Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Mac Jones Traded, Kendrick Bourne Re-Signed, Pats Free Agent Prep, Mock Draft

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Mac Jones era in New England has come to a close, but a whole new era with a lot of new players is about to begin in Foxborough. Stick around, you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Also your first listen each and every day. Remember Locked On Patriots is not only

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Starting point is 00:01:12 I cover your New England Patriots. For Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated, reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some love to Locked On Patriots social media style, please be sure to follow our account there as well at L-O underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet.

Starting point is 00:01:43 That's $150 if your bet wins. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. And Pats fans, as I said today to open the show, the Mac Jones era in New England is no more. We all saw the breaking news on Sunday morning. Mac Jones traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth round draft pick. Later on, we found out that pick would be number 192 in the sixth round. And unfortunately, Pat's former first round pick

Starting point is 00:02:12 at number 15 overall is going to enjoy his football journey in the bold new city of the South. And here to discuss that and a lot more today, including making this a true mock draft Monday. The legend himself, my good friend, the Count of Murphy Fisto, Thomas Murphy, thank you for coming to me in friendship today, Don Murph. Thank you for having me, Michael. It's awful early in the morning, and I'm just enjoying my coffee and set to talk a little Pats. Absolutely, and we can't begin anywhere else today Murph but

Starting point is 00:02:46 with the big news of the day or the weekend and that is the end which I think everyone almost universally expected here Murph I don't think a lot of people thought this was going to end any differently but it does come with sort of a bittersweet hypothetical aura here in New England the new era under Gerard Mayo is going to include a new quarterback, and that means that Mac Jones is no longer in New England. When you take a look at this situation, Murph, from start to finish, how it unfolded, why have we arrived at this moment where Mac Jones, a former first-round pick, is going to the Jacksonville Jaguars

Starting point is 00:03:22 to back up Trevor Lawrence for a sixth round draft choice. You know, situation and, um, and attitude is, is really the things that, that I'm, I'm looking at mostly, um, we, uh, Elliot Wolf and Gerard Mayo and everybody in, uh, in New England up, up one Patriots places, uh place has been touting toughness. And, you know, Mac Jones didn't show a lot of toughness while he was here. There was some attitude issues on the sidelines and behind the scenes. And quite frankly, while you can talk about the situation that he was put into in his sophomore season and his junior season, it came down to his attitude towards the staff, towards other people, and his play on the field.

Starting point is 00:04:22 I mean, last year was just horrid. You know, it got to the point where he was benched and benched multiple times in multiple games where he was pulled, where things just weren't working. Now, you can go back in time and look at what we said here. It's really difficult to execute when you're behind a line of Swiss cheese, but he didn't handle the situation well. And I think the bottom line is that Wolf and Mayo wanted to clean house. You had Mack on one side and then you had Zappi

Starting point is 00:05:02 on the other and the two never met. And it was just kind of a toxic situation and it was time to move on. Yeah, I think in a lot of ways, it was almost inevitable that the situation was going to move on. Mack had lost the locker room and we've talked about that several times. When you lose the locker room and they no longer believe in you as a quarterback it's really almost um a losing battle if you think you're going to be able to win it back even even though you're going under a new coach you're going under a new offensive coordinator this would have been max fourth offensive coordinator in as many years right we'll get back to that in just a moment as well folks because i think that definitely plays a role here. But when you look at his statistics from his rookie year,

Starting point is 00:05:46 you're looking at someone that showed a lot of promise. You're looking at someone with a 67.6 completion percentage, 92.5 passer rating, 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and he completed at least 70% of his attempts in nine of New England's games that year. Was a Pro Bowl selection. I know, kind of backed England's games that year. Was a Pro Bowl selection. I know, kind of backed into it, but he's still a Pro Bowl selection. No one can take that away from him.

