Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick Dynamic, Eliot Wolf and the 2024 NFL Draft

Episode Date: April 20, 2024

As the New England Patriots march toward the 2024 NFL Draft, the strained relationship between team owner Robert Kraft and former head coach Bill Belichick once again took center stage — due to a recent “tell-all” feature. FS1’s Tanya Ray Fox joins host Mike D’Abate, as the duo discuss the Kraft-Belichick dynamic, as well as the potential plans of Eliot Wolf and the Patriots for the upcoming NFL Draft. #nfl #nfldraft #patriots Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm... Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-... And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Monopoly GO!Get in the game and join your friends. Download MONOPOLY GO! now free on The App Store or Google Pay. The mobile hit twist on classic MONOPOLY. Yahoo FinanceFor comprehensive financial news and analysis, visit the brand behind every great investor, YahooFinance.com. eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply. BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARENTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – win or lose! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. 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)

We are less than one week from the 2024 NFL Draft. Your New England Patriots have the number three overall pick, but it's still all about Bob and Bill's excellent adventure. Stick around. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots

a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage, and also, hopefully, your first listen each and every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is not only a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day, but we're also free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So smash that subscribe button, download and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you 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. So please reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some social media love to Lockdown Patriots, please follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots.

And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by Monopoly Go. I'll admit it, I have a competitive side and as a big fan of Monopoly Go, the mobile hit twist on classic Monopoly. So join your friends and download Monopoly Go now free on the App Store or on Google Play. Pats fans, it is Friday and thank you once again for joining us here today on the pod. We are less than one week from the 2024 NFL draft. A lot of speculation flowing around as to which way the Patriots are going to go. Do they go quarterback at number three, folks? Do they trade down, maximize that capital, and pick up a bag like Gerard Mayo and Elliot

Wolfe hope they will? Well, those are the questions right now that are on the minds of a lot of Patriots fans. But you still can't take the bill out of New England. Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft, a lot of things flowing around this week. So a lot to talk about here in Patriots Nation. And if it's Friday, who better to join me and discuss all of this and more than truly one of our favorites here on Locked On Patriots. She does amazing work, behind-the-scenes work for FS1,

as well as being the host of one of my favorite listens of all time, the Almost Shameless podcast. Be sure to check that one out, folks. Without further ado, I welcome back my good friend, Tanya Ray Fox. Tanya, thank you so much for joining me, and welcome back to Locked On Patriots. As always, it's my pleasure. I say this every time and I'm going to continue saying it. I love kicking off a Friday with this podcast.

Fridays are my weekends. I do Friday, Saturdays off. So this is the first thing I do on my official weekend when I do this podcast is I wake up in the morning, I pour my cold brew into my keep it cold glass or, you know, like little mug there. And then I talk about the Patriots with you and anybody who's a sports nerd, which most people listening to this likely are, I don't think they can disagree that that's like the best way to kick off a weekend. Wake up, pour your coffee, talk about the Patriots with your buddy. So thank you for having me back on.

Oh, pleasure is all ours, as always. And Tanya, there's never a dull moment in Foxborough. There is a lot to talk about. Obviously, the big story coming out of New England is the 2024 NFL Draft and the Patriots picking the highest they've picked since 1993. And Drew Bledsoe coming in as the quarterback of New England with the number one overall pick that season. Are the Patriots going to replicate that? Are they going to make a move?

A lot of speculation right now. We're going to get into that speculation. But anyone who follows you on social media, anyone who follows me on social media knows that we have strong opinions on one William Belichick. Obviously the Patriots making the decision earlier this off season to part ways with Bill. A lot of people were expecting that when Bill walked out the door here in New England,

he was immediately going to have a lot of doors opening for him around the NFL. It wasn him around the NFL. Wasn't exactly the case. Bill Belichick all of a sudden found himself being passed over for younger head coaches with teams that had openings, and it baffled me. I know it surprised you that he wasn't in the head coaching chair to begin this 2024 season. Earlier this week, ESPN came out with an expose. Expose is the right word, folks. We'll use that one. Basically outlining the fact that Robert Kraft may not have had the most glowing things to say about Bill Belichick when it came to the Atlanta Falcons opening and speaking to his good friend, Arthur Blank. We all saw what his

portrayal was in the dynasty. A lot of people believe that that was a little bit of a unfair portrayal of Bill. Some have called it a hit piece. We've seen former Patriots come out and say they don't believe Bill was treated in the right light in that. And then you see this type of article come out from ESPN. What was your first reaction when you read this? Do you see this as a hit piece? Do you see this as maybe a little bit of illumination of the way things are going on in One Patriot's Place? Or is this essentially being blown up into something that is maybe less important than people are making it out to be. I think, I mean, I think it's important just because I, I know that craft has been like pretty vocal. I mean, a lot of,

