Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Offensive Line Dilemma: Doug Marrone to the Rescue? Senior Bowl Prospects

Starting point is 00:00:00 The New England Patriots have got the quarterback, you've got the right coach, now it's time to fix the real problem, the offensive line. 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 daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:00:38 coverage. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for the Patriots country. Reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at MDABATENFL. You can catch me over where the skies are blue on Blue Sky at MDABATENFL.BSKY.SOCIAL

Starting point is 00:00:54 and of course, if you want to show some love to Locked On Patriots, social media style that is, check out our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at FanDuel. Super Bowl 59 is here, and there's no better way to make every play more exciting than with the FanDuel Sportsbook. New customers can bet just $5, and if you win, you'll score $200 in bonus bets.

Starting point is 00:01:22 Download the app or head to Fananduel.com today to get started. Pats fans, the days of prepping for a Super Bowl in these two weeks leading up to the NFL's biggest day, maybe a bit of a memory now here in New England, but that does not mean that there's not still a lot of work to be done at the offices

Starting point is 00:01:40 at One Patriots Place in Gillette Stadium. New England Patriots have their head coach. They have their offensive coordinator, their defensive coordinator. Special teams coordinator is sticking around for another tour of duty here in New England. But a lot of the positional coaches are going to be new faces this year, some of which may be recognizable to you. And the Patriots clearly have positions of need both on the coaching staff and on the field.

Starting point is 00:02:10 One area where the Patriots clearly need some help is along the offensive line, a line that allowed the highest pressure rate in the NFL last season at 40.7%. Yeah, yikes. There is a need to upgrade there, and it comes from coaching, and it also comes from personnel. The New England Patriots' most recent hire of veteran coach Doug Marone may be the first step in trying to repair the damage that has been done to the Pat's O line. We're going to talk about that hiring today. We're also going to talk about the entirety of Mike Rabel's staff and how a priority on experience may be exactly what this Patriots team needs to move it forward.

Starting point is 00:02:44 Last but certainly not least, it's fun time down in Mobile, Alabama. The Senior Bowl is kicking off, and a lot of Patriots fans are eager to find out which position might be the strongest for the Patriots to scout. What is the priority position that a lot of Patriots scouts are going to be having their sharp eye on? If we're going to be talking O-line, we're going to be talking big round men up front. We're going to be talking to the expert, the only man that could help lend the wisdom, the counsel, and the insight that we need today here on Locked On Patriots, my good

Starting point is 00:03:15 friend, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. Thank you for coming to me in friendship on this offensive line-centric day on Locked On Patriots. Don Murr. Happy to be here. Hope to help the ball club, man. Let's get into it. Let's get it.

Starting point is 00:03:30 We're talking big round guys. We love big round guys. Absolutely. And who does that better than you, my friend? You played the position, you coached the position, you know exactly what it takes to succeed along the offensive line. And let's start with the Patriots most recent hire multiple reports now indicate that veteran coach Doug Marone will be joining the staff of Mike Vrabel now Marone comes to town with a very extensive resume Dougie's been around coming yeah he's been

Starting point is 00:03:57 around two previous stints as an NFL head coach with the Buffalo Bills and then again with the Jacksonville Jaguars served as the head coach of Syracuse University. He's coached offensive line for a number of NFL teams and collegiate teams, also has some college experience working with Nick Saban and also working with Bill O'Brien. So when you heard that Marone was joining the staff, even though technically the Patriots have yet to confirm his exact position. Right. I think everyone automatically just focused on the offensive line because that's where he played as a player and that's where his expertise tends to gravitate.

Starting point is 00:04:35 Your feelings on Doug Marone coming in and what you think it means for the Patriots plans on the line moving forward. I was a little shocked. Somebody brought this to me last week and and I made a few phone calls, and I couldn't confirm that this was going to happen. But it was a little surprising to me that the Patriots would turn around and basically rob O'Brien the way they did. But, no, it's a good hire.