Starting point is 00:06:11 PFWA's all-rookie team leads the Pats to the playoffs. Automatically, you're starting to think this kid is figuring things out. So based upon those rookie stats, Murph, that kind of leads me into my next question for you. Because we look at the slow regression of what happened with Mac and everybody's going to point to last season and they're going to point to all of the difficulties that he had being benched for Bailey Zappi, the sideline tantrums, difficulties that he had. I think Mac kind of punched his ticket out of here in 2022. I'm not necessarily saying that he did it himself, but I think the combination of Mac working with first-time offensive

Starting point is 00:06:48 coordinators, guys who had never coordinated offenses before at a pro level, Joe Judge and Matt Patricia really did this kid a disservice. This is one area where I will fault Bill Belichick because I don't believe he put Mac in the best-case scenario coaching-wise. There is a level of culpability here, I think, in putting him in his second season with coordinators that just simply did not know how to do the job. Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree.

Starting point is 00:07:14 We all questioned it at the time and questioned it throughout the season. We understood some of the frustration that Mack was going through in that season. Yeah, it really kind of went downhill when Josh went out the door. As you said, it was a perfect situation for him to walk into. It became a perfect storm at the end of his rookie season. Absolutely. And bottom line, folks, Mc know, McDaniels leaves. Mac Jones has got a little bit of confidence going.

Starting point is 00:07:49 He's starting to brim. All of a sudden, you bring in two coordinators that Mac starts to clash with, and the confidence erodes. And yes, is there a level of culpability that is Mac's and Mac's alone? Yes, he needs to rise above that and needs to play at a high level as a pro-level quarterback. But at the same time if you're not having that guidance and you're a young quarterback with only a year under your

Starting point is 00:08:10 belt yeah you're going to need that guidance and he just simply did not get that an unfortunate situation all around for the New England Patriots for Mac Jones a fresh start I think richly needed on both sides credit to Mac here I'm glad he's going back to jacksonville he's going to go back home uh he's definitely uh excited about that but at the same time he's probably bittersweet in terms of that he's backing up the guy that he was chosen you know 14 picks south of right in 2021 so the two best quarterbacks in that draft are now in Jacksonville. I think his upside is still there. They just need to get his head right. That wasn't going to happen here.

Starting point is 00:08:55 And yes, you can put some blame on the pieces around him, on the coaching around him. But we all felt that with O'Brien coming in last year, that that was going to help right this ship, and it certainly didn't, and you're not going to hear me put down Bill O'Brien. Yeah, I think in a lot of ways, when you look at Bill O'Brien, I think by the time he got here, I think Mack was already beyond repair. I really and truly do. I think the damage that was done to him in 2022 was so egregious. And I think it messed with his mechanics and his confidence and his rhythm so much. And Mac is such a rhythm quarterback. We've heard this from Alabama as well. When you disrupt him or when you

Starting point is 00:09:38 shake his confidence, Mac is a completely different guy out on that field. And it's much different trying to get your confidence back at a pro level than it is at a collegiate level folks it's going to be interesting because as we know the mac jones era may be over but the new era in new england is just beginning and it's starting today as a matter of today noontime monday that legal tampering period opens up and for the first time murph teams are going to be able to negotiate with players because we know that prior to this time, there's no negotiations. Nothing's going on. Nobody's ever talking to one another.

Starting point is 00:10:13 But they get to do that for the first time legally at noontime on Monday. What does that mean for the New England Patriots? Well, the Patriots have already brought back a couple of popular familiar faces. And Murph and I are going to talk about which faces they may want to bring in. We continue our discussion on Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry coming back, and what's next when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Walk-on listeners, passion, drive, and patience is what brings home that winning trophy.

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Starting point is 00:12:00 Don't forget, it is still Mock Draft Monday, and we are going to honor that Mock Draft commitment here today on Locked On Patri Don't forget, it is still Mock Draft Monday, and we are going to honor that Mock Draft commitment here today on Locked On Patriots in just a moment. So be sure to stay locked in because you're not going to want to miss the one that we've chosen. Yeah, I'll give you a little hint, folks. It includes the number 192 pick that the Patriots recouped for Mac Jones. And obviously, in the previous segment,

Starting point is 00:12:21 we talked about the Patriots trade of Mac Jones and the level of culpability on all sides that this marriage simply did not work. But Murph, like all things that come to an end, the Patriots now have to move on and they are moving on. But they're also keeping some familiar faces in the house because, as you know, today is free agent day. It is legal tampering period day, and the Patriots can start to negotiate with all of those external free agents that they've been waiting to bring in. Before we get into that, I haven't had a chance to talk to you on the air, that is, about the Patriots signing two very popular offensive players, one being tight end Hunter Henry, the other coming late Sunday night, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne signing with the Patriots,