no, like you said, I'm not necessarily questioning the reporting, but we know that a lot of it is coming from that side of things. Bill Belichick doesn't really talk. And it actually is quite difficult to get even anonymous sources on Bill Belichick to put his side of a story out there. That's the reason we just simply don't hear it. And we haven't for decades, right? This isn't new. We know whose sides of the stories we're getting. We're getting Tom Brady's sides of the stories. We're getting Robert Kraft's side of the story. And that is Bill's choice. And I think it's been a smart one because I think what we're seeing is an owner who spent decades as the Holy Ghost and the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Trinity, and now would like to be the main, the face of the franchise. And I'm not going to say anything controversial here. Billionaires are by nature ego-driven and not

always as relatable as we would like to think they are, even when we like them. Okay. So this man has a business and he has an ego and he has a desire to prove himself as an owner without Bill Belichick and Tom Brady at the helm. Fine. I think there was obviously, this isn't even, I mean, it's not even an I think, there was obviously a turning point between Kraft and Bill that soured Robert Kraft on his relationship with Bill. I don't think we can question that at this point. We know what went on behind the scenes in terms of even getting the dynasty made, what the direction of it was, what Brian Grazer said about his relationship with Robert Kraft and how involved Robert Kraft was in directing them toward the more unsavory sides of that dynasty. There's no owner in the history

of sports that's ever made that decision quite like this. It's not normal. It's not normal to say, you know what I'd love is for you to talk about the 20 years of unprecedented success, not only in the NFL, but in the history of team sports, but mostly focus on all the times that Bill Belichick was in the news and maybe insinuate he should have traded Aaron Hernandez before he murdered people. Like this is crazy stuff. This is crazy stuff. I'm not underplaying it. I know you're a little bit more subtle. I, and I respect you for that. And I love you for that, but I am not. And it was crazy. So I think what I think really what's happening is just like, we've got an older owner. He's trying to establish himself on his own. And I think that there's been a few years here. I don't

think this was new and out of the blue. I think the reporting is correct in terms of him insinuating to owners across the league that maybe Bill Belichick would not be a good fit. I don't think this was new and out of the blue. I think the reporting is correct in terms of him insinuating to owners across the league that maybe Bill Belichick would not be a good fit. I don't think he's called. It's hard for me to imagine he called Arthur Blank and said, don't hire Bill Belichick. So I'm not trying to undermine good reporters, but I do think that that note in the reporting sounded a little odd to me. And I'm about as big of a craft hater right now as there is, and not a hater so much as like a truther,

maybe just like, Hey, let's be honest about what you're doing here. But I don't know that you would call and say, don't hire Bill Belichick. I think that there's been a whisper network going on between owners and GMs for years since Brady left, since the drafting of Mac over the last couple of years where things went a

little awry. And the word on the street is this guy's going to run your team. He's not capable of being a team player. It's his way or the highway. It's his system or no system. And no owner or GM wants to hear that. Let's just face it. They don't want to hear that, even if it is Bill Belichick. I don't think there's a large contingency of people across the NFL that don't believe Bill Belichick is an all-time head coach and an all-time football mind and wouldn't be a valuable asset to their team. I think that they are put off by the idea that he could come in and try to change the entire culture. And that is scary. Um, I think that we need to like my last note on it and on this part is like, I think we need to understand that what the Patriots dynasty

was, was very, very unique. There is no other dynasty like it. It, it, there is no comparison. We try to make comparisons all the time. We try to make comparisons to the Lakers, to whatever other team you want, you know, that you've a long dynasty. You can think of the Celtics, any other sport, Yankees. It's not the same because it's the NFL in this era for 20 years with the two same figureheads for the whole time. And so the idea that people are nervous about what Belichick could bring to their team is not crazy. So I don't want to put that entirely on Robert Kraft. Although I think it's pretty clear that along the line somewhere, Robert Kraft felt done dirty by Belichick and he is not in a place of peace about it. I would like to see the man who made himself into one of the richest owners in the world of a sports team be a little bit more gracious behind the scenes and through

the Whisper Network of reporting to the man who helped him make those billions because he is not a billionaire without that. He's not the billionaire he is right now worth like 11 billion or whatever the hell he's worth without Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. It's, he's not. And if these men are going to be all about their money and their status and their prestige, it, the, the least they could do is recognize the two people that got them there. And that's what puts me off the most. But, um, you know, in some ways it's, we're, we're getting to the point of beating a dead horse, not our fault. It's actually Robert Kraft's fault, but we're getting there either way of beating a dead horse. Not our fault. It's actually Robert Kraft's fault, but we're getting there either way. Yeah. I think where this report went off the

rails for me was when you see the actual quote in this ESPN.com story, like you alluded to, Tanya, Robert called Arthur to warn him not to trust Bill. It seemed like something was off about that right from the get-go. I mean, regardless of the problems that obviously these two men definitely had, which that led to a dissolution of their working relationship, I have difficulty believing that Robert Kraft, on his own, without provocation, and felt strongly enough to pick up the phone and say, don't trust him, just does not seem like the M.O mo that this guy has operated the new england patriots with for the three decades that he's been here uh in the owner's chairs but there's also i think it's

