Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Peter Skoronski, Deonte Banks, Nolan Smith and More on Mock Draft Monday

Episode Date: April 25, 2023

With the start of the 2023 NFL Draft just days away, the New England Patriots continue to make their final preparations. Though some will argue to the contrary, the team’s need at offensive tackle remains one of its most important positions of need. Host Mike D’Abate pleads the case for Northwestern tackle Peter Skoronski before welcoming Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy’ of E2G Sports. The pair grade and evaluate a pair of listener-submitted mock drafts featuring Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks, Georgia tight end Darnell Washington and pass-rusher Nolan Smith, among others.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist who can take you on that journey of self-discovery from wherever you are.  Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedon today to get 10% off your first month.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Northwestern's Peter Skowronski would look great in a New England Patriots uniform, but does it actually have a chance of happening? Stick around. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And don't forget, folks, Locked On Patriots is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me, let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some much-deserved love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist who can take you on that journey of self-discovery from wherever you are. Visit BetterHelp.com slash Locked On today to get 10% off your first month.

Patriots fans, thank you so much for joining us here today on the pod. I hope you all had an amazing weekend. Special shout out to all of you locked on everydayers out there. Those of you who take the time out of your day to spend listening, viewing Locked On Patriots, always appreciate you so much. And thank you very much for coming back day after day. And a special tip of the cap to all of you every Mock Draft Mondayers out there

for sending in some truly amazing mock drafts. Today is our final Mock Draft Monday of the 2023 draft cycle, and it's been three years now that I've had the opportunity to do this on this show, grading and evaluating your amazing work. The time, the energy, the thought that you put into these is truly amazing. I remain humbled and really blown away by just your dedication to this team and trying to find the perfect Patriot fit for the upcoming draft and getting your work

recognized here is something that I truly enjoy. It's one of the great parts of this job for me. It's been my honor to share your great work with Patriots Nation. And I say we, because as you all know, Mock Draft Monday does not happen without my cohort in crime, the monster master of disaster himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com. Don't worry. He is back here today for the final mock draft Monday of this cycle. Folks, get here to amazing mock drafts. Great work. You won't want to miss it.

But first, there are a lot of you out there that are thinking that the Patriots might look at offensive tackle. We've talked about the Patriots' primary needs here on the pod when it comes to the draft, and we've talked about a lot of different positions, whether it be wide receiver, linebacker, cornerback, but offensive line truly is important. In my estimation, it is the biggest need on this team, and it remains that. And if the Pats stay in the first round, that's where I believe that they will take their pick in the first round with an offensive lineman, most likely an offensive tackle. And Murph and I have talked about this several times here on the pod. Names like Broderick Jones, Paris Johnson Jr., Darnell Wright is someone we discussed

a lot on Friday. We've even talked about Cody Mott coming in and adding some grit and nastiness to the line. But one name that seems to have faded from the Pats radar, both here on Locked on Patriots and really in the national sense, that is until this morning when Matt Miller of ESPN kind of resurrected the idea, and's peter skoransky of northwestern and their reason for that and i'll get into that reason in just a moment as to why he faded a little bit from the patriots radar but bottom line folks there is a lot to like about him and i mean a lot start with his fundamentals immediately pop to you when you watch him play the patriots are typically a team that opts for practicality over aesthetics. We've said this several times, and that's really, I don't think, a revelation. The Patriots are just

a team that values that type of player, and Skowronski checks all of those boxes. Once again, a pro-level talent set to make an immediate impact on the Patriots' line. He can do that at the tackle position. His fundamentals, his football IQ are as sound as any one of his colleagues. I know we talk an awful lot about that term, football IQ, but this kid definitely checks it. He's aware of everything that's going on on the field. Quick study, quick learner of the playbook. That will definitely lessen his learning curve if he comes in here to New England. In fact, I think Skowronski's fundamentals and his football IQ are better than the majority of the starting tackles in the NFL right now. And that's saying something,

because there are a lot of very intelligent guys on the line that really grasp the concept very quickly. Skowronski may be as good or even better than most of them. So keep a sharp eye when it comes to that but he's got a versatility in his past sets on the field that's where i'm looking at him that allows him to control the approach of the opposing defender if you can dictate where your defender is going to go as an offensive lineman you're winning that battle nine times out of ten he's got the size to be able to ward them off six four 294 and he's got the size to be able to ward them off 6'4 294 and he's got the strength to take on

vertical sets while showing enough speed to position himself into blocking for the run so excellent in pass protection very good against the run sounds like a prototypical patriot doesn't he uh well not exactly when you look at some of the negative knocks against him everybody that's listening to this right now is saying arm length. That's it. He's not a tackle. Kick him inside to a guard. Well, yeah, at the combine, his arms measured 32 and a quarter inches. That's not going to necessarily instill a lot of intimidation, but there is no question that this kid can absolutely win his battles when it comes to the run game and blocking some would say

he's better suited to play a guard in the pros but i don't think the patriots are going to pay any attention to that and matt miller of espn echoed this point when he selected peter as the number 14 pick for the patriots in his latest mock draft basically said the pats have a history of going their own way offensive line of evaluations just take a look at last year, what they did with Cole Strange. No question about it. Everyone had a third-round grade on him. Patriots said, we don't care. We're taking him in the first, and they did it, and they did it.