Starting point is 00:13:06 two three-year deals for these gentlemen. Your thoughts on this? I think it's a great move on both ends. I think it's a fantastic move. It was bringing Hunter Henry back shows that there's a commitment to quality professionals in the building and in the room. He was headed for a very good season last year before he got injured. And, you know, shockingly to everybody, you know,

Starting point is 00:13:38 those are the first games that he's missed since he's been here in New England. I think that's something that he prides himself on since he had such an injury riddled beginning to his career out there in San Diego. And I just hope that this works out as well in the second contract as it did in the first, because I was really thrilled with the effort and the job that he did in the first. You can look at his stats and say, what the hell? But you have to consider the perfect storm, again, that was around him over the last three seasons. Yeah, absolutely. And when you look at Henry, and I think you hit the nail right on the head here, Murph, it's a commitment to quality professionals in the locker room. This guy in his first year as a team captain

Starting point is 00:14:25 was someone these players looked up to and someone that players knew that they could go to with questions. They knew that they could go to him for guidance. They knew that they could look to him on the field to lead by example. I covered Hunter Henry in Los Angeles and believe me, I think he is a sufficient enough vocal leader, but he leads more by example. It's exactly the way he loves to do business. He loves to show rather than do. And I think he loves to show rather than say. And I think that's something that is inherent in the way he leads.

Starting point is 00:14:58 And I think that's something the Patriots saw and wanted to bring him back. Save for the fact that he's an excellent route runner, a very good red zone target, and a pretty good receiver in the open field. And I always stand by the fact, a better blocker than he gets credit for. I love the fact that Hunter Henry is back in New England. Did a whole show about it last week, just to express my gratitude for the Patriots in bringing him back. But Kendrick Bourne is someone that I think also is coming back for the impact he can have in the locker room as well as on the field. This is an energetic player that always feeds off of the positive energy.

Starting point is 00:15:33 You never hear him talk about the bad. Even when he got injured, he was still upbeat. He was still positive. And I think it's one of those things that's helping to sustain him throughout a very difficult injury for a receiver especially torn acl is very difficult to come back from we've seen receivers take a while to get back into the swing of things we're hearing from kendrick bourne that he feels he's going to be ready for training camp and for day one you never really know until you get out there on the field but hearing that type of positivity is a good thing for the new england patriots but i love what this kid can bring to them on the field because you know they're going to be adding bodies to the wide receiver group whether they choose to do it in the draft or

Starting point is 00:16:13 whether they choose to take a big swing and we're going to get into that in just a minute too for a potential uh free agent target this kid has the technical prowess to win from either alignment i think you'll see him line up mostly in the z as he kind of has been but you'll see him assist in the slot and you can see him go to the x as well this kid can do it all and he can carry the ball out of the backfield and jet sweep situations alex van pelt loves that you might see that come back in droves folks this season i'm surprised we haven't seen more of that out of kendrick the last couple of years but that leads me nicely into my next question and how do these guys fit in with the patriots free agent um philosophy that they're bringing into the table

Starting point is 00:16:57 now a lot of guys available internals and externals everyone hits the table unofficially on monday but officially on wednesday at 4 p.m murph on your big board of free agent wish list who are the patriots going to be targeting here who should patriots fans be watching closely well i mean first of all you know take care of business at home all right um i would like to see i would like to see phrell Brown come back. You know, Anthony Jennings, I would like to see. Miles Bryant, Mack Wilson. You know, keep the defensive core together. I think Farrell Brown was underutilized last year. Zeke, I would love to see back, but I don't.

