Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots Tight Ends: Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Evolution under Josh McDaniels

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

Can the New England Patriots' tight ends redefine their offense in 2025? With Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper leading the charge, the Patriots are poised for a strategic shift under the guidance of new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. This episode unpacks the potential impact of McDaniels' return, exploring how his old-school power football approach could reshape tight end usage. Host Mike D'Abate and guest expert Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper dive into the Patriots' current roster, potential free agent signings, and draft considerations. They discuss key figures like Jaheim Bell and quarterback Drake Maye, highlighting the importance of maintaining continuity with the Henry-Hooper tandem. Will the Patriots prioritize re-signing Hooper to ensure stability for May's development? Tune in for an engaging analysis of the Patriots' tight end strategy and future prospects. #nfl #newenglandpatriots 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 ne ws about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. 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)

When it comes to New England Patriots tight ends, most people will tell you if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That doesn't mean you can't make it better. 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 hopefully your first listen each and every day. My name is Mike DeBay. I cover your New England Patriots.

For Patriots Country, reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to Locked On Patriots social media style, follow our X account as well at LO underscore Patriots. And you can always catch me over where the skies are blue on Blue Sky at MDABATENfl.bsky.social. Pats fans, your New England Patriots did not have a whole lot to smile about in 2024. Another 4-13 finish, outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture,

and ultimately it cost Gerard Mayo his job after only one season at the helm. Mike Vrabel, well, he's the new man in charge, and he's promising to overhaul all of the Patriots' problem areas. Well, one area that he might find some positives, maybe even more positives than negatives, is the tight ends room. That's right, one of the most consistent and productive units in an otherwise dismal offense. So what do the Patriots' tight ends do for an encore in 2025?

Well, we're going to discuss that here today on Locked On Patriots. What made the pairing of Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper work last season? Is Jaheim Bell ready for a second-year climb? We're also going to talk about whether or not the return of Josh McDaniels will have an impact on not only tight end usage, but also personnel in the upcoming season. Last but certainly not least, we're going to gaze into that rebellion crystal ball that

we love to carry around here on Locked On Patriots. And we're going to prognosticate whether the Pats may look to free agency to help bolster this group in support of quarterback Drake May. And to help us do so, a long-time fan favorite is back here on Locked On Patriots. The best tight-ended wisdom and counsel that you'll find anywhere in Patriots media. I'm being honest, folks,

anywhere in the business. The Countess of Class herself, Miss Claire Cooper of PatsPropaganda.com and, of course, the host of her very own podcast, A Claire Perspective. Folks, check that out if you haven't done so. I highly londonpropaganda.com and of course the host of her very own podcast a clear perspective folks check that out if you haven't done so i highly recommend it you'll love it i guarantee it welcome back to london patriots countess oh well thank you very much for having me i mean

you can't really do a tight end episode without me can Mike? I'm sure that there's a contract somewhere, one of those friendship agreement type things, or something very similar. And it has, when it comes to tight endage, it's got my name there. Especially if you're doing a significant episode. Just the mention of, it's fine. But significant episode on tight endage and not bringing me in, that would just be criminal.

Oh, of course. Absolutely criminal. It's an arrestable offense. And bottom line, we are contractually obligated to have Claire on whenever we talk tight endage. It's in her contract, folks. But I think the most important aspect of this to remember, Claire, is that we wouldn't even want to try. We wouldn't even think about doing it. Whether we're contractually obligated or not, you're our tight endage expert.