And obviously, at this point, you look at Cole, and he's done very well for himself here in New England. Still a lot of growing pains, but it's not looking as crazy as it did in the aftermath of that first pick just one year ago. So if Skowronski does come in, he's got the poise, he's got the power, definite technique to excel in pass protection, and someone that I think can really excel in run protection and run blocking, excuse me, as well. So that may be able to cover up for maybe a little bit of uh you know discrepancy when it comes to arm length logistically i think a prototypical patriot without any question he plays the position very well he's a great pass protector he's sound in the run game

size versatility he's got it all with the exception of the arm length, which I, again, I think is massively overrated. He is a prototypical Patriot. So what's the problem? Well, the problem originally that I thought, and the reason why I haven't been mocking Peter or talking about him more as a potential Patriots target, maybe not as much as guys like Darnell Wright or Broderick Jones, is because I actually thought Peter Skowronski would be off the board by the time the New England Patriots picked at 14. I don't think he's the type of player they move up to get, but I do think they won't lay off him if they see him sitting there at number 14. And quite honestly, I didn't think he would get past the Jets at number 13.

Well, that changed a little bit when those New York J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets traded for Aaron Rodgers on Monday afternoon. And don't kid yourself, folks, we are going to talk about Aaron here on Tuesday. But first things first, it's Mock Draft Monday. We're going to talk a lot more about Patriots prospects. But the Jets sent that number 13 pick to the Green Bay Packers as part of that deal. That may mean one less offensive tackle needy team is now on the board. Like I said, there is a lot of evidence that the Jets were heavily interested in Peter Skowronski. The Packers may be as well, but you're not hearing that much out of their camp. They seem to be more focused on a wide

receiver. Jackson Smith Najigba's name comes up an awful lot with Green Bay. You have to wonder if maybe they're looking to get their top wide out of the future, especially after losing Devontae Adams just a year ago. So these are things to consider and these are things to look at. If the Jets are further down the board now than the Patriots, it doesn't necessarily make Skowronski any more available. There are still some teams in front of them that could take a chance on Peter and bring him in as a guard or even as a tackle, but it might mean that the Patriots just have a little bit more of a shot,

and if that's indeed the case, maybe he does slip to them at number 14 after all. I will say this, if he's there at number 14, it's going to be a really hard thing for the Patriots to do to pass up Peter Skowronski on this board. But the question is, folks, did you, did all of you locked on every dayers or more specifically our locked on mock draft Mondayers agree? Did you take a tackle in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft as general manager of your New England Patriots? Well, no, neither of the drafts that we selected today actually took a tackle on day one,

but they did have some very interesting selections, and Murph and I are going to break them down for you here when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast, today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Folks, we live in complex times and whether it be emotional stress or financial stress or health-related stress or social anxieties brought on by stress, trying therapy can help you unload that stress and move forward in gaining some emotional healing. Getting to know yourself can be a lifelong process, especially because we're always growing and changing. But therapy is all about deepening

your self-awareness and understanding because sometimes we don't know what we want or why we react the way we do until we talk through things. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist who can help take you on that journey of self-discovery from wherever you are. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online. It's designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. So just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Discover your potential with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash LockedOn today to get 10% off of your first month.

That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash LockedOn. Patriots fans, thank you once again for making LockedOn Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And if you haven't done so yet, please take a moment as soon as you can to sign up for our Locked On NFL Draft Buzz newsletter, which can be found on LockedOnPodcast.com slash newsletters. The NFL Draft is already upon us, folks. It is nearly time to start, and you will not want to miss this week's top story from NFL draft expert Luke Inman,

as well as links to great draft content throughout all of our hosts here on the Locked On Podcast Network. So don't delay. Sign up today. That's the Locked On NFL Draft Buzz newsletter found at lockedonpodcast.com slash newsletters. And, Pats fans, it is a bittersweet day here on Locked On Patriots because it is hashtag Locked On Murph Monday. It is hashtag Mock Draft Monday.

But Murph, it is our final Mock Draft Monday of the 2023 draft cycle. Folks, I say it all the time. There is no one I'd rather ride with on any of these days. It's another tremendous season of doing this. And my tip of the cap, nod to the gods, goes to our guest here today. Not even a guest. He's family. He is Locked On Familia here on Locked On Patriots.

The great Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports. Murph, doesn't get any better than this, my friend. Thank you for another great third season here doing Mock Draft Monday on Locked On Patriots. It's been fantastic, man. This is without a doubt the best season that we've had. We've had some seriously in-depth looks from some guys that, quite frankly, should be getting paid to do this. Don't say that too loud, folks. They'll send us a bill.

But no, it was a great season. Thank you all for chiming in with your fantastic mock drafts. And we've got two more for them today, don't we, bud? We absolutely do. And two of the most interesting and maybe the most thought-provoking that we've had. We say that every week, but it does just fall into line that we end up being pushed to our limits more and more each week in terms of being able to provide wisdom, counsel, and analysis. And in the interest of being pushed to the limit, I'm going to keep Murph's blood pressure at a reasonable level, folks, today. But we're hearing once again from

our good friend, LJ. You didn't think we were going to get out of this mock draft cycle without one more from our good buddy. And LJ delivers a pretty good one here. Obviously, you're going to see a lot of red boxes on here in the NFL mock draft database. That means that these picks that he acquired were through trade. So once again, we're trying to keep Murph at a reasonable decibel here, folks. We're not going to bog down all of that with all of the trades that LJ made but he has the Patriots trading down

a few pegs number 17 goes with Maryland cornerback Deontay Banks Murph we've talked about Deontay here on the pod several times originally thinking maybe a late first rounder at best probably early second but he continues to skyrocket up the board and 17 at this point is not something that's unheard of throughout the nfl draft realm right now throughout the entire network of analysts that are doing these mock drafts on a regular basis i look at deontay banks and i still say 17 is a bit high for his services but when you look at this draft and you look at what LJ's done here and the needs that he's filled, what are your thoughts on Deontay going 17? Yeah, I think, I'm sorry, LJ, I'm not doing this.