the falcons end of this and tanya you hit on this there are guys in that falcons organization that are looking at potentially bill belichick coming and walking through these doors a guy that has forgotten more football than most human beings will ever learn in their lifetime and I think it could have been a concern of people around Arthur Blank to think that Belichick could come in and essentially usurp the entire organization I liken this to almost what we saw in Blazing Saddles you know like we have to protect our phony baloney jobs gentlemen you know I mean really I think there was an element of that in the falcons organization and maybe arthur blank heard some of these rumblings maybe this came up in questions with robert craft and you know robert is going to be very honest and very blunt and again if he's

coming from a place of maybe some unresolved conflict there he's going to be maybe a little more honest and a little more candid than he normally would be and say, well, you know, Bell likes control. He's the type of guy that wants to come in and be the alpha in the room. We heard him use that terminology in the dynasty. So it wouldn't surprise me to see a lack of trust deduced from that. And to Arthur Blank's credit, just before we get off of it, I actually think that Arthur Blank was the only owner to invite Bill in for an interview and to consider him because he is not one necessarily to go with the grain of every other NFL owner. We've seen Arthur Blank deviate from the group occasionally. And he has his own set of principles and morals. And it doesn't mean he's not a well-liked owner among the rest of the owners, but I get the sense that there was an expectation by Robert Kraft that most teams were

going to lay off Belichick. I think that's what Kraft wanted. I think Kraft waited to end that relationship until he felt pretty confident that Belichick wasn't going to go elsewhere or wasn't going to be able to go elsewhere. And I think Arthur Blank said, no, he's out there. I'm interviewing the guy. I'm interviewing the guy. I don't know how much people know about the dynamics of these owners, but he is one of the few guys that deviates on different areas from a lot of other owners. So if anything, I think he'd already heard everything there was to hear about Bella checking was going to interview him anyway. I really don't think a phone call from Robert Kraft changed his mind.

So I don't, I guess that's to both, I guess it's sort of cutting craft a little slack and then also just sort of crediting Arthur blank with doing what he felt he was going to do for his team regardless. And whether we agree with it or not, I really don't think he was going to be told by Robert Kraft what to do with his team. Well, that's a good point. And that leads me quite nicely into my final question here on the subject is, has all of this publicity within the past few days and all of a sudden

Bill Belichick's reemergence, very interesting how that kind of coincides all in one, Bill Belichick's reemergence into the media realm and now knowing that he's going to be hosting a pre-draft podcast and he's going to have his name out there a little bit more than he has in recent weeks. Do you think maybe this has done a little bit to shed more light on Bill Belichick's resume? Does this make him potentially more hireable now? Almost as a sympathetic figure, but at the same time, allowing teams and allowing people to rediscover this guy's greatness. It's very easy, folks, to ignore that when your team finishes four and 13, and you're looking like an older coach that can't connect with younger players. All of a sudden, that rehabilitation of the image,

even slightly, could bring all of the great that he's done back to the forefront. Could that possibly work in his favor? Yeah, a hundred percent. It already has. I mean, it already, people are already like, oh damn, Belichick's going to be talking about the draft. Like everyone's excited about it. It's this very weird thing where we all pretend like we don't think Belichick's good at this stuff because it's like, it's a, it's a hater's world. We're living in it. I'm part of it. It's, it's fine. But then as soon as he's on there smiling with his six trophies behind him with Pat McAfee, everybody's excited. Let your, let your gut instincts tell you how you actually feel about Bill Belichick.

And we can, you can do all the keyboard worrying you want. At the end of the day, you guys are all excited to hear from one of the greatest coaches you've ever seen coach football, one of the greatest minds. And there's a reason for that because up until the last couple of years, we understood the narrative on Bill Belichick. He was one of the best GMs in the league. He was one of the best coaches of all time, if not the greatest. And this is exciting. And it's really funny how easy it is to just slip into this weird. It's very, very easy to slip into this weird, it's very, very easy to slip into this weird narrative about Belichick that he is an angry, mean,

difficult person to be around. Belichick is, he's a tough guy. He's tough. He's hardcore. And he's also incredibly respectful of the talent in front of him. He's also incredibly collaborative. I don't know where it came from that Belichick

doesn't seek other people's opinions. This is the guy who was meeting with Tom Brady weekly the entire time that they were playing together. He was a guy who trusted immensely Josh McDaniels and his coordinators and the people around him. Ernie Adams, he wouldn't do anything without Pat. What do you mean he's not collaborative? Most people have their circle of trust. I think it's going to switch back quicker than people think. If you've covered the Patriots for a long enough time and you're not getting your sources from Robert Kraft, it's very easy to admit that Belichick can be charming and cool. We've seen it a bunch of times. Come on. He is not Mike McDaniels.