And I'm thrilled to have you back here on Locked On Patriots. It's been way too long. Love chopping it up with you when it comes to talking Patriots football. And with that said, let's take a closer look at the tight ends group of 2024. Because as I said to open the show today, this is a group that I believe was among the most productive in a Patriots uniform last season. It seemed like whenever Drake may get into trouble, there's Hunter Henry. He's right there, either in the red zone, in the open field, running routes, giving

people direction. It really isn't a surprise that he was the most targeted Patriot last year. You look at Austin Hooper and the job that he did coming in. A lot of people were saying that maybe Austin had lost a step when it came to his ability to make catches in the open field or utilize the open field. He kind of put that to rest last year. I think he did a very good job of developing a rapport and developing a synergy with Drake Mayne. Jaheim Bell didn't see a whole lot of him last year. He was a rookie, a late round draft pick, but from everything that I heard behind closed doors from the coaching staff, that saw Jaheim become a better player each and every practice, each and

every week. But as I like to say, I say it a lot, folks, but this time I actually really mean it. You see things us mere mortals don't see when it comes to tight endage. So if you can enlighten us, Countess, on your opinions on what you saw from the 2024 new england patriots tight ends and what is your optimistic about 2025 yeah well thank you very much you and you hit the narrow on the head as you always do henry and hooper were they were the top off they were top they were mostly the offense for drake may in in the 2024 season, really. With Hunter having 66 receptions, Hooper had 45. Between them, they had five touchdowns.

I mean, I know that those aren't groundbreaking figures, but we weren't looking at a groundbreaking season. You know, that's what we're looking at for the future, that sort of thing. You mentioned Bell. I think he had something in the region of two passes, 20 yards he was much more of a special teams kind of guy which it's going to happen really when you're a seventh round draft pick that's usually where they introduce tight ends into they usually if they're a late round pick that's usually where they start they start special teams and it's really it's pretty significant it's pretty standard so it's just the way that they warm them up to see what they're

going to develop really because it's a significant position I mean I know that being a tight endage enthusiast I'm very biased when it comes to it but you only have to ask sort of the average general fan and they will say that you know the tight end room is significant because they cover so many different things they have to be so versed in so many different parts of the offense that it's a difficult position. It's an intense position. So bringing them up through special teams when when they're a seventh round draft pick, it's just a given really. Anyway, I would like to add there were two names that you missed off the tight end. And that's probably because they didn't actually feature in 2024. So, you know, to be fair. But when we're looking at the 2025 season,

because I know obviously we'll talk about that a little bit more, what we're looking at is Henry Bell, a gentleman by the name of Jack Westover. And I love it because people will be going, who? To be fair, he only hit the Patriots in October of last year and he didn't actually play very much. Again, another special teams guy. He registered no statistics. hit the Patriots in October of last year and he didn't actually play very much again another special teams guy um he registered no statistics and I think he had something along the lines of

26 kicking snaps so he wasn't really out there very much and he's probably not going to be significant in the 2025 either maybe a practice squad guy now somebody that is featuring now when you look at the Patriots who obviously wasn't featured in 2024, is a gentleman by the name of Giovanni Ricci. Now, or Ricci. He came, he's coming out of Carolina mostly. No, he came, no, he did most of his seasons in Carolina. And then he was the Saints, I believe. But he's a tight, he's a tight end with the flexibility to be a fullback. So this is somebody that interests me. So write this name down, folks.

Richie may be somebody interesting to look to, but I'm going to touch more upon that later. But the contract issues that they've got is they've got Henry signed until 26, Hooper is an unrestricted free agent, Bell is signed until 27, and Westover and Richie are also signed for the 2025 season So they've got something there when it comes to tight ends And you know what we've seen of Henry and Hooper in 2024 Should hopefully continue into 2025

If they sign him Churchwood fingers crossed Everybody let's hope this happens in regards to hooper because it was a combination that worked and it was also a combination that worked with drake may and i think that's a very significant thing that we need to think about when we're looking at who we're reassigning by we i mean the coaching staff obviously the main focus in 2025 should be building around who should be our franchise quarterback in Drake May that high round draft pick rookie guy who needs protecting developing and giving weapons

as people like to say and we already know from what we did see on the field what bits we did see was that he made a good um he built a good relationship apologies he built a good relationship with henry and with hooper so it seems a complete no-brainer to keep that going to nurture that relationship that that they've got there you know as i know that we'll talk about mcdaniel's he's a good 12 personnel guy and i want to touch upon mcdaniel's later so i won't go into that anymore but keeping those two Titans together who are a known commodity we've seen what they can do it didn't you know it didn't shake everybody's boots and things like that but it worked and I think the one thing that we need to be aware of is that kind of stability availability dependability it's not exciting it doesn't get everybody all tingly and i fully