I'm not doing this in the second round. You know, Banks has the size and the presence that you would want on a corner boundary guy. But he's just been inconsistent. Man, receivers got on top of him on vertical routes. He, um, he has a, sometimes has a, has a hard time locating the ball when he's running with receivers down, downfield. Um, I saw him lose contact with, with, with wide outs on those same routes. Off coverage, he's just a bit slow in reaction time. If you're doing this in the third round, the late second round, the third round,

I'm seeing a little bit more. At 17, I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. There had to be other options there at 17. Yeah, I think 17 is a little overaggressive for someone of a Deontay Banks because there are still issues that need to be worked through. First of all, there's injury concerns. There's speed concerns in terms of him being able to hang with some of the faster receivers that he's going to face in the pros um the technique is a little bit inconsistent that doesn't worry me so much because in a lot of ways the pros can really kind of straighten that out with you but i i think he's a little bit better than coming in at a third rounder i think that i think that's that's maybe

a little bit too much slippage because i think this kid has enough versatility and enough upside to play both press and odd coverage. And I think he can be an asset in New England. But at the same time, I do think that 17 is probably a little bit high. I think I'm reticent to say late first round. I think very early second round is really a sweet spot for this guy. I think it would be the perfect opportunity for a team to be able to bring him in and also him be able to really showcase what he can do and maybe even position himself as a draft steal if he can be someone that performs at that upper echelon. But if you pick him at number 17, I think you're probably setting yourself up for maybe a little bit of a letdown. I don't think he's going to perform at that level in year one. So LJ, I like it. I know what you're going for and I know you're going for athleticism. You're going for size and you're going for aggressiveness. And that is something that he definitely has.

This kid is into physical combat. But I think a little bit of seasoning would probably be the best option, but you know, the Patriots are not one to wait and go according to what the draft analysts say they zero in on a player they're going to take it and that leads me into my next pick here Murph I should say LJ's next pick Jalen Hyatt wide receiver out of Tennessee number 33 obviously this pick was acquired with a trade as well Hyatt comes in again he's been fluctuating throughout draft boards lately. Started off as a high pick. People were saying he could be a first rounder. Then all of a sudden you started to hear that maybe he's slipped to a second. Seems to be back up in the realm where if he's taken in the

first round, not a lot of people are going to be surprised. What are your thoughts on Jalen Hyatt coming from that Tennessee program? I like this. I like this pick. It's an outside the box thinking pick. This kid is a freak athlete. He runs fantastic routes. His instincts are amazing. I've seen him catch balls, not even looking at the play, which is not always good, but he's got that slender build and he's somebody that I think is going to get bullied at the next level by bigger cornerbacks. Granted that everybody's getting smaller and faster, but I just, it's a good pick. I like the pick. I'm not sure what they graded it out as, but I'll grade it out as a B.

Again, at 33, I think there were other options there. Yeah. I mean, that's the whole thing in a nutshell. It's tough sometimes to really give an accurate opinion. You can talk about whether or not you think these guys have first-round grades, second-round grades. Are they graded correctly? Are they going where they should?

I think that's definitely part of what we do here on Locked on Patriots and really anybody that does a mock draft and grading them and evaluating them. But it really is difficult to see what the drafter, what the front office, in this case, was thinking when you don't see what else was out there on the board at 33. You have to think that with the Patriots having some needs that obviously address the needed corner, but a needed offensive tackle. Is that an opportunity that they missed? The next pick suggests maybe otherwise. So, you know, we'll see. We'll see what happens there.

But I agree with you. I really, I like the hybrid type of athleticism that Hyatt brings to the table. Great athletic profile. Very good, you know, as a versatile receiver and a vertical receiver. I think he can be someone that can stretch the field a little bit. Great ball skills. And Bill Belichick loves guys with great ball skills. You hear him talk constantly about receivers that he's faced, DeAndre Hopkins being one of them, that he just can't talk about enough. And folks, I'm not comparing Jalen Hyatt to DeAndre Hopkins,

but when you have a receiver that has good ball skills like that something that i think will definitely uh at least uh catch his eye um on draft day so so far so good lj i like the uh definitely going with an athletic profile uh right off the bat and trying to infuse some athleticism and maybe some agility into the patriots uh locker room and maybe a little bit of aggression there with deontay banks juan jones uh murph we've talked about this. He's not going to be there. Yeah. Okay, go ahead. He's not going to be there.

I mean, we've said a hundred times, if he's there, you got to take him in these mock drafts. But there is no way on God's green earth that DeJuan Jones, you'd be lucky if he was there at 14. Yeah. DeJuan Jones is another player, folks, that is quietly moving up a lot of draft analysis. Originally, when I know the mock drafts first came out, I used to see an awful lot of this at number 46,

where people were snagging him in the second round. We fell victim to it as well, Murph. I mean, going through and doing some of the mock drafts that we've done early on, the aggregators and the, I should say, the algorithms had him listed at that level. He has shot up so many draft boards.