Starting point is 00:05:06 I think they're putting together a fine staff. It's just whether or not these guys can fall into line. And when I say fall into line, understand Josh McDaniels is the offensive coordinator of this team. I have no problem with, with Vrabel himself, you know, staying away from the offensive side of the ball and focusing on,

Starting point is 00:05:33 you know, the big picture and focusing on defense where this team really needs some, some help from its, its head coach, but it's whether or not it's going to be, you know, all our, all our boats going in the same direction. All right.

Starting point is 00:05:50 And that's Josh McDaniel's direction. A lot of these guys have, have some serious, including Marone, have serious West Coast style. They come from West Coast style offenses. They've run West Coast style offenses. So are we going to see a drastic change here? Is that what McDaniels is going to do? And we talked previously and before anybody else would of how diverse

Starting point is 00:06:16 McDaniels is, how diverse the Earhart system is. It's no longer the Earhart system, folks. It's really no longer that. This is the Brady's McDaniels system. heart system is it's it's no longer the air heart system folks it's really no longer that all right this is this is the brady's mcdaniel system all right i'll dub it here right here right now this this system can adapt and can and and can be used like that i just want to make sure that the people that they've brought in stay in their lane all right there are a lot of guys with a lot of uh a lot of street cred out there and it's a lot of different voices but there has to be one voice all right one voice on a coaching staff and

Starting point is 00:06:51 the others have to follow suit otherwise it works against the program very good point and again i think you're looking at the alpha in that room being josh mcdaniel but i am glad that you mentioned the west coast origins of doug marone because that's extremely important to remember. When you look at Doug's background and you look at the types of offenses he's worked in, very similar to the outgoing offensive coordinator here, eerily similar to Alex Van Pelt in a lot of ways. They use a lot of the same protection schemes. They use a lot of the same run calls up front. I think this is going to benefit Drake May enormously. Yeah. Because Drake obviously is continuing to get to know the pro game.

Starting point is 00:07:32 And I know that he's doing a great job and he's showing wisdom beyond his years. But I think it's important for Patriots fans to remember he's still a very young quarterback. Right. Learning potentially a complex system. If Drake comes in now and is working with Josh McDaniels, getting the opportunity to continue on in some of the same language, some of the same verbiage, and some of the same cadences that Alex Van Pelt had instituted in this offense, Doug Marone comes in and uses some of that to build on what Drake does well. I think that can only make it

Starting point is 00:08:05 easier for him to take that sophomore leap that a lot of people are expecting him to take. I think this makes it a little bit easier. I like this move for the Patriots in that regard. Yeah, I can't argue with you there. It's a smart move. This is a grown-ups table at Thanksgiving, all right, as opposed to, you know, the kids table that we had last year. And I think it leads me quite nicely into my next question for you on this subject, my friend. And it's not just about the personnel in the coach's room. It's about the personnel on the field.

Starting point is 00:08:35 This New England Patriots team on the field, especially when it comes to fielding offensive linemen, not exactly a robust cauldron of talent out there right now, Murph. As much as it pains me to admit, when you look at this lineup and you look at the line that the Patriots trotted out more often than not, I'm just going to give you a few rankings on each of the five linemen who started the most games for the Patriots in 2024. And folks, spoiler alert, this is not pretty. Start off with Michael Wenham, who obviously is your top offensive lineman

Starting point is 00:09:07 i still think that's the case it is he was graded number 33 out of number 77 not terrible but not the level you expect from your best line not not what you were you were paying for that's for sure but thank you know a lot of that a lot of that has to do with this attitude that they took moving him around here and there and everywhere last season. And you just could not settle in. And it is really difficult to prepare yourself week in and week out when you don't know what you're preparing for. Absolutely. When you can't focus 100% on your position.