appreciate that but when it works and it progresses into a really good offense or strengthen the offense i think it's something that they need to be aware of and hopefully fingers crossed as i said and everything else that you want to do um you know superstitious wise that they realize that they've got that in hooper and they keep the tandem together i think you're absolutely right on that and And really what it comes down to, in my opinion, when you look especially at Henry and Hooper, which all due respect to Jaheim Bell, I think you're going to see a pretty significant improvement from him based on the talent level that we saw when he was at Florida State and the learning that he's capable of. And again, from those that I hear

that have been privy to some of the closed-door practices that us in the media don't get a chance to view on a daily and a weekly basis, this kid is making improvements each and every week, and he's taking coaching very well. And one thing that we know about Josh McDaniels is he loves to coach young players into their potential. I think you're going to really see that pop this year with Jaheim Bell. But coming back to Henry and Hooper, the word that always comes back that I think really solidifies these two together is chemistry.

And it's the chemistry they have with each other on the field. When you run a lot of 12 personnel, you need that chemistry in order to feed off it. When you're talking about playing alongside Drake May and being a solid pass catcher or a solid complimentary piece to what he brings to the table, both of these guys do that. Hunter is an exceptional route runner, someone that can be effective in the red zone and in the open field. Again, Hooper is someone that does have the ability to be in the upper echelon of pass catchers when it comes to the New England Patriots. He's got a very good on-field chemistry with Drake May. Hunter Henry, he's got the on-field chemistry, but he also has the off-field

chemistry with Drake and also everyone else in that locker room. When Hunter once again wore the captaincy or was a designated captain of this team, he once again stepped into the role that we saw him take on so brilliantly in 2023 this is a guy that is well revered by his teammates very much looked upon as a leader in the locker room and on the field not a very vocal leader but someone that provides the type of leadership that you need in order to move forward so i think josh mcdaniels is excited about watching both of these guys and i think he can't wait uh to kind of dig in and maybe get austin back in the uh in the fold i think he's going to sign him very quickly that's

just my opinion folks that's no inside information it's not a report or a prediction just my feeling i think he's going to be looking to maintain that continuity and the best way to do that is have hooper and henry at the top of that tight endage group. And again, it comes down to the chemistry. Like you said, it's not flashy. It's not the type of chemistry that's going to give you stars and sparkles all over the place, but it's the type of chemistry that solidifies a foundation that builds a strong house. And I think that's where this tight endage group is going to be in best position to impact the Patriots in 2025. They're the most stable, and therefore, build on that. It can be a cornerstone for this offense for years to come.

No doubt, no doubt. And folks, we are just kicking off our discussion today on tight endage because I think a lot of people are pleased with the tight endage room. But as I said to open the show today, folks, it doesn't mean you can't make it better. Claire and I are going to discuss how the Patriots might go about making it better and what the presence of one Josh McDaniels may do to those plans. Stick around. We got a lot more tight endage coming at you when this episode of the Locked On Patriots

podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Lockdown listeners, when the game tips off, the NBA action is just getting started, and there's no better place to get in on it than FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. With FanDuel, you can place live bets throughout the game, so even if you miss the opening tip-off or want to bet on a fourth-quarter comeback, you can stay in on the action. And if you're looking for a bigger payout, you can even combine your live bets into a same-game parlay. I love using FanDuel's live betting feature because it keeps every moment of the game exciting. Whether I'm backing my team for a late-game rally or picking a player to hit a clutch three, I never feel like I missed my chance my chance plus the app is easy to use and when you

win you get paid instantly right now new fanduel customers can get 150 in bonus bets if your first five dollar bet wins just visit fanduel.com to join today that's fanduel.com for your shot at $150 in bonus bets. Make every moment more with Fanduel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked on Patriots as we continue the Patriots roster breakdown heading into 2025. Today we are discussing tight endage and if it's a tight end discussion you know the best in the business needs to join us and that's exactly what she's done today. We are honored to welcome the Countess of Clas herself, the lovely Miss Claire Cooper.