There are people out there that are talking about him as the best tackle in this draft. We've said it before here. I just did my own keys that you can check out at e2gsports.com where I'm taking Darnell Wright at 14 in the first round because the Joneses just will not be there. Johnson will not be there. You might be lucky if Harrison is there. And I'm talking in round one. I love you, LJ. He was there and you took him so you know i love you

yeah you gotta give him that he didn't leave him he didn't leave him there on the board uh and he uh you know and and him slipping at 46 on this is definitely a grace to lj and kudos to him for picking him up but you can't even push these guys down by announcing that they got caught smoking weed somewhere anymore you can't even do it. You can't. There's no way. The talent level is there. It's there. And not to mention the size is there as well. DeJuan Jones is going to be a significant bookend

to an offensive line for many years to come in the NFL, just the way he's built and impressive. Definitely impressive. LJ continues his trading ways. He ways he continues to be trader lj here at number 49 number 73 both picks that he acquires through trades antonio johnson coming in safety from texas a&m julius rents a cornerback coming in double dip not happening that position not happening um yeah i think these are a little bit far fetched. I would love it. Especially Brent's falling 73. Yeah.

I just don't see that happening. Yeah, no, neither do I. Um, Brent's is, is probably gone early second round. Um, I would love to have him. I, I couldn't even mock him up at, at, uh, you know, where the Patriots were picking a 40 was a 46. That's their first pick in the second round um i couldn't even uh i couldn't even feel good about writing about him at 46 you would have to take him like at 33 or at you know

uh 27 i think he's going to go a lot earlier than that i think he's an undervalued um uh quarterback in this in this draft but not everybody's going to undervalue him but good job in grabbing him yeah exactly i mean you know size is definitely not a question with this kid you want a big cornerback you want a physical cornerback at the nfl combine 6-3-198 this kid can definitely pump there's no question about it right he has that built he has that physical mentality um i think julius friends is skyrocketing up boards and really i think like you said uh second round is probably a reasonable uh area to grab him because he's worked the pre-draft process as well as anybody

strong showings you know the bowls great showings that you know uh you know pre-draft workouts he's working the system to his advantage and you've got to give uh you know him a-draft workouts. He's working the system to his advantage, and you've got to give him a lot of credit and maybe those around him kind of guiding him well. But from what I hear, this kid's got a phenomenal head on his shoulders as well. So this could be a good pick for an NFL team. I just don't see the Patriots being able to get this at 73. But if they can pull it off, LJ, we will give you all the credit in the world for having the ingenuity to predict this right off the bat um finally lj gets his wide receiver i'm surprised it took him

this long to double dip into the wide receiver he did take jalen hyatt at 33 but i thought he would double dip a little earlier than this at perry a guy we talked about on friday um 117 i think is about reasonable this gets moving up a lot of drafts as well, and rightfully so. Yeah, I do. As you said, we talked about him quite a bit the other day. I think this is a fantastic pick. Perry is, how do I want to describe? I don't want to step on myself of anything that we said, but he's 6'3 and a half. You got to get that half in there and make the kids happy. But he's somebody that has the size, has fantastic hands. He goes up after contested catches. He's a little slow at the top end, and he's a little tight in the hips.

Now, people will get on me for going to the cliche type thing, tighten the hips, but it counts. But this is a fantastic pick here. Yeah, without question. And I think in a lot of ways, that's why Perry is someone who you're seeing pop up on an awful lot of boards out there for someone that needs a developmental pick that can really be a contested catch machine. This kid reminds me of someone, and I think I said this the other day on the pod, both he, guys like Grant Dubose, these guys remind me of what Nikhil Harry should have been coming out of college,

you know, the contested catch ability. But again, A.T. Perry's not coming in with the pedigree that Nikhil came in with. Patriots bought into it first round, and that probably wasn't the smartest move in the world he needed more development than that and just didn't work out here but Perry could be someone that could come in and give you a lot of pop at the point of the catch he's not a guy that's going to extend a lot of plays but he's a guy that's going to get a good amount right off the bat

there's a number at 184 that that I gotta mention Yasser Abdullah. Oh, wow. Absolutely. Good pick. Yeah. This is a great pick. Nice snag there. Yeah, this is my favorite pick of the draft. Is it really? Yeah, mine too. It really is. Mine too.

I love this kid. Go ahead. You got something to say? Yeah, I mean, you look at Abdullah and you look at what he's done. Coming from a program like Louisville, which I don't think gets enough credit for churning out some NFL-ready talent, automatically you're going to look at it and say well he's not at a big time that you know football school so he's going to be at a little bit of a disadvantage this kid has the ability to play sideline to sideline i like that about him um i like his uh tenacity and i like the fact that he doesn't have the closing

burst oh my god it does not give up on play there's the ball. Okay. Overdrive. Let's go. Right. Exactly. And when you have a guy on your roster that does not quit on a play, especially at the linebacker position, you have so many tenacious players already in that locker room, guys that are going to keep pushing you like a Matt Judon or, you know, obviously a Judon Bentley, who's a team captain who I think can really work wonders with this kid. Take him under his wing a little bit, show him the ropes. This, to me, has the opportunity to be a Patriots pick. So if there is a prototypical Pat in this lineup, yeah, I think Yasser Abdul fits all those boxes. I can see this one happening.

Yeah, LJ grabbed a rotational guy that's going to come in here. And I've complained many times to LJ about help for this year. He got help for this year. And he did, you know, quite frankly, he did throughout this entire draft as much as I don't like Deontay Banks there at 17. And, you know, but the rest of it, there's one, two, three, four. You can go down to 184 and find guys that could find a spot on this roster. So, you know, bravo.

Yep, absolutely. And I think that, you know, in a lot of ways, a lot of the players that you take in LJ here are not players that we dislike by any stretch of the imagination. It's just whether or not they're going to be there, whether or not the Patriots fit is exactly what it should be and what the value was of guys that are left on the table. So there's always things to consider.

But in terms of an eye for talent, LJ, you got it. There's no question about it. We're not arguing that one at all. Murph, I wouldn't be doing my job, and I know the Countess would probably be ready to give me an earful on Wednesday morning if I did not mention at 189, Josh Wiley, the tight end out of Cincinnati. Now, you want to talk about size at the tight end position.