Starting point is 00:09:44 And they're two vastly different positions, that's what you're going to expect. I expect a lot better out of Mike this year. Yeah, definitely. When you're moving a player all around, how can you expect him to be settled into a role? How can you expect him to excel in a role when he doesn't know what his role is going to be from one week to the next? Very difficult in that regard so if you take michael wanu out of the equation

Starting point is 00:10:09 because of that reason then you look at the players that were more locked into predefined roles rookie guard laden robinson was graded 74th out of 77 linemen at his position you know understand that this kid is a rookie but you still need more production out of your everyday guard um that simply is not going to cut it that type of production folks is the reason why you saw the new england patriots line stutter and but i'm sorry to tell you it gets worse let's move over to the tackle positions but darian lowe 69 out of 81 tackles was his rank you'd switch that over to demontre jacobs and i say this with every bit of respect for trey who i happen to think is a great guy and i think he's doing the best job that he possibly can but he was placed in an

Starting point is 00:11:00 untenable position 81 out of 81 oh damn you're getting that type of production out of both tackles that is nearly impossible to sustain then you look at the center position ben brown filling in for david andrews right he was ranked 39 out of 40 centers that took snaps on a regular basis this year so when you take a look at that lineup and that's after his first two games where he looked great exactly where we were all thinking that the patriots had done a very good job of filling that position on the fly things started to come off the rails very quickly so you're doug marone assuming that doug is going to take the reins here as the alpha voice when it comes to the offensive line you're looking at the personnel now are their alignment on this team right now murph when you look at it and you say yeah i can make this guy better uh

Starting point is 00:11:50 this is not indicative of who he is i can build around this anchor as we move forward um how many how many candles can i light for a healthy david andrews Go to Mass. I'll light all the candles you want. Him and the aforementioned Mike Unweu. Oh yeah. City So is a depth piece and that's what we had all year

Starting point is 00:12:17 long. Second and third stringers trying to play first string reps. You guys all know how much I enjoy Cole Strange. But, you know, is this offense going to hinder his career even more than injuries already have? And it has been. It has been. This poor kid just cannot stay healthy.

Starting point is 00:12:43 And it's never been ticky-tack stuff with him. It's always been something serious that sidelined him. If I'm Doug Marone, I'm hijacking the Brinks truck that everybody wants to use on wide receivers. And I'm giving it to offensive linemen that I think can come in here, start next year, and give the guys that hopefully the Patriots listen to me and draft, you know, to build that foundation and get Drake May to that next level, which is, I think, you know, if you spend right and you draft correctly, this team could be looking at a playoff spot next year absolutely i'm so glad that you mentioned the need for new blood here on this offensive line and that's not taking away

Starting point is 00:13:32 from any one of these guys that i think gave their supreme effort to try to do the best job that they could but the thing that the patriots did not have obviously the talent level was not there right but they lacked the presence of battle tested veterans that could help the younger players evolve that could help these younger players grow into the roles that they were drafted for someone like a caden wallace or even a cole strange who's still learning the ropes here in the pro game these guys laden robinson these guys are young offensive linemen that really needed an alpha in that room that's been there, seen it all, done it all, gone to Super Bowls, blocked for all pros. And giving them the opportunity and say, look, this is how we've done it in the past.

Starting point is 00:14:16 This is how we can do it in the future. Yeah, I think there's a lot to be said for that. So I think it's important to revisit what Mike Vrabel is doing with this coaching staff. We've already said it several times today, placing a priority on experience. But are the Patriots placing too many hands in the pot right now? Murph and I are going to discuss Vrabel's staff in just a moment and whether or not there might be too many cooks in the kitchen. Stick around, folks. You're going to want to hear what Murph has to say and a little bit of what I have to say on the subject as well

Starting point is 00:14:46 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, Super Bowl 59 is here. One game, two teams,

Starting point is 00:15:03 endless possibilities, and there's no better way to make every play more exciting than with the FanDuel Sportsbook. Whether it's predicting the first touchdown, calling the MVP, or even betting on the coin toss, FanDuel makes it easy to get in on the action. With live betting all game long, you can adjust your bets as the game unfolds and feel the thrill from kickoff to the final whistle the live betting feature lets you stay involved no matter what happens on the field and the app is super easy to navigate plus knowing that you can place a five dollar bet and potentially win two hundred dollars in bonus bets for the super bowl well that's the icing on