He's not even Mike Tomlin. He's none of the Mikes. He's not even Mike Debate. He's not that the Mikes. He's not even Mike Debate. He's not that friendly and cool. I spent 25 years with the man as a fan and then covering the team from afar.

There's this Darth Vader thing that people have about Bill Belichick that's not... We know everything there is to knowichick. That's not, we know everything there is to know about him. And it's, he is not some evil dictator. He's a hardcore football, old school mind. And he was never a players coach when they were winning Superbowls. He was never that guy that was rah, rah. He was never going to give you a pat on the back. So it's not about him not

being able to relate to young players. He didn't relate to them 25 years ago when he was a lot younger and when all the players were Gen X, you know, no millennials, no Gen Z, no soft millennials in Gen Z. They didn't like him back then either. And then they did when they won Super Bowls. They have immense respect for him. This is not, I promise you, it's going to be so fun to watch people be like, wait a second, is Belichick cool? It's like, wait a bit. Yes. Yes. It's very cool to get to hear this kind of stuff from people. Yeah. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be awesome. You know it's coming. Thursday night is going to be very interesting. If Nike Belichick makes an appearance, I definitely think that's going to rise his

stock at least 10 points. But bottom line, folks, Bill Belichick does have an endearing side. I've been in press conferences with Bill. I've sat in the same room and watched him talk glowingly about players that have played for him. I sat in on a Zoom conference where he went on for nearly a half hour on the history of the long snapper. I've seen the look on his face when reporters kind of pulled together and bought a onesie for his newborn granddaughter. That definitely touched Bill. I mean, these are things that have an impact and they allow you to see the human side of Bill Belichick. And I think you're going to see more of that. And I think a lot of it is going to be strategic because it does help to rehabilitate his image. Tonya, we saw it at the Army and Navy game when Bill Belichick put on that Navy helmet,

it was plastered all over the place. It's still one of the pictures on my desktop, on my laptop, because I just think it's great. And it really does. It encapsulates just how much not only he loves the game of football, but the great sense of humor he has about himself as well. So this will, I think, act maybe in's favor uh in terms of next year's options and next year's options could get interesting but i'll tell you what we'll save next year's options as a conversation for another day because there is still business to be done in foxborough

and for lack of a better term my friend there's a new sheriff in town elliot wolf met with the media on thursday morning and declared the patriots open for business. What exactly does that mean? And is that a drastic departure from the way they've done business right along? Tanya and I are going to discuss that along with her thoughts on what the Patriots not only will do, but should do in the upcoming NFL draft. When this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Lockdown listeners, when it comes to your financial future, you think you've done it all. You've saved. You've researched. You've invested all that you can. Now you need to take those investments to the next level by using what

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That's it. Thank you so much for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots. Joining me is truly one of my favorite people in this business, really in any walk of life. The illustrious Tanya Ray Fox of FS1 and the Almost Shameless podcast. Tanya, we talked about one of our favorite subjects to open up the pod today, and that is Bill Belichick. And for 25 years, he was the man in charge when it came to all personnel decisions,

free agency, and, of course, the NFL draft. Well, being less than one week away from the NFL draft, it was a little bit of a different feel in Foxborough on Thursday morning when Elliott Wolfe walked to the podium and was the guy to address the media. We've seen Matt Groh do this before. We've seen Nick Casario do it, but you always knew Bill was in the building. That's no longer the case, and Elliott was very matter of fact, very smartly let them know that there are six quarterbacks that we're considering, and then he made the decree that they are open to anything meaning that they'll move up they'll move down he says we're a draft and develop team so the more

picks we have the better that last line sounded very belichickian to me for everyone that says that this is a complete 180 a complete departure from the way the patriots have done business before i saw a lot of bill and what he had to say. When you look at what Elliott Wolfe has done, free agency, draft strategy, when you look at how he's conducting himself now and even taking a look into that Wolfean crystal ball about a week into the future

as to how he might assemble this draft, what type of atmosphere do you believe he's creating in New England? Is this truly a brand new era or is there still a lot of tradition left in the Patriots front office? Yeah, no, there's still a lot of tradition. There's still a lot of understanding what Belichick did well in the draft because he did well in the draft for a very long time he was known for maximizing picks especially outside the first round um did a lot of incredible work in the second third fourth fifth rounds over the years and that's not you don't just ignore that uh because you want to be

the cool new guy um you know he he is a uh neo GM. So grew up around a GM, like understands this better than a lot of people. Um, and I don't say that derogatorily. I'm just saying like, you know, who am I, who am I? I mean, Belichick at the end of the day, you could be considered a Nepo baby. So I'm not hating, but when I'm, uh, you don't throw the baby out with the bath water here. If there are good elements that you, that still work in modern football, which they do, they're going to hold on to it. And there's a lot of people in that building that are still, regardless of how they feel like they're going to, oh, I'm going to be a little bit different. You were still raised by Belichick and that stuff.