This kid definitely has it. There's no question about it. 6'6 1⁄2". You mentioned half. They always got to add in the half. Got to get the half. 6'6 1⁄2". This kid is definitely not going to lose any height battles, or many, I should say.

You're not going to lose many height battles. He may lose a few, but that's probably against linemen anyway. He's a prototypical receiver. I mean, this is what this kid is coming in as. lose many hype battles he may lose a few but um that's probably against lineman anyway uh he's prototypical receiver i mean this is what this kid is coming in as sort of like a mike gasecki 2.0 um i think maybe a little bit more upside as a blocker than gasecki has but this kid is not coming into block if the patriots do take him yeah um no the thing that makes me wonder about a patriots fit here and I'm sorry Claire and I'm sorry LJ as well um I don't see an awful lot of upside with him getting yards after the catch

not right size not at his frame not the way that he plays the game I think if the Patriots are going to move toward tight ends of the future I think you almost have to have that as a prerequisite here I like Josh Wiley but I'm just I don't know if I'm feeling the Patriots fit as much as I did a couple of weeks ago. Your thoughts. Everything, everything old is new again here in New England. And that, that means, you know, we're, we're dialing back. We're, we're going back to the full encyclopedia, Biltanica of offensive plays and schemes. This dude has, Wiley has, has good hands. Uh, he, he would definitely be

a great target in the red zone. He goes up and excuse me, nobody's going to outleap the kid. His motor is fantastic, but you know, his, uh, his change of direction isn't really fantastic. His route running is not as crisp as, as something that as something that Bill O'Brien is going to be looking for to use. And like you said, he couldn't block a sneeze. Yeah. He just can't. And if you're going to invest in a draft round,

he's a slender man. Yeah. I think this is going to be a little bit of a tough one. So, Claire, I know you love you. You're Josh Wiley. And believe me, the Patriots, if there's any team out there that can utilize his skill set to the fullest, it is New England and Bill O'Brien, but I think they're going to be looking for a little bit more yardage. This is a spread out 250 pounds, okay? It's not a six foot two, 250 pounds.

Wiley is what? Six, six and a half. As Will said, and he half, as Will said. And he's Slender Man. He is. He's Slender Man. Yeah. Yeah, he is. I mean, probably add a little bit of bulk at the pro level.

These kids usually do, you know, unless it's part of their makeup and how they play the game. But as a tight end, you have to think he's going to be more than willing to do it. But look where LJ grabbed him. He grabbed him at 189. 189. You know? Yeah. I'm him at 189. 189. I'm picking tight ends in the fourth round, and LJ got, you know, they're just marginally better.

And it's a deep tight end class, too. It really is. It's a deep tight end class. A lot of guys out there that can fit the mold. So good stuff, LJ. I mean, definitely we appreciate all of your submission. LJ was a faithful submitter every single week, and we wanted to reward him with one final spot here on Locked On Patriots

on Mock Draft Monday. So grading time, my friend. How did LJ do on his final effort? You know, final exam, I'm going to give him an A-. The only reason he didn't get an A is because of the algorithm screwed him and Deontay Banks. Oh, oh my god i mean yeah i mean having him sitting there at 17 i mean that's you know that that's good for uh for lj but uh i want to see what else was on there on 17 uh that he passed over for someone i believe he could have had at 33 but you know with the way the

algorithms work on these uh drafts murph maybe i wasn't there was porter there yeah go you know, with the, whether the algorithms work on these drafts Murph, maybe it wasn't. Forbes there was Porter there. Yeah. You know, I, I mean, you know, it's, Oh God. Yeah. Okay. That's no question. I would have been,

I would have been okay with Brent's there at 17 more than banks. I'm sorry. That could be a hot take in and of itself. We'll definitely, yes. Send all of your hot takes in on that piece of a nugget, that little nugget of information, but no, all kidding aside,

I'm giving a, I'm giving LJ an A as well. I'm giving him an A for the entire semester, but you really, really were a great submitter, a great friend of the program. And we have our fun taking shots at your bud, because we know that you are a valued friend of this program.

So thank you. Tip of the cat, nod to the gods. And, uh, that's always, always fun. But Murph,

we're not quite done yet because another longtime friend of the program has sent in our final mock draft submission for this mock draft season on mock draft Monday here on locked on Patriots. The high school legend himself checks in in just a moment, and he's got some interesting ideas as to what the Patriots can do, a couple of which, Murph, I think you're going to like a lot. We're going to take a look at that and more when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues.

Patriots fans, the legendary Thomas Murphy of e2gsports.com joining me here today on our final mock draft Monday of the 2023 NFL draft season another great year in the books folks we could not do this without all of you the everydayers that listen to us take time out of your busy schedule to watch view listen on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts always eternally grateful for your support and we thank you from the bottom of our heart. Tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots, stay tuned because we're going to hop back

into the Belichickian time machine and we're actually going to take a look at what the Patriots have done in drafts past. What lessons can they learn and repeat on Thursday? What lessons do they want to stay away from? Don't let this happen to you. Yeah, I think you know who might be on that list. But tune in on Thursday, tomorrow, to see who made the cut of great Patriots picks and ones we'd rather forget.