Starting point is 00:15:41 the cake download the app or head toDuel.com to get started. Bet just $5, and if you win, you'll score $200 in bonus bets. That's FanDuel.com. Bet with FanDuel, official partner of Super Bowl LIV. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots as we continue to break down arguably the Patriots' most problematic area on their roster and maybe even in their coaching staff, and that is the offensive line. If we're talking O-line, you know there's no one else that could lend the wisdom and counsel

Starting point is 00:16:21 and insight the way he does. My good friend, the kind of murphy fisto himself the legendary thomas murphy of diehard boston sports fans joins me today murph we talked a lot in the previous segment about doug marone and about him coming on board here for your new england patriots lending a thicket of experience and maybe a little bit of battle test at this coach's room. But the Patriots right now are forming a staff that is quite formidable and that has a lot of experience. They also have a lot of experience as former head coaches. Mike Vrabel, obviously, at the top of the heap, has been a head coach before.

Starting point is 00:16:58 But you're looking at Josh McDaniels, who's had an extensive resume as a head coach. Regardless of what you think of that resume, folks, it still exists. He held the position. Doug Marone has been a head coach twice here in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Thomas Brown, who comes in now as the Patriots tight ends coach and the passing game coordinator. That's another title the Patriots haven't handed out in quite some time. He spent some time as the interim head coach of the Chicago Bears this year. You're dealing with a lot of talent, a lot of coaching talent,

Starting point is 00:17:29 but you're also dealing with a lot of alpha voices. This is the best way for me to put it. I'm not going to say ego because I don't know what the dynamic is going to be in that room just yet, but these guys are coming in used to their voice being heard, maybe at the top of the heap when it comes to their position. I think the question should be asked, and I think you're the guy to ask it to. Are the Patriots stacking this staff right now with too many alpha voices, and could this lead to a too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen type dynamic

Starting point is 00:17:58 when it comes to the Pats coaching staff? Yeah, it really could. I'm not going to deny that. That could happen. I don't know what's going to happen behind closed doors, but like I said, these guys are going to have to learn to stay in their lane and what that lane is right now. I'm sure that Mike and Bob Craft

Starting point is 00:18:20 let them know that on the way in the door. This is going to be Josh's show on the offensive side of the ball in the door. This is going to be Josh's show on the offensive side of the ball. Of course, Mike is going to have a lot more input than we've had in last season or even the season before as a head coach with how the offense is going to be run. But no, it could go off the rails. It really could. If you start seeing factions here and there, if things get off to a slow start, even in camp, if we don't like the way things are being run

Starting point is 00:18:52 or guys aren't picking stuff up quickly enough, you could see that happen. That happened the last few years here under Belichick. You know, little factions behind the scenes, you know, whispers in corners and stuff. But I don't see that happening. I really don't. Marone has had his shots as a head coach. I don't think this is going to be a springboard for him getting a coordinator's

Starting point is 00:19:19 job or a head coaching job. Again, maybe a coordinator's job, but not a head coaching job. The people that Vrabel has brought in here are people that I think are going to be able to work together and look at this as a room full of talented veteran coaches that know that this could be something special here if they don't screw it up. Very good point. And sometimes just the highest collection of talent doesn't necessarily mean the most cohesive unit. And I think that's what the New England Patriots need to strive for.

Starting point is 00:20:02 We've seen this team try to make square pegs fit into round holes. It's not going to happen this year. And Mike Vrabel, I think, understands that more than anybody. So when you mentioned someone like a Marone who's had his shot, someone like a Thomas Brown who interviewed for head coaching positions and did not get those head coaching positions, interviewed for coordinator positions, did not get them, and now is coming into New England as a positional coach. I think they understand that this is an excellent opportunity to learn from some of the best. And say what you will about McDaniels. Maybe he has his detractors when it comes to his head coaching prowess,