Starting point is 00:17:41 I think he's played his way onto a contender and to be paid well. He just did a fantastic job. And lastly, a lot of people will disagree with this, but I'd love to see Josh Uche back. I think he might get a little more money than the Patriots are willing to pay since he's not a three-down guy. But he's such a fantastic pass rusher, and he's somebody that I've really enjoyed over the years. He's another guy that the Patriots probably could have moved last year at the deadline and brought back a draft pick. But let's just see. There's not going to be that compensation pick that we're

Starting point is 00:18:29 all looking for. I think Josh is going to get paid, but the Patriots have to pay so many free agents right now that I don't think they're going to end up doing any of that. And of course, Mike Unweu. Unweu should be done, priority one one done today. Last week, I don't know if you folks caught it or not. Our good friend, Mike Giardi talked to on way you and says that on way he wants to play guard. Well, do you, do you want to get paid like a guard or do you want to get paid like a tackle? Personally, I think you should pay him at the very highest end of the guards and then see how things shake out in free agency and in the draft and where you want to play him. But take care of business at home. My wish list, Tryon Smith on the offensive line. That's a big swing.

Starting point is 00:19:27 I'm not sure that he's looking. We've talked before about two different kinds of free agents, and ones that are chasing money and ones that are chasing rings. He's been paid. This man has made a lot of money. So I think if he's going to take a discount anywhere, it's going to be to go and win a ring. I'm not sure that even the Patriots have enough cap space to get him to ignore, even though he's going to Canton anyway.

Starting point is 00:19:53 But, you know, how many people would trade a trip to Canton for a Super Bowl ring? Right now, that's probably his number one goal. But Jonah Williams, he's a left tackle and wants to play there. He's been sitting in purgatory on the right-hand side over there in Cincinnati for the last year. I would love to see him brought in, you know, maybe mentor that next guy. And, you know, it's got to start on the offensive line. And if they can first get on Weyu back and then pick up a Jonah Williams

Starting point is 00:20:33 or, as we talked about last week, a Jermaine Illuminor, bring him back from Vegas. He's a fantastic swing guy and gets the job done on the defensive line, which a lot of people aren't speaking about. Barmore and Jennings both had a fantastic year, and I would try to take care of some business there and get them extended. Daniel Hunter, the defensive end out of the Vikings, he's getting up there in age. He's 29, but he can still bring it. And here's an outside the box thinking. Daniel Hunter.

Starting point is 00:21:14 Daniel Hunter is somebody that I think if we lose Josh Uche, he could come in here, fill a role, and it wouldn't cost as much and still be able to go back out there and do it. Do you want to talk some weapons, Mike? I have a funny feeling our listeners are going to want to hear about some weapons. Give us some weapons, Murph. Let's give some weapons.

Starting point is 00:21:38 There we go. You know, we'll get away from the large, good-looking guys, and we'll do it. You know, right up the top of my list is Calvin Ridley, of course, the wide receiver at Jacksonville. Ridley is basically the end of the alphabet. He's the X, Y, and Z guy. He can play them all. This is where I would overpay, where I would burn that cash. Get Calvin Ridley in here, whether you convince him that what you're doing in free agency is the way to go at the quarterback position. Or if you can tell him that we're going to draft a QB high, you're not going to be in here, and Mac Jones is not going to be throwing to you.

Starting point is 00:22:23 And that's it. This is what these guys are going to be thinking when they come in for visits and when their agents pick up the phone. So Calvin Ridley's right up the top. Curtis Samuel is plan B. Not a lot of people are talking about him, and if he isn't blown away by one of the top contenders, he could be had for a good price here. OBJ, no, no, no.

Starting point is 00:22:51 Thank you, next. Hollywood Brown, thank you, next. Gabe Davis, a lot of people are talking about bringing Gabe Davis in. I think he's going to be a little bit too expensive for what he gives you on the field. Gabe Davis is somebody who blows hot and cold. Everybody in New England remembers the 70-yard catches that put a dagger in you. But the consistent work week to week, I'm not spending money there. Yeah, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:23:22 I completely agree with you on gridley um and even with the overpay and i know that's breaking patriot way tradition you usually don't overpay especially for receivers but right murph i leave you with this two years away from the game essentially and we all know what happened with calvin i think he learned his lesson i don't think you have to worry about any issues there i think he would come in being the perfect citizen 1016 yards eight touchdowns 76 receptions appeared in all 17 games working with a young quarterback and trevor lawrence now guaranteed trevor is not a rookie but it doesn't mean that this kid can't work with a young quarterback and be effective so the patriots can effectively sell him that they're going to draft

Starting point is 00:24:02 a young quarterback at number three bring him in and make him a focal point of this offense i think the pats have a good chance to make that big swing here and land a guy like calvin ridley but you know what we're going to find out in short order folks by the time you're watching this we may already know the fate of calvin ridley and don't worry we're going to cover it all here on locked on, outs, signings, non-signings. What happened? What's the problem? We're going to be covering it all. So definitely stay locked into Locked On Patriots. But we're not quite done just yet.