But that being said, it is Mock Draft Monday. My good friend, the legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto of of e2g sports.com is here with me today no other place he'd rather be no other place i'd rather him be right now and murph we are going to another longtime friend of the program the high school legend himself and he can be found folks on twitter at high school ledge that's l-e-g-e-6 and his mock draft went a little defense heavy uh some interesting selections let's put it up here for all of our viewing public to see yeah you can see i think right off the bat but going with some georgia bulldogs very heavy our good friend andrew carraway would love this draft right a lot of bulldogs wearing the patriotot blue, but I think these first three picks are, I

think these guys are prototypical Patriots. Every single last one of them, whether it be Nolan Smith at number 14 playing the edge, Darnell Washington is the tight end at number 46, or Warren Clendon at 76 offensive tackle coming out of Georgia. Murph, you and I talked about Warren a little bit before we went live here on Locked On Patriots. He's skyrocketing up the boards lately, and I think rightfully so. Your thoughts on the first three at-bats here

for the high school legend? Yeah, you know, just home runs here. Just home runs. Nolan Smith is probably one of my favorite players in this draft. Darnell Washington is my favorite player in this draft. And I think McClendon there at 76 is just a fantastic fricking piece of work done. I don't know if it's the algorithm or what. I like Warren McClendon. I like him a lot. Yeah. He, like I said, he's definitely someone that is getting a good amount of press lately. And, you know,

I can't understand why I think it took so long for a lot of the aggregators maybe a lot of the um uh the pundits or whatever you know analysts i guess the best way to but analysts is the proper word right we should we should be fair here analysts um that you know he gets lost with with broderick jones there you know it's it's it's it's easy to overlook we've we've done it ourselves going back to Michigan and Ruiz. You overlook the other guy. A lot of people will say that this is early for McClendon, but if you like a guy and you want to go get him and you think that he's going to be a plug and play individual, and I think McClendon could be that over on the right-hand side, or at least just with a little

bit of seasoning, you're picking almost outside the top 100 here. And I think it's a fantastic pick. Yeah. I mean, you want to talk about a competitive player. This kid is competitive. He will compete. He's not someone that's going to quit on the play. He'll play through the whistle, beyond the whistle. And that's something that you love to see, especially at the tackle position. Believe it or not, he's very good in the short short area if you need him to be able to move around he's got that agility for a guy his size at six four three hundred pounds and great upper body strength i mean this kid is very very well built from the waist up he knows how to use that to his advantage he's not going to be uh you know bogged down or he's not going to be bowled over by anyone that's trying to challenge his shoulder strength so i love that uh mechanics i think is where maybe

some people have lost him a little bit but again when you bring guys in at a pro level they're going to get the coaching that they need and the good thing about the new england patriots right now is i think they have the guy in place to be able to provide that type of coaching that's going to take a kid like Warren McClendon to the next level. Last year, I would have disliked this pick, but this year I like it a whole lot more because of the guy sitting in the chair that's going to be coaching them this year. And that's Adrian Clem, along with Billy Yates, who I think will also love a kid like this and a project like this to work on this year. Yeah, the kid's got some heavy feet, and that's a little bit difficult to get away from. But, you know, the other things that you

could call weaknesses are all fixable with coaching. You could teach him not to lose those leverage battles. You can teach him not to get out over his knees and end up whiffing on blocks. This is a good pick there at 76. Yeah, without question. I liked it a lot. So, so far, legend. So far, high school legend. You're doing us proud and living up to your name. I think he's done that.

Murph, a name we haven't mentioned here on Locked On Patriots, but it is mentioned, and I've seen it pop up in Patriots mock drafts throughout the realm. DeMarvion Overshawn out of Texas. This to me is an intriguing pick as well here at number 107. Great size, great length, a lot of athleticism, a lot of speed on this kid at the position. Really, I would describe his tackling style as ruthless aggression. I think it's probably the best way reckless i almost

said reckless abandon but that implies that this kid has no technique or control he's got them both uh ruthless aggression i think is a good way to put it because this kid is like a heat seeking missile when he senses the ball uh your thoughts on this i actually like this pick more and more as i think about it than when i first saw it submitted by the legend here. Right. Without a doubt. Um, it's, uh, this kid will grow on you. Um, he's, he's long and lean. He isn't the prototypical, you know, Teddy Bruschi type of fricking linebacker. Get that completely out of your head, folks, you know, uh, oversized six, three", and he's under 230, you know. But, you know, he's a highly athletic guy who has a lot of, I don't want to say long speed or, you know, he can cover sideline to sideline. But his short area quickness is unbelievable. I'm going to have to get him into the weight room, get that upper body a little stronger than it is right now so he can deal with guys at the NFL

level. But this is a good pick. This is a good pick. Yeah, 6'3", 229 is what he weighed in at, or measured in, I should say, as well at the combine. I think that right there and what you mentioned about the upper body strength, a lot of people have wondered whether or not that mass, that lack of mass could lead to some inconsistency issues when trying to play linebacker consistently at the pro level. But if he can get that bulk and that's something that can be acquired folks, that's not either you got it or you don't, he can acquire that. He can build himself up a little bit, work with some of the strength and conditioning guys who were coincidentally rated very high by the New England

Patriots players. They seem to think an awful lot of that staff out there. So if these guys are going to work with projects, this kid could be one of them. And I think he could really pay some dividends down the line for the Pats. So, so far, so good. I'm liking what I see from the legend. Bryce Ford Wheaton, the number 117, addressing the wide receiver need. Again, I think a kid that maybe doesn't get the press that he deserves,

but he could be, I won't say a difference maker in year one, but he's going to raise some eyebrows in year one. He's going to make people realize that maybe he should have been more highly considered. Your thoughts? Yeah, possibly, man. I think he's somebody that could come in here, learn from the guys that are on the roster this year and may not be on the roster last year. I not be on the roster last year. I look at this pick as a future pick, okay? As somebody that's going to help the