Claire in the previous segment we absorbed some of your wisdom and counsel when it came to the 2024 Patriots tight ends and dare I say it sounded like the countess was pleased uh with what she saw from the Patriots in 2024 but this unit will look somewhat different in 2025 whether it's personnel wise or whether it's scheme wise so Austin Hooper is set to become a free agent when league year opens on March 13th. Now, Patriots fans, including myself, hope that cooler heads will prevail before that day and that Austin Hooper will be brought back to the Patriots fold either prior to or just after the start of free agency. But that could be in the market for a new tight end to come in, especially if they think

Jaheim Bell needs a little bit more time to marinate or season, so to speak, in order to get to where he needs to be. I've heard you say several times when we've talked either offline, privately, or on your own podcast, The Claire Perspective, or even on the Pat's Propaganda podcast as well, that this is a sneaky need for the New England Patriots. Based on what you know from the 2024 New England Patriots and based on what you see heading into 2025, how would you say this is a sneaky need? Do you think it makes the Patriots more likely to add some tight endage in the offseason?

I don't know if it's a case of more likely for necessarily. It feels like it's something that we need to ensure we're looking for for the future for the simple reason of i believe it was the 2023 draft was very significant when it came to tight ends you had the likes of laporta and musgrave and took a craft the the names the sort of the list was endless and the patriots whiffed they didn't pick up one and Asi Asi and Keane didn't work out prior to that so they were in a position at that 2023 draft that they didn't have much of a future when it came to tight endage and they kind of whiffed as people like to say and they didn't pick anything else up and what they did seem to invest in was Hunter Henry he seemed to be that you know that one

dependable stable available reliable guy as I mentioned earlier so they only really seemed to have him going forward and it really didn't work out when it came time then they got Gusecki and as much as I love that and was like oh this is amazing i can't wait it's crashing but so that didn't work out very well that's not a relationship that i want to revisit as i probably went to a little bit later when we talk about free agents um but yeah and hooper came in and it did seem to work and as we mentioned in the first segment it worked and there was chemistry and it's good to build around drake may now as you wanted to talk about McDaniel so I'll touch on that he has a history with really good tight ends especially quality combinations and I think Hunter Henry and Austin

Hooper may be able to tick those boxes whilst they aren't the guys that we're initially thinking of when you think of McDaniels and you look at a tight end combo they're good they seem to work together and we've had that so the thing is the guys need to click and yeah they need to be careful who they're bringing in to see if that works because as I mentioned Gusecki they brought in Johnnie Smith when McDaniels was still on was still the OC and and that kind of crashed and he went elsewhere and he you know he did well it's anence that takes some work to get involved in. And the one guy that we know was involved in the McDaniels offence is Hunter Henry, because we're going back to the Mac Jones days, I mean, to be honest with you.

But when Josh was an OC, Hunter Henry had, I think, his best career year with nine touchdowns. That's correct. So, you know, we know that he's going to work the question always is what else is going to work and at the moment we're championing for that you know that austin hooper signing but big butts going on folks even if they do and we do keep those fingers crossed that they do those two guys are 30 years old now i love sitting here like this being this and being oh 30 so old we know it isn't but in respect of a tight end in respect of the nfl player 30 is getting up there um but then obviously but yeah that ends a physical position they have to play a lot of different sort of position positions as you you guys know what i

mean when i say that because they're versatile it's a very versatile movable situation and with blocking as well it's it's a very aggressive position to play so it's easier to be in the to get injured so it's it's hard it's a hard it's a hard sport on bodies anyway but it's not the tight end is one of those positions that's up there that it's it's physical so to have your two guys that are 30 whilst they're really good and they're a great combination and obviously I've seen that they do bring her at hoover back you've got two older guys and that's brilliant for the locker room that is a wonderful stable position to be in but you surely need to look for the future now I know you champion Jaheim Bell in the first segment and whilst I'm not knocking anything in regards to him