Starting point is 00:24:33 Because with the extensive laundry list of players that Murph has for us, the primer for free agency that we're all going to enjoy, still Mock Draft Monday, folks. And we're going to honor that commitment by sharing a mock draft that not only includes the number 192 pick that the Patriots recouped from the Mac Jones trade, but Murph, it also includes some big round men that I think you're going to like an awful lot.

Starting point is 00:24:57 We're going to get to that mock draft in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, say goodbye to busted brackets because FanDuel lets you bet on every game of the tourney. Whether you're betting on a big upset or on a number one seed, it's time to go dancing on America's number one sportsbook. Test your confidence with FanDuel because right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. That's $200 to use on point spreads, money lines. You can even pick who's going to win it all.

Starting point is 00:25:37 Just visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and bet on college hoops until they cut down the nets. FanDuel.com slash Locked On. Fats fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on this pre-free agent primer slash mock draft Monday here on Locked On Patriots. And Murph, it is free agent day. A lot of big news for the Patriots. Had to cover the big trade of Mac Jones.

Starting point is 00:26:04 Had to cover the signings of mac jones had to cover the signings of kendrick bourne hunter henry and give a little bit of a free agent primer for all of our patriots faithful out there but we wouldn't be doing our job unless we made it a true mock draft monday and folks even though we've limited it to one mock draft today we're still going to be bringing back the all-stars for a mock draft episode later in the week. So stay tuned, stay locked in because you're not going to want to miss that one. But today's offering, Murph, I don't know how we would have been able to lay off this because in his own words, he submitted this with just the following description, Murph. This one has to make a Murph Monday.

Starting point is 00:26:40 It has round people. And it comes to you courtesy of our man Ryan Currier at our cur 25 you can find him on x twitter whatever you want to call it these days I don't know I like this draft I think Ryan showed a lot of I think he showed a lot of uh you know um ingenuity here ingenuity yeah yeah um so folks let's take a look at it let's dive right into it here and as you can see it looks like he's done a little trading here. We pick up a 2025 first rounder from the Tennessee Titans. Patriots dropping down to number seven to pick Jaden Daniels.

Starting point is 00:27:14 Right. I think this would be a little luck of the draw for the Patriots if they drop down to seven. And Jaden, we're still there, but I give him credit for working the board well. If you can get Jaden Daniels at number seven, you're doing something right. Right, exactly. You've got to go with the hand they deal you. And at number seven, you just couldn't pass on Jaden Daniels. I think that it's a very prudent pick.

Starting point is 00:27:41 You didn't take him at three. You went down and you picked up a plethora of talent because of moving down. Well done, bud. Well done. Absolutely. And considering what we said in the previous segment, if you're going to try to attract a guy like Calvin Ridley to come in or any wide receiver folks, regardless of whether it's Ridley or not, you're going to want to sell that receiver or that tight end or that pass catcher that you're going to have a competent quarterback throwing them the ball. And who better than the Heisman Trophy winner at this point? If it's not Drake May and it's not Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels is not necessarily a consolation prize, folks. I think he's probably third in that group. And I don't think that's a bad group to be in. So good job right off the bat for Ryan here.

Starting point is 00:28:26 Troy Fatano out of Washington. We've talked about him a little bit before, Murph. Value here at number 20. It looks like the Patriots raised up a little bit from that number 34, probably a side effect from this Tennessee trade. Yeah, exactly. I thought it was a smart trade up. He's a guy that's going to come in and play right away.

