34:31 Worthy could be what I think a lot of people hope Taequann Thornton would be. Xavier weighs in at, see, 6 feet, 165 pounds. So you need to put on the freshman muscle if you're going to be able to survive at this level. But boy, what an explosive playmaker and a threat to score from anywhere on the field this kid would be. He's someone I'm watching closely. A lot of people are projecting him late day one. If there's a possibility that that could slip to day two, he's definitely someone I would keep an eye on if the Patriots have multiple day twos. I think he's exactly with multiple day twos. I think he's exactly with multiple day

Starting point is 00:35:05 twos. I think you hit the nail on the head. A lot of people were talking late day one. For the reasons that you brought up, I think he is going to be a day two guy. He's a former track man, and I love that. Just fantastic speed. The yak that this kid gets after the catch at his size is unbelievable. And you guys know how much I love yak. I've been wrong, like Bill, at the wide receiver spot quite a few times. But it's easy to be wrong at the wide receiver spot when you're picking the fifth or sixth best wide receiver in that class. This is really a class where the fifth or the sixth and the top two or three wide receivers, the difference is completely measurable, and I understand that.

Starting point is 00:36:01 But that second group, it really comes down to the style of football that you want to play. And I think Legge is somebody that could fit in here or a lot of places and do exceptionally well. And yeah, I would like to see what he did on the opposite side of Tyquan Thornton, you know, get him a healthy camp and see how that works out before I close the book on that kid because he's a talented kid, folks. Yeah. See what he can do when finally given the opportunity to do it. And you also have some veterans probably coming back on this roster. I don't see the Patriots moving on from Juju Smith-Schuster or Devontae Parker based on the return on investment. So they're going to factor in here, folks.

Starting point is 00:36:46 You've got Keishon Butte waiting in the wings too. So there's a lot of log jam right now in the wide receiver room. The cupboards are not there. You just have to find the right guys. And I think if the Patriots play their cards right, they could use this draft to bolster that room for many years to come. But again, it all comes down to needs. That's it.

Starting point is 00:37:05 And you can't get these guys the ball if you can't block. You can't. That's a good point. If there's no blocking, no matter who you have under center, doesn't have the time for these guys to get out into these long patterns, it's not going to happen. And that's one of the reasons you saw Tyquan Thornton being used in the way that

Starting point is 00:37:25 he was last year, because it was simply whether it was Zappy or Mack, they didn't have the time to sit back there and tap that ball three times and then get it out and out to where they're going to be able to catch up to it. Ted, what a phenomenal question to end things today on the Monday mailbag. And anytime you can absorb the wisdom and counsel of my good friend here, it's always lots of fun and it's always great and informative. But what can I say? Thank you so much for all of your insight today. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you and what we can expect coming from the great pen, the great voice of Thomas Murphy this week. And of course you can follow me on, on Zitter, on X, on the former,

Starting point is 00:38:06 you know, the artist formerly known as Twitter at TeamMurph207 and keep up with me there and everything that I'm going to do. And just, you know, one last tidbit talking about the wide receivers in this class. Marvin Harrison Jr. is not the only junior that we're going to be looking at in this upcoming draft. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. There's a young guy whose dad is Jerry Rice who is out there right now.

Starting point is 00:38:36 And his kid, Brendan, and he's playing for USC. Look for him in the fourth or fifth round. That would be a nice little steal. That would be a nice little steal. That would be a nice little steal. Nice little legacy. Pretty good category there, folks, without question about it. Anytime that you can add a member of the Rice family tree. We talk about coaching trees, but that family tree runs deep too.

Starting point is 00:38:57 And yeah, I absolutely believe that this could be an interesting offseason and an interesting draft for the New England Patriots. Maybe one of their most interesting and intriguing in the last 25 years. Murph, what can I say? Thanks so much for everything. And we want to thank Abigail. We want to thank Ryan and Ted for all of your great questions and all of you everydayers and casual listeners that submitted questions.

Starting point is 00:39:20 Don't worry, folks. Murph and I will tackle all of the topics covered and then some in the coming days and weeks here on Locked on Patriots but in the meantime I remind you all to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world I'm my good friend the Don Thomas Murphy I'm Mike DeBate and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots

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