we maybe this season is what we'll see for him developing it just doesn't feel I just don't feel it in you know in my gut like that he's really sort of is he that guy is he that tight end three I mentioned Giovanni Ricci he plays a fullback position it's interesting to see if maybe they go down that route with regards to Josh McDaniels because we all know he loves a good fullback so are we not looking at tight ends in the draft because we're looking at um a Ricci situation in regards to a fullback however I still feel personally whilst draft because we're looking at um a reachy situation in regards to a fallback however i still feel personally whilst i know we're not talking draft now we're talking free agency they can't whiff again personally my opinion and i know that there's lots of other needs and

they'll be talked about on this show significantly position positional, that kind of thing. So I won't go into it with regards to O-line and wide receiver. You've got to look for the future. And it is a sneaky need sort of for the future. And I know people will argue, yes, but we need to win now. Yeah, but look what's happened the last few years when we didn't really look to the future, how we've screwed ourselves over. And now we're in a situation where we've got to start again.

And whilst you can't draft, you can't pick up in free agency everything. You can't everything all at once. Nobody's allowed to have everything they want all at once. That's just how life is. That's how it works. That's how it is being a grown up. However, this is a draft class that has got plenty of tight-ended skills. Yes, skill set that is of quality.

Please don't whiff when there's that quality there. This is all that sort of what I'm thinking of. And McDaniels is, you know, to touch on the McDaniels thing, he's an old school powerful guy. We've seen some of what his offense can be and two tight ends fits him beautifully now there's lots of talk of how his offense is going to have changed how he's gone to college so his way maybe of developing the playbook might be not be that serious calculus kind of you know very very difficult thing to pick up anymore but it's still going to have the

essence of josh mcdaniels and it just feels like the essence will be too tight end set. And so you've got to invest in, in the quality you've got to invest in those weapons, as everybody likes to say. And whilst Hooper and Henry aren't sparkly, wonderful weapons, and they're really good guys. And I believe that they've got a lot in them and they've got the chemistry,

as we've mentioned earlier with Drake May, that you've got something there. You've got a good, why, why ruin a good thing that you've got something there you've got a good thing why why ruin a good thing that you've got going why make a hole when you don't need to make a hole so sign Austin Hooper and look in the draft very well said extremely well said and I really love what you brought to the table about the McDaniels effect and how that's going to work when it comes to the New England Patriots personnel.

Look, we know from previous experience, we know how Josh likes to use the tight endage. We know how he likes to use 12 personnel, use a lot of screens. He's going to want to catch the defense off guard. So that's a good way to be able to do it. You know, he's also going to want to use the clear out routes. Now, if he's going to do that, you need to have the personnel to be able to do it. Folks, you need to have the wide receivers that are capable of stretching the field patriots don't have that right now if they don't get it in this off season it wouldn't surprise me to see the patriots jump at the chance to bring back someone like an austin hooper who is capable of using the intermediate areas of the field because if the clear out routes are going to these wide receivers tight ends usually will be used in the short field they'll run the short drags they'll leak out of that type of coverage a

little bit late to see if they can make things happen if you don't have the wide receivers to run this type of personnel then you're going to need the tight ends to get out in the open field so that's where hooper and henry can really go to work for you if they do have the wide receivers this year, yeah, you're absolutely right. That McDaniels effect could end up meaning new personnel coming into New England. And if that is new personnel coming into New England, it's a deep draft class. I know you're going to have your eyes glued next week to Indianapolis and the scouting combine. We're going to have you back here, by the way, to discuss draft tight endage. She doesn't have a choice in the matter, folks. She does, but she really doesn't. It would be thrilled for you to lend your wisdom

and counsel here to Lockdown. Just one, that's all we get. Just one. All right, we'll take it. We'll take you however we can get you, Countess. But bottom line, I think what we need to do is have you come back in and enlighten us on your draft wisdom in council when it comes to this 2025 tight endage class but free agency is also an opportunity to upgrade this team and i think that's something where you're going to see the patriots be active or at least be aware of what's going on out there because there are players to be had and folks who might the patriots be looking to target well nobody really knows with the exception of my guest here because she has something we like to call

clairvoyance that's right folks we're going to look into the rebellion crystal ball and claire is going to prognosticate which free agents might be good fits here in new england all this and more when this episode of the locked on On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots as we enlighten you with all things New England Patriots tight endage. And bottom line, folks, if you're here for tight endage discussion, you are here for the wisdom, the counsel, the wit, and the charm of my guest today, the illustrious Claire,