Starting point is 00:28:44 I think that he'll have his growing pains, but you know, he has, um, not exceptional size, but, uh, but better than average size. I like his footwork in the past game and, uh, we'll see what he can do in the run game. Absolutely folks. And definitely good stuff for the new England Patri patriots so far uh number 51 coming in next jatavion sanders a popular pick among a lot of the mock drafts that come in patriots have

Starting point is 00:29:12 hunter henry in the fold but they need a tight end for the future i'll tell you this kid would look very nicely paired with hunter henry i like this pick at number 51 as well exactly you need depth in that room henry is the only guy under contract right now, I believe. And, uh, and yeah, I'm, I'm all for Troy, you know, he he's a, I mean, J Jatavion, uh, he's, he's, uh, somebody that's been very popular around, uh, around right around this spot. And I wouldn't even be upset if, uh, if you took him a few picks earlier than this. So, yeah, he's somebody that definitely has fantastic hands, can move and play in the line.

Starting point is 00:29:53 I like the pick. Yeah, absolutely. And then you look down on the list here, got a couple of pass catchers. Jalen McMillan out of Washington at 84. Obviously, Brendan Rice, we've gushed about him a lot. I love the value here at number 102. So the Patriots addressing their need for a pass catcher. We fall to another big round man, another tackle.

Starting point is 00:30:15 Javon Foster out of Missouri, number 136. Murph, your take on this value pick here, reach, or do you think this is a potential diamond in the rough? I think that it's probably a bit of a reach i don't i don't see him coming in and and being a starter i i think it's more of a project and that he's uh you know he's's a Michigan guy who went to Missouri. There's got to be, there's got to be a reason for that. You know, he's a very physical ball player.

Starting point is 00:30:52 He's somebody that likes to work in close in the phone booth, as you say. He's more of a man blocker than he is a zone blocking presence out there. And I'm a little worried about that when it comes to what the Patriots want to do going forward, because I'm really not sure about it. But at 136, when you get outside the top 100, that's the things that you're gonna um uh you're gonna end up doing he i i think he'll be a fine uh right tackle uh i think that'll be part of the rotation but i think his you know he he's really heavy-footed he's going to have a really hard time with those those speed rushers uh from the the tape that i saw of him in college uh college. He hasn't seen what he's going to see at the next level. And quite frankly, he doesn't use leverage enough. He tries to get by with his

Starting point is 00:31:56 hands. That's not going to happen at this next level. But that doesn't mean that he can't be a good depth piece. And when you're picking here, that's what you're looking for. So bravo, bud. Absolutely. Very, very well said. And of course, we've been teasing it, folks. Number 192, that's the pick that the Patriots recouped from the Mac Jones trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Muhammad Kamara, the edge rusher coming out of Colorado State. And here's, I think, a potential diamond in the rough, Murph, not just for the Patriots, but really for any team. Started to really do my homework on Kamara a little bit in the recent hours since Ryan submitted this draft. Yeah, folks, I'm not too proud to admit he's not someone that was on my radar right away, but really I think should have been.

Starting point is 00:32:39 And I take me a culpa on that because this kid has breakaway speed that really could make him an effective edge rusher at the pro level in very short amount of time very very good at those bull rush type situations where he can get around and get to the quarterback now i understand it's going to be a lot harder at the pro level to do this as opposed to how it was playing for colorado state but this kid did the 40 yard dash in 4.57 seconds. That's third among defensive ends. He did the 10-yard split in 1.58 seconds. That's also third among defensive ends.

Starting point is 00:33:14 And here's a stat that I love on this kid, Murr. In the last 18 years of FBS football, about 40 players have totaled 30 or more sacks. Kamara's one of them. So that's pretty good company to be put in. If you're going to lose someone like Josh Uche, I know the Patriots don't have an immediate need here, but there may be a need to add an edge,

Starting point is 00:33:36 especially if Matthew Judon is planning on heading out of here at the end of the year. I know folks, I don't want that to happen either. I'd love to see him locked up, but you never know what the future is uh for players from year to year so in order to stockpile uh some talent at the edge i think kamara could be a good pick here i actually like this at number 192 yeah at 192 i love it um i wouldn't call it a dice roll, but, you know, he's one of those smaller, faster guys that, you know, everybody seems to be trending towards.