We all do it. We all act like our moms and dads, even when we think we're not. We want to be so different than we hit our 30s and we realize, I think they might've been right about everything mostly. So there's going to be stuff that leaks over and maximizing those picks and talking about being open for business, doing the best thing with the options that are available to you when the pick comes. Yeah. It's very Belichickian. It's also very Packers, right? So there's, I mean, these are two traditional sort of approaches

to the draft for obvious reasons. Teams that were like perennial contenders in different ways, very different ways. Obviously the Packers don't have an owner, different vibe over there. But like, you know, that idea is sort of permeates a lot of old school teams. And that's what Belichick made the Patriots into was more of an old school team when, you know, previously they weren't considered that. I think that the idea that they're willing to do anything with that pick is obviously

a little bit of lip service. I think that there's obvious. I mean, when it comes to the draft, they have to say that they're willing to do anything when you have a team that's essentially in a full rebuild, right? You've got a bunch of quarterbacks on the board. Jacoby Brissett is your quarterback right now, not the quarterback of the future. We know that.

And the two picks ahead of you are ostensibly picking quarterbacks. I mean, it's, it would be crazy if that's, so it's just a matter of like, is someone else going to pull off a crazy trade or is there someone willing to give up a crazy amount? Like the Vikings, are they going to put up a crazy amount to get into that three spot? What do we do then? I would be shocked, especially considering the Packers end of it. We all know the Packers legendarily very good at replacing quarterbacks, like in a way that shouldn't be possible. Why would you not go for a quarterback here? I know that everybody's going to talk themselves out of it.

They're going to find what, well, they're not ready. The roster's not ready, blah, blah, blah. But like, I just don't see a team with this many quarterbacks available, especially where the quarterback draft is a gamble as it is. It is a crapshoot as it is. The more options available, the more likely you are to hit. You do want to wait until next season where there might only be two or three options that are truly considered first round pick type quarterbacks. You don't want to take that chance. So I'd be very, very shocked if it's not a quarterback that they go after in the first round, regardless of where they take that quarterback. And I do have some thoughts about

what I think they should do. Um, so we'll get into that later, but I, I, I think that we're going to find out a lot about, uh, what their approach is based on, uh, you know, what they do honestly in the like second, third, fourth, fifth rounds and how they maximize those picks. And are they trading up and down in and out of those picks and getting in like planning? Cause that was where Belichick did his best work. Um, the first round for most GMs and most like coach GMs is about as much of a crap shoot as any, you're not going to find a lot of people who are like hitting on a massive level across the board year in year out more than other people. It's the rest of the draft. That's what I'm looking for. And you know, there's nothing he can say that's going to,

you know, where I'm going to be like, Oh, Elliot really gets it. Like he's got to show it. You know what I mean? Like he can get up on the podium and say, well, we've got all these plans and whatever, but come on. I mean, we've spent months and months on mock drafts and every single one looks different. And every until we have a, an actual sense, um, through the draft and through the off season and what they do in, in camps and things like that. And we start to actually see this team form. Um, it's just, it's just speculation. Um, but what's not speculation is that they are absolutely including a lot of Belichickian approaches in the draft. And I think that that's a good thing. And I think that that

shows that they're not, like I said, they're not throwing the baby out with the bathwater just to make a point. They may be trying to say they're making a point and that's fine. That's PR, but they're doing the right thing. Yeah, absolutely. And look, bottom line, just because there are elements of Belichickian ways or there are still tradition left in that front office in no way impugns the ability of Elliot Wolfe to come in and to run a solid draft. I fully believe he will do that. You mentioned the pedigree. He is someone that learned very much from his father, Ron, and was in draft rooms at an early age. And I think he's ready to put it into practice. I think he handled himself very well in terms of leaving the options wide open. That's exactly what you want to do. The Patriots, with the number three pick this year, have the opportunity to really hold

the most valuable piece of draft capital in this draft. I don't think anyone is believing right now that the Chicago Bears are going to trade out of that number one slot. So Caleb Williams is most likely on his way to the Windy City. Washington, I guess there's a possibility, but they seem to be locked into taking the quarterback, whether that's going to be Jaden Daniels or Drake May. We'll find out in less than a week. If the Patriots have found that the guy they wanted is now going to be in Washington, do they feel strongly enough about that third option? I know we've been hearing a lot from the Patriots camp through indirect sources that they are very much committed to either

Drake May or Jaden Daniels, that they'd be happy with either one of those guys. But something that Elliott Wolf said yesterday stood out to me. And that was him saying he wanted someone that comes in to be quarterback of the Patriots or really anybody that's drafted high the way they have this draft capital right now. Someone that can come in and elevate his teammates. And it reminded me of something he said at the Combine just a month ago, where you want someone as quarterback of the Patriots that can come in and handle being quarterback of the New England Patriots. Some people took that as a shot at Mac Jones. I think it might've been, and maybe it was deserved, but at the same time, I also think

that they realize that it's so important, not just to watch film on these guys and watch what they can do on the field, the tendencies that they have, things that are able to be coached out of them. For example, with Drake May, a lot of people say that he needs to tone down on that gunslinger mentality, that he's not going to be the guy at this level if he continues to do that. He needs to learn how to take pressure a little bit better. With Jaden Daniels, a lot of people say he needs to increase his pocket presence. Those are things that Alex Van Pelt and his staff could work on. And if there's enough there, you can coach guys out of some of the bad tendencies they had in college.