Klaze Claire Cooper, host of A Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast, and also the driving force behind patspropaganda.com. Anytime she puts pen to paper, voice to microphone, appointment listening, appointment viewing, you're going to want to check it out. And we're thrilled to have her back here on Locked On Patriots, a longtime friend of the program, a longtime member of the Locked On Patriots familia.

And we wouldn't be where we are here today without you, Claire, and I mean that. When we take a look at this New England Patriots team and we take a look at the tight England Patriots team and we take a look at the tight endage group, I think we're all in consensus that this was one of the better groups for New England last year. So a lot of people tell you, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But as I said to open the show today, that doesn't mean we can't make it better. And this is where you come in, because once again, you've got a great eye for talent when it comes to this position.

And I think you're going to be the perfect person to ask whether or not this New England Patriots team might be smart to at least entertain the idea of bringing in a free agent or potentially maybe even a trade. I don't want to get too far ahead, but when you look at the free agent lists, I know that this is not a free agent class of tight ends that's going to overwhelm anyone. But there is a good degree of talent available if the Patriots are willing to pay the right price. So, Countess, I give the floor to you now. If you're the New England Patriots front office, you're Mike Vrabel, you're Ryan Cowden, you're Elliot Wolfe, or whoever's making decisions up at one Patriots place right now.

You're looking at this list of tight endage, and you essentially want to go ahead and open up that checkbook which potential free agents are catching your eye and why see i think you're going to be a little bit cross with me because my fundamental answer to this question isn't going to be what you like but i'm going to answer it towards the end so let's first look who is the top tight-ended free agents and those are juwan johnson of the new morning saints mike giziki of the bengals tyler conklin of the jets and zack of the commanders now that's only the top four there are others obviously but we didn't want to sit here and just give you a list of names folks because it's basically a situation that i don't really feel is an avenue that they're going to go down now firstly let me just preface by as much as i did adore mike gusecki i'm not strong enough to deal with that relationship again so he isn't coming

to new england i just obviously but it he was one of the he was one of the players that we know we saw didn't work under the offense and i can't really see them looking at dipping into that situation twice in all fairness as good as a year as he has actually had with the bengals which was heartbreaking for me just heartbreaking but we'll move on from that because we'll spend a lot of time now conklin hasn't been bad on the jet so you know i've got to give him credit he's got um he's got really short hands and he's been a good chip help in the past protection but i don't believe when you're looking at this list you're looking at anyone and this is the top four this was the pff ranked top four so the you know the most top four how else do I say it Zachert's been the fourth one

at the commanders now he had a really good season in 2024 with Daniel so personally whilst he's aging and I hate when I say that this guy's going on for 34 and as we already touched on whilst I hate saying about ages being old you're looking at a guy who was he's not going to get a top contract whilst he's coming off a really good year're looking at a guy who's not going to get a top contract. Whilst he's coming off a really good year, he's at an age where he's not going to get the significant money. And I do really personally, whilst obviously I'm not a Washington fan, believe that they would do well to re-sign him, do some kind of extension because it's a really good...