Starting point is 00:34:11 And like you said, he gets off the ball like few others. He goes after the quarterback and he loves he eats quarterbacks for lunch. I like the pick here. Yeah. And I think, again, 192 being the value of this, this is a great opportunity to get a good late rounder that could come in and make an impact. So, folks, when you see Murph and I again on the screen,

Starting point is 00:34:35 you know it's grading time. Murph, how would you grade Ryan's submission? Did he fulfill your expectations for round men here in this draft? Oh, he did, without a doubt. This is an A-minus draft. This is an A minus draft. This is an A minus draft. If he had, if he had bypassed completely on, on a quarterback and, and, and given me, you know, one more, one more offensive tackle up there in the top 10, it would have been an A plus draft, but no, I I'm kidding. It, it, it, it was a fantastic draft. I think he hit a lot of the holes that the Patriots need. We talked about getting younger and playing younger. He's able to do that with what he put

Starting point is 00:35:16 forward here. I think the top five picks that he has will contribute next season. Absolutely. And I agree with you. i think this is an a minus draft as well ryan i love the ingenuity and like i said i love the back half of the value that you provided here jayden daniels at number seven again is it realistic yeah it doesn't necessarily matter you play the board the way it lies right you've done that and i think you've done a very good job here very good stuff and the new england patriots would be very suited by this type of draft. So tip of the cap, Ryan. Thank you for your submission.

Starting point is 00:35:51 In the meantime, it is free agent day, and you know that Locked On Patriots will keep you updated on the very, very latest when it comes to your New England Patriots, including Murph. Some breaking news right now. As we are recording this podcast, Patriots planning on releasing veteran special team standout Chris Board sometime this week.

Starting point is 00:36:11 Played in all 17 games for the New England Patriots last season. This is coming from NFL Network. He had a penalty in all 17 games last season, too. Really, I don't think the impact that the Patriots hoped he was going to have on special teams. And, of course, our main man, Miguel, right all over this. This is a cat move without any question. And Miguel chimes right in, giving us here an exclusive on Locked On Patriots, saying,

Starting point is 00:36:34 because Chris Board has guaranteed salary, that's why they are releasing him later rather than today. Since the books on the 2023 league year have closed, the Patriots have waited until the commencement of the 2024 league year to release Chris board. The net cap savings is 1.045 million. I love, I love how Miguel just rounds this down to the absolute penny. And the decimal places just keep going. $937,500 hit for dead money

Starting point is 00:37:05 and a possible credit in 2025 of $440,000. We are going to continue to bring you all of the action up to date right here on Locked On Patriots, but in the meantime, I thank my good friend, the counter Murphy Fisto himself, a legend, Thomas Murphy, who carried the ball and carried

Starting point is 00:37:22 it in a big way today, not just with his insight on free agency, but also all of his insight when it comes to mock draft Monday. Murph, we would not be locked on Patriots without you, and we appreciate you, man. We can't wait to have you back here later in the week. Before I let you go, though, bud, I would like you to just drop a few pearls of wisdom to our listeners

Starting point is 00:37:41 about where they can find you and what great work you have cooking in murph's kitchen from now until the next time you see it check me out on zitter at teamer 207 i'm not sure what i'm up to this week uh the the uh the red the red sox just got back from a very successful trip to the dominican republic and and i'll probably be touching on that. It's just like all human interest stuff right now, and that drives me batty. It really does, folks. It really does. I might throw a few hundred words out on Trevor's story

Starting point is 00:38:14 and whether or not he's back and what we can expect out of him this season. Absolutely, folks. And again, anytime Murph puts pen to paper, whether it's to your New England Patriots or especially if it's to your Boston Red Sox, you definitely want to pay attention. It's appointment listening, appointment reading. You're always well-informed and you're always entertained. What more can you ask for? Come read me on Zitter. Absolutely. Go read them on Zitter.

Starting point is 00:38:37 And definitely folks stay tuned and stay locked in for later on this week, because we will be bringing Murph back for an all-star edition of Mock Draft Monday or Mock Draft Midweek or whatever we decide to call it. We'll keep you posted, but also stay locked in for all of the latest on the Patriots' free agent frenzy between now and the end of the week. Until then, folks, I'm Mike DeBate, and I remind you to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. On behalf of my good friend Thomas Murphy,

Starting point is 00:39:06 have a great day and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Mac Jones Traded, Kendrick Bourne Re-Signed, Pats Free Agent Prep, Mock Draft

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