But one thing that I think is intrinsic in guys, especially when you try to look at them as potential quarterbacks this early in the draft, is someone that walks into the room and the players gravitate toward these players. They want to play for these guys. They want to go to battle and they trust them and they put their full trust. I think one of the great examples of that was Tom Brady. Bill Belichick saw that in Tom Brady and knew that he had the ability to command that huddle from the time that Drew Bledsoe went down. I don't think he worried about Brady earning the respect of the players on the field. And one thing I will say about the dynasty is you heard that in guys like Ty Law and Teddy Bruschi that said he did have to earn our respect,

but he earned their respect and he earned their trust in a much quicker time frame than even they expected. And that's the type of quarterback I think you need to see in New England right now. If they feel that guy is there in either Jaden Daniels or Drake May, I absolutely agree with you. There's no way you lay off a quarterback at number three. You're never guaranteed this type of draft capital again. If they're not, and they're more uncertain than not, then you might see them picking up the phone and not just letting it go to voicemail and actually hearing what some of these teams might be offering. Tanya, we can talk all we want to about what Elliott Wolfe is going to do, what the Patriots might do, what they should do. Ultimately, it's going to be what they will do that's going to determine the outcome or at least the fate of the 2024 season and beyond. But part of the fun is also playing GM.

I got a chance to do it last night here on Locked On Patriots, and I submitted my 2.0 mock draft, my final mock draft of the draft season, folks. And it was met with some mixed reaction, but we won't get into that. Everybody likes their own. In just a moment, I'm going to put Tanya Rae Fox on the hot seat, and I'm going to ask her to put on her GM cap and we're going to ask Tanya what she would do especially with that number three pick not necessarily what Elliot Wolfe would do not even necessarily what Bill Belichick would do

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Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today. It is Fox on Friday. My good friend, Tanya Rae Fox of FS1 and the Almost Shameless podcast, breaking the wisdom and council meter in ways it hasn't been shattered in quite some time here on these airwaves. Bill Belichick, Elliot Wolfe, insight you'll only find here on Locked on Patriots. And it's my honor to share the microphone each and every Friday that she joins us here. Tanya, before I let you go today, though, I did want to experiment a little bit when it comes to the New England Patriots draft.

I've put a couple of our co-hosts here on Locked On Patriots on the hot seat and asked them to be pseudo GM. We've also asked a lot of our everydayers here to submit mock drafts and make them pseudo GMs for a day. But I haven't had the chance to put you on the hot seat yet. So I'm going to do that today. You're inheriting the Patriots eight draft picks that they have right now. Obviously, number three, as I said in the previous segment, I think this has the ability to be the most coveted piece of draft capital in the 2024 NFL draft. At least the only one I think that has a reasonable expectation of potentially being moved.

You're the GM of the New England Patriots. Either Drake May or Jaden Daniels, depending on which one you feel is going to be the best fit for New England, is available on the board. Whichever of those two you feel is the best quarterback fit, he's there. The Minnesota Vikings are ringing your phone. They're blowing it up off the hook. They're offering two first rounders. Then they increase it to three.

We're getting closer and closer to draft time. They increase it to four first rounders. You're the GM. What do you do? Yeah, I take that deal. I take, I take the deal. I trade out of it and I try to get like Michael Penix. I I'm, I'm not going to lie. Like I don't, you, you guys know you don't, you shouldn't, you shouldn't listen to me about the draft. And I say that all with all the respect in the world to myself and the fact that I've been very right. And I was incredibly right about Mac Jones. And for all the reasons that I was worried about Mac Jones turned out to be exactly the reason I should

have been worried about Mac Jones, even while the entire T of Patriots nation was screaming at me and sending me screenshots of myself for three years. Okay. So with all deference to myself, you still don't have to listen to me. Um, it is very hard to really, uh, mock when you're not like spending day in day out scouting these guys. And even then it's incredibly difficult. We're going off of a lot of, um, a lot of vibes, right. And just our general biases. So while I don't think that it's not that you like that our opinions don't matter or whatever, but at the end of the day, um, you know, there are a lot of people who know more than me. Uh, but when I'm right, I'm right. And what I, when you, when it comes to these types of picks,