Patriots down the line, I don't think he's going to crack the Sunday roster right now. I would have liked to have seen that at 117, but he's somebody in 2024, 2025 that you know could raise some serious eyebrows yeah without question and again this is not a wide receiver one pick right off the bat he's never going to be a wider one that's not Bryce Ford Wheaton style but again if you're thinking and I can't necessarily disagree with you on that that you're thinking this could be more of a practice squad type player in his first year yeah maybe you'd like to see a little more value at 117 there than going with this. But once again, you know, I mean, that's why mock drafts are submitted. You're the GM. You have the opportunity to sit in that seat and you make your picks. And so far, I can't really

argue with what the legend has done here. The next three, interesting. We don't see these names on mock drafts an awful lot when it comes to New england cory trice out of the cornerback out of purdue uh city so coming in here out of um eastern michigan uh the the uh the guard at number 184 and max duggan out of texas christian max duggan return seven. We hear an awful lot about Quentin Johnston. Max was the one throwing him those passes, making him look good. Your thoughts on these three. Who stands out to you in this group? Well, without a doubt, the standout here for me is Corey Trice.

He's 6'3", 206 pounds. He's long, athletic. He's that press guy that Bill loves. Once again, he's somebody that is not going to be a number one, but he can handle number twos, allowing the Patriots to bracket number one wide receivers. You can put Trice over there on the outside and not really worry about too many NFL wide receivers, NFL pass catchers making him look bad. Yeah, without question.

Anytime that you can get the type of player that you know is going to fit well into your system. And the Patriots do this all the time. They're not really worried about what the analysts are saying out there. They're worried about what they're going to see. And again, this kid is not going to start day one. So if you're taking Corey Trice Jr. here at at number 135 you're not looking at a guy that's going to come in and that's going to unsee anybody that's currently on this depth chart that means jonathan jones that means probably jack jones uh that means uh you know marcus jones probably in the other middle you know not that jones the other

jones and uh you know you're probably looking at jalen mills playing some safety but trice is someone that can come in and give you solid minutes and then be the type of guy that you can go around and rely on in the future um Duggan to me is interesting you go with him at 187 and yeah we know the Patriots have a penchant for taking quarterbacks in the draft they typically do not always but they typically do even when we don't think they need them, they always try to stock up. And Duggan is someone that can make plays, an athletic guy, and I like that about him. He'll throw the ball vertically. If you want somebody that's going to stretch the field, he'll do it.

Now, how much of that was having Quentin Johnston on the other end of that? That's something that I think a lot of people are going to see in the league right now. The thing that makes me worry about him as a Patriots fit is accuracy if there's something that I think the Patriots value above all else when it comes to a quarterback it's a guy that can throw the ball accurately someone that can read the coverage pre-snap post-snap uh I don't know if Duggan necessarily is the fit there to tell you the truth I think a guy like Clay Clayton tune from Houston would probably be a better fit here because of his leadership ability and his ability to read pre snap post

snap. But your thoughts on that. Am I, you think I'm. No, no, you're, you're right on base with the kids, a good leader. He has the speed and the athletic ability, the accuracy and arm strength and size. That's three things, three strikes. You get five in football. It's more than three. But I just don't see him coming in here and even really cracking the practice squad. I'm sorry, man.

I like the Max Duggan returns thing. But he did. You have to really look at who he was throwing to. And that guy made him look pretty damn good. Yeah, he did without any question about it. I mean, you don't get to the level that he got to without knowing how to play the

game of football. Maybe there's a shot that this works out as a practice squad body. But if you're bringing in max Doug and I have a funny feeling, it's probably as nothing more than just a camp body. And I don't think the Patriots are investing number one, eight and seven, just to do that when they can probably get a guy as an undrafted rookie free agent to come in here and spell that.

But three at the top of this depth chart, I think are the guys that are going to be the ones competing for a roster spot this year. Murph, bringing in the caboose before we give high school legend our final grade of the mock draft season. Keiondre Coburn, defensive tackle out of Texas. We've talked about him before here on Locked On Patriots. Comes in at 192 at 210.

Shaka Hayward, linebacker out of Duke. This is a popular pick among a lot of people. I've seen him go at 210 on a lot of mock drafts, both nationally and locally. And then Spencer Anderson, the center out of Maryland, at 245. Who's the standout here, Murph? Who gets your seal of approval and the thumbs up? Shaka Taylor. You know, it's just, you know, he's a fantastic prospect here,

and where he's grabbing him is just, I mean, Shaka Hayward. I don't know why I said Taylor. That's okay. That's okay. It's all relative. Yeah, it's all relative. Yeah, it's all relative. You know, Hayward is a good guy that could come in here,

learn from the pros, and take that, you know, to the next level. Yeah, without any question. And I'm glad that you mentioned the next level, because that's where I think Shaka is really leaping off the page when it comes to a lot of people here. Didn't really light the world on fire in terms of statistics last year with Duke. 35 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions. But again, aggressive. He's going to be able to mix coverages.

I'm excuse me, coverage. He's going to be able to identify a lot of different types of schemes that he sees. And playing in a system like Duke. Again, you think he's probably at a disadvantage because it's not a big time, you know, a football program, but that is a lot more competitive in that area.