Starting point is 00:20:39 but I think you'll find very few, if any, that will argue that he is not one of the most talented and intelligent offensive coordinators in football. And to work on a staff like that and to serve under him is a great learning experience for a lot of these coaches, whether you're a seasoned veteran or whether you're a young coach. And the Patriots are going to have a few of those this year on staff as well, one of which is gaining a lot of interesting eyes uh Murph and that is Ashton Grant who is now coming on board as what we believe will be the Patriots quarterbacks coach right he has experience working with Mike Vrabel with the Cleveland Browns last year um this is a

Starting point is 00:21:19 kid who has a reputation of being someone who is capable of reaching young quarterbacks in a way that maybe a more seasoned coach doesn't have the ability to do. He speaks their language in real time, is how he was described to me. And when I was asking around about Ashton, I don't necessarily mean that colloquially, but what he means is that he's able to reach across and understand what the young quarterback is thinking, how he's thinking, and what he's thinking toward the future. That type of experience now is something that I think also deserves its share of attention because you can talk about extensive history, resumes all you want, but experience in dealing with young players in real time is also something that I think this staff will benefit from tremendously.

Starting point is 00:22:05 I agree. I was a little surprised that they would bring in a quarterbacks coach like this with Josh and his track record of working with quarterbacks. And you can go back and look at it, you know, the success rate while they were here as opposed to going somewhere else. But I don't even want to call it a buffer. What I wanted to do is bringing this kid in is going to allow Josh to focus his efforts and his workload on Sunday, on what happens during the week.

Starting point is 00:22:40 And then after practice, you know, Drake can go off with his quarterbacks coach, who I'm sure is going to be on the same page as his coordinator and uh and work on the things that he has to do while josh continues to uh to focus uh his efforts on getting some more points on the board absolutely and you know as well as i murph and everyone in patriots nation is nodding as you say that. If there's one thing that the Patriots need to do and they need to make their offseason priority, putting more points on the board. But again, folks, it's not just about what the coaching staff is going to plan on Sunday. You can develop the most sophisticated, the most foolproof plans in the world. If you don't have the soldiers on the field to be able to execute them, it's not

Starting point is 00:23:25 going to matter. And the Patriots will need to focus their efforts on upgrading their roster. A big part of that is the 2025 NFL draft. And you know what they say, Murph, the draft starts in Mobile. Underway as we speak, down in Mobile, Alabama, on the campus of the University of Southern Alabama, is the 2025 Senior Bowl. A lot of Patriots fans are watching very closely to determine if there are potential new Patriots that are being scouted as we speak. I believe they are. Murph definitely believes they are.

Starting point is 00:23:57 Should the priority be the offensive line or should the Patriots be looking elsewhere? Murph and I are going to discuss that point when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team, every day. Listen up, Lockdown listeners. As a small business owner, your work doesn't end when the clock hits five. Your business is always on your mind, which means when it's time to hire, you need a partner that works just as hard as you do. That's where LinkedIn Jobs comes in. When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. LinkedIn makes it easy to post your job for free,

Starting point is 00:24:37 share it with your network, and get qualified candidates all in one place. And LinkedIn's new feature called Post Your Job can help you write job descriptions and then quickly get your job in front of the right people with deep candidate insights. And here's a little pro tip for you. Add the hashtag hiring frame to your profile picture to double your reach to qualified candidates. No wonder 72% of small businesses say LinkedIn helps them find high quality hires. So don't delay. Do it today.

Starting point is 00:25:07 Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL. 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 Locked On Patriots joining me today on this offensive line centric episode of Locked On Patriots is again the only man that can break down the o-line here on on Locked On Patriots the way we need him to my good friend the legend himself Thomas Murphy. Murphy you've already broken the wisdom and counsel meter when it comes to insight on the O-line for the New England Patriots today. If Doug Marone is going to be the guy, coaching staff can take care of the planning, but the players are going to have to execute.