right, they're going to be a crapshoot. If you trade out of that and Drake may, or Jaden Daniels end up being all time quarterbacks. Of course, you are going to end up looking like a fool. I totally get it, but you're asking me to do my GM thing. And I don't have a billionaire hovering over my shoulder. I don't have a gajillion trillion dollar business breathing down my neck. I have a pure passion for the game. And I think when you are rebuilding on this degree, uh, compiling that many first round picks, um, if you do like the team that's in charge and if they do know what they're doing and you can still get a quarterback in the first round, which in this case you could, and that quarterback could be, be maybe physically a little bit more underwhelming,

maybe need a little bit more work, but is more pro ready because they have a lot of experience. I don't hate that. I don't hate it, especially with a team like this, especially because the lower you draft a quarterback, the more likely it is to sit him for a year. And I have been saying this, I will say it. I said it when we drafted Mac and I'll say it until the end of time. If you are in a position to sit that man, at least to start the season and let him learn and let him grow and let him like understand what NFL football is really like. Um, if you were in a situation where you're rebuilding and the rush to get back to the playoffs is, Hey, maybe this year would be great, but like, we're really looking for next year, which I think is where the Patriots are at. Uh, then the higher you draft, the less likely it is that people are going to be okay with that. Um, you know, Jordan love drafted in the middle

of the first round. Okay. We're a little less mad about it. Patrick Mahomes are a little less mad about it. Right. So to me, it's like, you're getting the best of both worlds. If you're, if you're, you know, Gerard Mayo and Elliot Wolf, you should want your guy to be on the bench for the first year. I just don't understand why you wouldn't do that if you could. Um, I guess if you wanted your guy to be JJ McCarthy, like you could also do that too. Maybe like, cause I think that he'll be like, there's a chance he's available a little bit lower than people think he is. I don't know. I don't know. But like,

I don't, I don't want it to be JJ McCarthy. I don't want it. JJ gives me, um, Mac Jones, but with a like better leadership skills vibes. Um,

and he's, you know, that's not what I'm looking for at this point in my life. I love the Michigan Wolverines, but like, uh, I think JJ needs a coach like Harbaugh and we don't have a coach like Harbaugh. We have a different thing going on.

So, um, you know, I, I don't know. I just, I, to me, you take a little bit of pressure off the pick by trading out of it. Um, you still get a quarterback, you get a guy you can build. You have Jacoby Brissett at the helm who is an incredible leader would be a great mentor has a great relationship with like the staff already you can you continue to build this new era and this new um sense of who you are as an organization and rather than making a rookie quarterback be the identity of your organization right off the bat and save you from yourselves. They get to be a part of building it and growing it with somebody who knows they're passing the torch. Jacoby knows he's passing it. So that's what I'm doing. I'm trading out. I'm

taking as many picks as I can get. I'm still getting a quarterback who I believe can grow into the quarterback that I want. Very well said. And I think the essence of this right now and the essence of really any argument that's going to be made as to whether or not the Patriots should stick at number three and get the quarterback or trade out is what are your intentions for that number three pick? It's so difficult to select someone at number three and then say, okay, we're going to sit you for an entire year. I agree with you. I think rookie quarterbacks with a very slim exception need to sit there

first year. I was one of the ones that actually believed that Mac should have sat his first year. Now you tried to warn me about Mac and the intangibles that you saw pre-draft that I didn't. So I'm going to tip my cap. And that's why I wanted your opinion on this, because I think you have a little more insight when it comes to the draft than you give yourself credit for, my friend.

But bottom line, I do believe that that learning experience is invaluable, especially for a quarterback that's going to be project. I see a lot of projects on this draft. I see the capability of quarterbacks that really can be among the top players in the league I think eventually with the right seasoning the right attitude the right coaching and uh the right things breaking for him both Drake May and Jaden Daniels could be top level quarterbacks in this league and Jaden Daniels is a perfect example of someone who like who could be one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league is not ready

to start. Like in my opinion, what went on with at Arizona state is very underplayed. People don't know how rough it got with Jaden Daniels. And then he goes to LSU and balls out and that's amazing. But this guy needs some mentoring in the league. And I'm not saying because of his personality, I'm saying because of the ups and downs of what he's been through in college, he needs some time. And that's the kind of guy that people bring in

and they just infields him. And then suddenly a couple of years later, you know, we've got this incredibly talented, incredibly dynamic, um, superstar in the making looking QB who has traded away. And Jaden Daniels is exact. That's exactly what I don't want to happen. And that's what I'm terrified would happen because he doesn't have the, um, the issues that I had that Mac Jones had. Um, he different set of concerns in terms of just his ability to step in and lead an NFL team year one. I mean, I think that about Drake May too. I just think that it would be a bigger waste of talent with Jaden Daniels, you know? Very good point. And look, I think a lot of people are starting to make that argument with