And that, that conference than you would think. So I like the ingenuity of bringing in someone like a shock of Hayward. And I think this is a good developmental pick, someone that can be a rotational piece in that linebacking core and add a little bit of youth and vitality there as well so murph i think the high school legend did a good job here i'm not going to steal your thunder i'm going to let you provide the first grade here but uh we're handing out final exams and i think the the high school legend uh just got into the college of his choice yeah exactly this this um this

solidified his uh his uh high school diploma and we're moving him on to a division one school next year he's gonna have to change that nickname i'm giving him an a for this yeah i'm giving him a for this as well look there are two high school performances you could stop drafting in georgia here and and i'm giving this a b and he's got other guys in the, I like Corey Trice. It's, you know, Sidney, Sidney Sal. I'm not too sure about here, but other than that, man, this is a fantastic draft. Yeah, it really is a fantastic draft right through shock. Hey, we're at number 10 at the linebacker out of Duke. So yeah,

I'm giving him an A on this one as well. Like I said, there were two high school performances that will stand out to me, Mr. Legend. One, four touchdowns in one game. Polk High, Al Bundy doing his thing. But right below that is some of the mock drafts that you submitted here as well. You definitely earned that Polk High Letterman jacket

and wear it proud, my friend. Thank you so much for all of the submissions that you had. And folks, we'd be remiss if we did not take the time out to thank each and every one of you that took time out of your schedule to submit a mock draft here on Locked On Patriots. Simply just did not get the opportunity to share them all. Just because some of them didn't get shared on here did not mean that Murph and I were not blown away or impressed. A lot of times it was duplicated efforts.

Sometimes they were sent in when there were already mock drafts that were scheduled to go on the slate. So keep sending those in this week because we'll definitely take a look at them for you on Twitter. And who knows? We might be back before the first pick is read by Roger Goodell on Thursday night. Maybe one more round here.

But this is it for Mock Draft Monday. That hashtag is going to now be retired until next year. But, well, not quite, though, Mark, because the ultimate mock draft, although we don't mock the real draft, Mark, we muse that draft. We're bringing back musing the draft because we're going to be putting Bill Belichick on the hot seat. We're going to be putting Matt Groh on the hot seat. We're going to be discussing the Patriots trade.

I jumped the gun there, didn't I? We know the Patriots are going to trade on Thursday or Friday or Saturday. It just depends on how many. We're going to be discussing the Patriots draft all start to finish all seven rounds here next Monday. So definitely check it out when mock draft Monday becomes using the draft on Monday. Murph, what can I say? It's been a hell of a three years. It's been a great season.

Thank you so much for sitting shotgun with me here and really just absolutely allowing us to do something we truly love to do. This was a blast this year. It was. It was a blast this year, but it was, it was a lot of fun. I've had more fun this year than I have in any, any year that we've had up, up to now that it just keeps getting better and better. So people,

thank you again for, for being here. We can't do this show without you, obviously. And, but, but you guys make it a lot of fun. Yeah.

We've got a lot of very smart football minds out there that tune in every week and just make this part of our year. I mean, draft prep has been a passion of mine and a love of mine for as long as I can remember. You know, back to when you could only turn pages and find this, this stuff out. And, uh, and you were surprised by guys, uh, being taken in the second and third round. Nobody's surprised anymore. Nobody's surprised by any of that, but you guys fish through everything that's out there and keep coming in with some fantastic drafts. Thank you so much. Absolutely.

Cannot thank you all enough. You guys are phenomenal. You really do an amazing job. You put in the time, the effort, the thought process. You're not just running something through an aggregate machine, spitting it out and sending it out. You're taking the time to look at whether you have the sensors set on fast or slow, or no matter how much research you're doing in between, you're putting thought into the guys that you're putting next to that New England Patriots logo. That's a fan and that's a fan base that is dedicated to their team and wanting to see their team select the best players and put out the best

product on the field. We can't thank you for getting back to us and letting us know you're thinking as we sit here in a one-way conversation, you guys do, you get back to us and let us know, well, this is what I would say. And often you've changed my mind. You've changed our minds about certain picks. Absolutely.

You're not going to change my mind about that pick in the first round. You know he's going to try. You know he's going to try. He's going to try. He's going to be in a time. I'll mute you. I'll mute you after the fifth tweet. How could you mute LJ?

No, you can't. You can't mute LJ. No, kidding. All kidding aside, I want to give a special shout out to two particular gentlemen that we did not feature here today. But really, they are the lifeblood of Mock Draft Monday. Andrew Carraway, founder of Carraway6, and as well as Jason Sullivan at Sully6827. Those two guys are phenomenal friends of the program, and we love you to death. Continue to do your thing, because eventually the right eyes are going to catch that, and

you guys are going to be ready to take off. So Murph, it was a blast. We're going to enjoy it. We're going to get ready for the draft coming up on Thursday. But folks, we want to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedule to make Locked on Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Don't forget tomorrow here, one more trip into that Belichickian time machine. Talk about the ghost of Patriots draft past.

Which one are you listening to and which one are you trying to forget? We're going to discuss that tomorrow and more right here on Locked on Patriots. But in the meantime, please continue to stay safe and stay well. Be the change that you wish to see in the world. On behalf of my good friend, the legendary Connor Murphy Pisto, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com. Folks, do not let an opportunity slip by without checking out Murph's Monster Keys. They are available now on E2gsports.com. Folks, do not let an opportunity slip by without checking out Murph's Monster Keys. They are available now on e2gsports.

Check out his Twitter feed at teammurph207. The minute you see the link, download it, absorb it, read it. You'll be better prepared when it comes to this week's NFL draft. Do not miss those Monster Keys. A phenomenal, phenomenal read. And of course, don't forget to stay locked

in to Locked On Patriots. Have a great day, read. And of course, don't forget to stay locked in to Locked On Patriots. Have a great day, everyone. On behalf of Murph and myself, enjoy the week, and we'll see you next time here on Locked On Patriots. I am the ghost of draft present.