As we've talked about with Hunter Henry, it's really good to have that stable veteran presence when it comes to a tight end who's got a really good chemistry. i really feel like whilst urtsy's on people's lists it's one of those ones that i don't believe will go out there and i believe that the commanders will do something sensible and keep him in house and i don't believe that there's really many teams out there that are going to throw the bag at a 34 year old tight end particularly as we've touched upon when this year's draft class is quite significant when it comes to tight-ended skill sets so personally looking at this list nothing against any of these whatsoever and whilst i do still harbor some unresolved issues with the mic is

thinking situation i just in a little frequent there kind of i know the four that they've got i don't believe it's worth anything for trading in what would be what you gave austin hooper for any of those four guys for me if you're looking at a free agency list for the patriots when it comes to tight endage your number one should be austin hooper i don't think that they should they should move on from him they need that number two guy or that second tight end however you want to preface him he's a veteran who is a known commodity in your system and I don't think he's going to demand significant money to stay he's got a good relationship with Hunter Henry so we see him you know we're looking from the outside in I fully appreciate that and he seems to be doing well

again with Drake May and I think May is the kind of player that players are excited to play with I'm sure it's been said on social media occasionally by some of the players I'm sure I've heard of it trouble is I can't think of names right now so really they're in a situation where why wouldn't he sign he isn't going to get the bag anywhere else again we talked about his age 30 and he didn't put up significant stats because you know the offense wasn't there to do it i don't really think he when he hits the open market as much respect for him he's going to be seriously in demand so for me it feels like free agency list tight ends number one austin hooper and then you don't you don't have to worry about it if you bring him if you bring him back with him to henry

i think you've got as we've already discussed and not to repeat myself we've got a good tandem then it's just the topic that we'll discuss in a day it's then just look at adding what you want for the future in regards to depth in regards to young guys but i think believe that if they move away from austin hooper when it comes to in free agency it it seemed a no-brainer and it still seems a no-brainer and I will be on my soapbox for a while on this one um got off the Izzo one for a bit and I'll get on the Hooper one and say he needs to be the one that they signed so when it comes to free agency I'm not interested in the other guys I'm sorry I only have eyes for Hooper see folks sometimes the clairvoyance gives you exactly the reasonable wisdom and counsel you need to help move forward.

Total agreement with you on Austin Hooper. I think he is absolutely the guy that the Patriots need to not only consider, but I wide receiver that's going to come in here this season and it's going to be able to take the top off of the defense and allow the tight ends to play more shallow what i believe is going to be the case is i think you're going to see a lot more of the tight ends utilizing all areas of the field being a total package pass catcher and i think austin hooper is among the best maybe even one of the best playmakers available uh on this list right now of potential free agents now will the patriots maybe kick the tires on bringing in a full-time blocker or an adept blocker you can make the argument i think it's really going to depend on what they see in jaheim bell you made an excellent point in the

previous segment about bell being someone who could find himself in josh mcdaniel's good graces but just as easily josh may look to move on because it wasn't his draft pick this was a draft pick that was made with the alex van pelt offense in mind so if that's the case do they bring in a designated blocker i know there are a couple of guys out there on the market that would uh fit that regard. Our good mutual friend Thomas Murphy joined me here yesterday, talked about Tommy Trumbull out of the Carolina Panthers. This guy is a dedicated blocker. He's someone that could give you an occasional pass catch.

He could be used as a decoy at times. But he will come in and he'll help to solidify, especially if the Patriots find that they're lacking those types of players on the offensive line somebody who knows this area very well someone who i'd love to see come back to new england i don't know if this is going to be a possibility because i haven't spoken to his camp but he is a free agent and that's farrow brown farrow had i think a very good year a couple of years ago in new england First of all, I would love to bring back my so let it be written, so let it be done catchphrase. What's so funny about that? You're laughing at my catchphrase? This is unbelievable, folks. Look at the disrespect.

Unbelievable. No, I'm kidding. I'm all kidding aside. Yes, you and most of Patriots Nation will do a good job of laughing at my catchphrases. I deserve every bit of it. But bottom line, that's not to say that Farrow doesn't have some good contributions to me. This kid is a very good blocker. And again, he's someone that can get you an explosive play down the field.

We saw him make the Jets look foolish a couple of times. Of course, Claire and I both know you don't need a whole lot of help to make the Jets look foolish, but he did do so on a couple of occasions. So you kind of bring Farrow back in and makes it a little bit easier. But these are the types of guys I can see them maybe targeting. But again, if Austin Hooper is not circled as the number one option on this list, yeah, I think something's wrong here. And I'm going on strike.