Penix as well and saying, well, if you're going to have him, he's definitely going to be sitting. There are accuracy issues, footwork issues, things that need to be shorn up. But one thing that you have to love if you're a Patriots fan about Michael Penix is his potential fit in an Alex Van Pelt offense. He's at his best with a strong running game to open up deep play action passes and show off that cannon of an arm that he's got. Alex loves running that type of offense. We've seen him do it. He's predicated on the run, use the run to set up play action and take those deep shots down the field. Pennix can do that with the best of them. I won't be mad if it's Pennix. I won't be mad if it's Pennix. If he's doing that

and learning from Jacoby Brissett, all of a sudden you're in pretty good shape. And then if it's Minnesota, for example, that you trade with and you're taking Pennix with 11, you got number 23 now too, to take that future offensive tackle or potentially a top level wide receiver to pair him with, to take those deep shots down the field. The Patriots have to be very careful in how they approach this draft. I've been vocal about it. I would probably go with Drake at number three, considering the ceiling that he has and the abilities that you see in the intangibles that he brings to the table. The thing that worries me again with Drake is his ability to handle pressure.

That 19.6% pressure to sack rate bothers me a little bit. Top level quarterbacks hover around the floor on that being at 15. So he's got to be able to handle pressure at the pro level a little bit better. And you look at the competition he's played against with UNC. That's something that also needs to factor in. But bottom line, folks, the Patriots have the decision to make

and it will be Elliott Wolfe. It will not be Tanya. It will not be myself, thank God for that, that's making those decisions. We'll see if the Patriots brain trust can put it together and Tanya to bring it back all full circle. Guess who's going to be on hand on Thursday

to evaluate what the Patriots did with that number three pick. That's right, folks. Bill Belichick is going to evaluate that pick. If you want must-see TV, that's the definition of must-see TV. And I hope he has Nike in his arms when he's doing it. I would love to see that. And I will be, you know, he'll be evaluating the Patriots. I'll be evaluating him, evaluating the Patriots.

It's going to be an evaluation train. We're doing it. It's going to be great. I can't, I truly can't wait. Yeah, it's, it's, it got me so much more, even more excited for the draft. We're all ready for it. Like, I mean, we've all been ready for the draft to happen. But now, I mean, what a treat for Patriots fans.

Got to love it. You can't ask for more, folks. And honestly, today we could not ask for more. My good friend always delivers every single time she joins me here on Locked On Patriots. You're truly one of the greats, my friend, not just personally, but professionally as well. And I thank you for joining me here on Locked On Patriots. You're truly one of the greats, my friend, not just personally, but professionally as well. And I thank you for joining me here on Locked On Patriots. Before I let you go, please let all of our listeners know

where they can reach out to you, interact with you, and some of the great projects that you have coming up from the great pen, the great voice, the great intellect of Tanya Ray Fox. So you can find me on all the social media. We're doing a lot of uh talking about so it'll be nfl draft nba and nhl playoffs like really get into that on instagram

both on my stories and with reels and stuff i do a lot of dm chatting and like group chatting over on instagram so if that's what you want to do with me that's the best place to do it if you want to watch me you know handle the trolls that's a you want to do with me, that's the best place to do it. If you want to watch me, you know, handle the trolls, that's a good place to do. Uh, Twitter's always a great place for that. Or the other word that I won't say that they call it now. Um, I do also like longer breakdown stuff on Tik TOK. The big thing is that I'm going to start doing some more WWE podcasting. I'm going to start incorporating that in. So while we enter into NFL season, we do that on Almost Shameless. We're also going to be doing WWE. I don't know how it's going to work yet. Maybe one episode alternating. I'm not going to necessarily mash them together because I

know not everybody is a fan of both, but we're on the road to SummerSlam here. So we're going to be doing that as well. So keep an eye out for all of that and follow me in all the places and you'll be in the loop. Absolutely. And I'll definitely be tuning into that big Federation Attitude Era fan right here. So yeah, definitely.

And I'm starting to come around on some of the new stuff. I've actually been checking out a little bit about what Cody's been doing up there. And now obviously with Paul running the show, it's going to be interesting to see how things progress now. But definitely check that out. He's been doing up there. And, you know, now, obviously, with Paul running the show, it's going to be interesting to see how things progress now.

But definitely check that out. Folks, I highly recommend any time Tanya puts voice to microphone, face to camera, pen to paper, it's always appointment listening, viewing. You'll be better informed and you'll be entertained. I guarantee it. And it's always my honor to join her on Almost Shameless as well. And I thank you for joining me here today on locked on patriots and pats fans our draft coverage is just amping up special shows

coming at you over the weekend as we march toward the nfl draft on thursday national experts pundits galore you will not want to miss a single second of the action so make sure to smash that subscribe button on youtube download and follow wherever you So make sure to smash that subscribe button on YouTube, download and follow wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you get the latest episode the moment it's available. On behalf of my good friend, Tonya Rae Fox, I'm Mike DeBate, reminding you all to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow

on Locked on Patriots.