Starting point is 00:25:55 And we ran down the list of players the Patriots trotted out in 2024, and it wasn't pretty. The Patriots did not exactly rank very highly when it came to offensive line prowess. So that should lead Patriots fans to believe that there will be significant upgrades to the O-line this year. You've got free agency to do it. You've got in excess of $130 million in salary cap space.

Starting point is 00:26:20 So you've got the money to be able to do it, but you also have significant draft capital to do so. Maybe even as high as that fourth pick in the 2025 NFL draft in the first round. Mobile, Alabama is the site of the beginning of draft season and the senior bowl is underway. I know Patriots fans are chomping at the bit to find out if the Patriots are down there scouting potential offensive linemen that could be used as high as that number four pick. You see things us mere mortals don't see. I know you've been scouting. I know you've been waiting to lend your wisdom and counsel in this area. I leave it to you, my friend. When it comes to the Patriots scouts in Mobile, Alabama right now, should their

Starting point is 00:27:01 primary focus be on scouting a new O-lineman here in New England? Yeah, without a doubt. Without a doubt, they should be looking at the offensive line first and foremost. You know, Vrabel's down there. Ryan Cowden's down there. Matt Groh is down there. And they let Elliott Wolfe tag along. All right. That was really nice of them to let Elliott tag along. But yeah, the offensive line is where they need to make hay early, middle, and late in this draft. And the guys that we're seeing this week, the top guys are not there. Will Campbell is not there, folks. My man, Kelvin

Starting point is 00:27:39 Banks, who I want even at four, is not there. If nobody comes, I love Kelvin Banks. And, of course, Josh Simmons of Ohio State is not there. But there are some good names down there. There are some guys that we should all be taking a look at. And, of course, the Patriots should. And I'm going to start with Ontario Ersery of Minnesota. All right, 6'6", 330 pounds.

Starting point is 00:28:04 That's what he's listed at. Now I've also heard that he's six foot seven, 350 pounds. All right. I love it. I love it, man. This kid is, is, is a fantastic prodigy. He's not, I don't think he is a project guy. I think he's a guy who can come in and play. He's got issues coming from a kid whose lord and savior is Dante Skarniecki. These are things that can be fixed. But no, he is definitely somebody that they need to take a look at. Somebody else that I like, Wyatt Millam of West Virginia. You know, you want to talk about an athlete, this kid might not be it,

Starting point is 00:28:53 but he's a tactician. His footwork is fantastic. I love the way that his hands placement is amazing. And he's one of the best offensive tackles in college football over the past couple of years. You know, if you want to think about, you know, this kid, you think about Derrishaw. And that's what you're getting with this kid, only younger and a little smaller. You know, probably my favorite young guy that we'll talk about right now all right is willie lampkin okay willie lampkin is 5 foot 11 and weighs 290 pounds now this is going to be i talked about early middle and late lampkin is probably somebody that the patriots should look at That fifth round, okay, I love this kid.

Starting point is 00:29:49 He moves real well. He's not huge, but he's got a huge background. He's got a big background in wrestling. So he's done well. It's one of those out-of-the-box, Bill-type thinking picks that I really enjoy and I'm hoping makes it somewhere, but I think he would make it here really, really well. The first thing that when you see him, he looks like everybody's little brother

Starting point is 00:30:17 that got brought to practice. All right? But he overcomes that with a fantastic anchor. And like I said, he'scomes that with, with a fantastic anchor. And like I said, he's got that background in, in wrestling that really works for him. Uh, he started his career at over at coastal Carolina and then ended up transferring to Chapel Hill in 2023. So who do you think would like to see Mr. Lampkin in a Patriots uniform? You know, his old buddy, Drake Mack.