And Claire is going on strike. I'm going on strike. We cannot have that, folks. They don't tell him I'm going on strike. And Claire is going on strike. I'm going on strike. We cannot have that, folks. They don't tell anyone I'm going on strike. I don't know how or in what form, but I am. So you know what? Let's get on the horn, folks. Contact the powers that be up at One Patriot's Place and tell them,

sign Austin Hooper because Claire Cooper cannot go on strike. You want Cooper, you've got to sign Hooper. I like that. Good t-shirts. This sounds like a t-shirt avenue to me. If you want Cooper, you gotta sign Hooper. I like that. I think we're, yeah, definitely.

Coin the phrase. Let's get the t-shirt mongers ready to print them up. Let's go. Let's go. Claire, what can I say? Slack on Patriots is a brighter place when you join us here on the airwaves. I kid you not. I say that honestly and from the heart.

Thank you for all of the contributions and the support that you provide to this podcast each and every day. Folks, if you're not following Claire Cooper at Klazzy Claire on Twitter, or if you're not subscribed to the Pats Propaganda Feed, or you're not subscribed to a Claire Perspect perspective of Patriots podcast, you're missing one of the true gems in Patriots nation. And it comes to the coverage that she's able to provide. Of course, the Pat's propaganda, great show alongside her great assistant Chutters, another great friend of the program. And of course, Claire flies it solo when it comes to a Claire perspective and some of the greatest minds in Patriots media join her regularly on that podcast.

Have to check these out, folks. I kid you not. You're going to love it. You're going to be informed, entertained. Before I let you go today, please let everyone know what they can expect coming down the pike in terms of coverage from you as we head into draft season. It's going to really start kicking off here in Ernst, as well as free agency, and as well as all that the Patriots have to do in this offseason and any

more parting words of wisdom you may have when it comes to tight endage well I'll just quickly say thank you ever so much and thank you for having me back it's always good fun to be on Locked On thank you for having me on the tight endage I would be very sad if you didn't have me on the tight end special but as for myself

as Mike alluded to patspropaganda.com is the website it's a blog site that I write for it is also the blog site that you will find Pats Procrastination the YouTube show with myself and my co-host Chudders and we are coming to you every two weeks at the moment as it's the off season so as content runs up then we go back but we are generally an a weekly on season fortnightly off season kind of show so you can subscribe to the Pats Propaganda YouTube channel to never miss an episode. And then, yes, there is a Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast, which is on most of those places that you get your podcasts, Spotify and Apple and Podbean and all that kind of jam.

And this weekend, I will be celebrating four years of my said podcast. So there will be an anniversary episode soon not the weekend necessarily I'm trying to piece it all together so apologies but it will be in celebration of being able to do this and being blessed to do this for four years and one of the reasons I've been able to do this is the guy that is next to me on this is the host of this show if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have been able to start so I do have to shout out a big thanks to him for doing that. But yeah, basically off season stuff, always there. So keep an eye on all the feeds and the socials and all the things that you get your content from basically. Well, first of all, thank you for the kind words. Your show is an amazing show. One of my favorite listens,

and I'm just proud to be a very small part of that. I do disagree with you on one thing. Regardless of my involvement, your show would definitely still be at the top of my list regardless of what. So, folks, definitely check out A Clear Perspective whenever you have the opportunity to do so. But you always bring the wisdom and counsel on tight endage the way no one else can. You say you appreciate us bringing you in. How could we even think about having a tight ended show without having you on Locked On Patriots to do so?

Folks, it would be incredulous. And that's not something we are here on Locked On Patriots. We're a lot of other things, but incredulous is not one of them. So bottom line, we appreciate each and every one of you, all of you who take time out of your busy schedules to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. On behalf of the Empress of Tight Endage,

the Baroness of Blockers, the Countess of Clas herself, my good friend Claire Classey, Claire Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate, reminding all of you to stay safe, to stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone,

and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.