Starting point is 00:30:46 And I also think that bringing this kid in late, we could, in this offense, he could end up being a fine blocking tight end if we could get somebody to teach him to catch a pass or two. Yeah, he really could. You know, he really could. So, yeah, my buddy Thor Nystrom agreed with me on that, and he's really rooting for him too. So that's another guy that we could be looking at here,

Starting point is 00:31:12 who the Patriots should be looking at here. And lastly, and certainly not least, is Josh Connerly of Oregon. This offensive line class in Mobile is not star studded, but it's really stacked. Man, these guys are all players. And Josh Connerly has not crept up into the first round yet, let's say. But he's a top 50 player in the in this class. He played for Oregon going all the way back to the 2022 season. He's played in all 13 games for the Ducks. This is an experienced offensive tackle that I think can come right in and end up being depth for you anywhere along the

Starting point is 00:31:59 offensive line and matriculate into a steady starter for five to ten years in this league glad you mentioned connerly and ursery to begin and i love the bookends uh and the way that you did that because ursery and connerly believe it or not come in with some of the same concerns yeah when it comes to their readiness um you know lacking a little bit of polish lacking that coaching like you said these things can be coached these things can be fixed so if marone is going to comes to their readiness, lacking a little bit of polish, lacking that coaching. Like you said, these things can be coached. These things can be fixed.

Starting point is 00:32:33 So if Marone is going to be your guy, he has the ability to take these kids under his wing and be able to coach them into not only competent offensive linemen, but I think pretty good offensive linemen throughout this league. Connerly, without any question, came on in the second half of last season. I think that put him on everybody's map. But you look at his collegiate career, he allowed only two sacks during his time at Oregon. That was it. One of which came last year, only allowed nine pressures. So this kid is very good at being able to use himself as a wall to protect his quarterback.

Starting point is 00:33:01 Ursary is the same way. Ursary was only credited with one sack last year, but I really want to see from these kids, both of them, is there one-on-ones in Mobile to see if they can stand up against those one-on-one coverages. If they can, I think that's going to be something that will only increase their stock. Here's another name for you, Clay Webb. I almost forgot about him. He was down at Georgia and then transferred and kind of blossomed over there at Jacksonville State. Clay Webb was a five-star recruit back in 2020, 2019. Went to Georgia, but he couldn't break through.

Starting point is 00:33:39 We all know what they've done down there in Georgia. And he transferred over back home, you know to Bama and uh played for Jacksonville State he had a fantastic year um uh I've got I'll go out on a limb and say he's one of the best offensive linemen in Conference USA and you know a lot of these players folks that the Patriots are going to be scouting down here in Mobile don't necessarily need to be top of the heaps these guys know be projects they could be right you know players that are coming in to play a role somebody I'm going to have my sharp eye on is Iowa State's Jalen Travis I absolutely love the size good call this kid six seven left tackle he's going to be able to provide protection

Starting point is 00:34:18 on the blind side again this kid is the definition of a raw talent but very athletically gifted this kid is a tremendous athlete for his got a little got a little problem with the definition of a raw talent, but very athletically gifted. This kid is a tremendous athlete for his size. Got a little problem with the speed. Got a little problem with the – but who doesn't? I do. Absolutely. Okay? And I'm the best offensive lineman that you've never heard of.

Starting point is 00:34:34 Yep, absolutely. And, again, it's going to be up to the conditioning staff here in New England. It's going to be up to this coaching staff. Lean him down a little bit. Get him to a point where he is aerodynamic enough to be able to make those types of stops who knows sometimes you can pull a diamond in the rough murph maybe he is one you know maybe a lot of these guys that we've mentioned today have a chance bottom line the New England Patriots are keeping both sharp eyes on the tackle position on the offensive line as a whole down in Mobile Alabama but we're going to continue to keep our eyes on all positions

Starting point is 00:35:06 down in mobile this week yeah that's right we're going to be talking wide receivers defensive backs defensive line here coming up this week so stay tuned stay locked into locked on patriots our senior bowl coverage just beginning and just kicking off here on the airwaves but what can i say my friend thank you so much for coming on today, lending your wisdom, your counsel, your insight along the Patriots offensive line. I am honored each and every time you join me on the microphone. On behalf of my good friend Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate, reminding all of you to stay safe, to stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world.

Starting point is 00:35:41 Have a great day, everyone, 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 Offensive Line Dilemma: Doug Marrone to the Rescue? Senior Bowl Prospects

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