Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots to Host Cody Mauch; Emmanuel Forbes and More: Mock Draft Monday

Episode Date: April 4, 2023

The New England Patriots are hosting several exciting prospects on Top-30 visits in anticipation of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Pats have a need at offensive tackle and North Dakota State lineman Cody Mauch may be exactly what the team needs. Host Mike D’Abate provides his thoughts on Mauch’s potential fit in New England before welcoming Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy of E2G Sports to grade a pair of listener-submitted mock drafts featuring cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, wide receiver Zay Flowers and more.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

North Dakota State's offensive lineman Cody Mock is coming to town for a visit, and he might just be exactly what the New England Patriots need in this upcoming draft. 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 Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Please subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available.

I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So please follow me. Let me know what's on your mind on Twitter at MDABATENFL. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, I welcome you all back to the pod. I hope you had a great weekend and excited. Today is Mock Draft monday and that means a bit

from our good friend the monster master of disaster thomas murphy of e2g sports.com is going to join me here in just a moment we're going to break down your mock drafts and today we have a prolific pair in store for you some great prospects to discuss so stick around trust me folks you are not going to want to miss these mocks and as the start of that 2023 nfl draft draws closer we're less than a month away now folks the patriots are hosting some exciting prospects of their own on pre-draft visits now over the weekend it was reported that the patriots would be meeting with tcu's clinton johnston and of course usc's jordan addison explosive playmakers and the Pats crosshairs. You'll love to see it.

They're paying attention to the wide receiver position. But several of you have pointed this out in the YouTube comments. I've been saying it quite a bit. We know Murph has been banging this drum for quite a long time. It's not going to make any difference who's there to catch Mac Jones's passes if he's not going to make any difference who's there to catch Mac Jones' passes if he's not properly protected. And thankfully, the Patriots are keeping their options open there as well. Now, one of the names on their list of pre-draft visits is North Dakota State's Cody Mock.

Now, I love this for the New England Patriots, and I'm going to give you my reasons as to why. I think Mock is one of the top offensive linemen in this year's class. He's not getting a lot of first round buzz right now, but what he does very, very well is combine size with physicality and very impressive movement in short area situations, which means that either as a tackle or as a guard, he can be someone that can have an impact on an offensive line in the NFL right away. Size definitely has it. 6'5", 302 pounds. This is not a guy that moves easily. He definitely holds up well against defenders

and plays with a little bit of aggression, a little anger in his game, and I like that, and I think that New England Patriots fans would absolutely love that about Cody Mock. One of the things that is a little bit of a concern with him is his length and i want to give a tip of the cap to my good friend bern bookmaster of pats pulpit for pointing this out arm length and wingspan both ranking in the five percentile for offensive tackles that's not necessarily something that endears him to analysts or pundits that want to take a look at him as a potential nfl tackle a lot of people think that might prompt teams to move him inside the guard him to analysts or pundits that want to take a look at him as a potential NFL tackle.

A lot of people think that might prompt teams to move him inside the guard. That would essentially take the Patriots out of the running because if you're going to absorb pretty substantial draft capital to bring someone like Cody Mock in, it would probably be to start or at least compete for a starting position right out of the gate. Patriots very well set at both positions. Cole Strange, Michael Luenum, these guys definitely are solidified in their position. But at the same time, I don't think the Patriots would invest day two draft capital in someone that they didn't plan to utilize right off the bat.

And that's why I believe he can come in and be a tackle. I like the fact that he's not someone that is going to yield to a defender that is such an important part of the way the New England Patriots want to protect Mac Jones they need someone that's going to be durable they need someone that's going to stand up and they also need someone that's going to be aggressive at the point of attack we talked a lot last year about Isaiah Wynn kind of losing that strike first mentality. Cody Mock has it. I think he'd make a great addition to the New England Patriots offensive line. So I could absolutely see the Pats doing this on a second

round flyer. Definitely keep your eye on him on day two. Keep your sharp eye on him, I should say, folks. And I think Cody Mock could end up being a really, really strong addition to the New England Patriots if selected. But again, it's high-level draft capital, and the Patriots have a lot of needs. The cornerback position is big. The wide receiver position is big. The Patriots are going to continue to do their due diligence in the draft. They might actually be dipping their toes back into the DeAndre Hopkins pool,

which, again, I think pulls in a little bit of their willingness to maybe double dip an offensive tackle if they decide to go the veteran route for a wide receiver. This, according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, who recently made an appearance on Greg Bedard's Patriots podcast, saying that some teams, and I'm quoting Albert directly, some teams may believe that DeAndre Hopkins may actually be released by the Arizona Cardinals. If that happens, he listed the Patriots as being in prime position as one of the teams that will pounce on that if that indeed occurs. Keep a sharp eye on that, folks.

We'll be covering that rumor in greater detail than in greater depth here tomorrow. So be on the lookout for that episode's drop in the not-so-distant future. But for now, folks, keep it right here, because the Count of Murphy Fisto is going to join me in just a moment to grade your mock drafts. That all happens when this Mock Draft Monday episode becomes hashtag a Lockdown Murph Monday in just a moment. But first, folks, today's episode brought to you by Ultimate Football GM. And you've heard me talk about this mobile game app. It is a lot of fun to play. My colleagues at the Lockdown Podcast Network competed in a league.

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Start your dynasty. Patriots fans, once again, thank you for joining us here on Mock Draft Monday and hashtag Locked on Murph Monday right here on Locked on Patriots, a proud part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. And, folks, your team, your New England Patriots, are getting closer to the 2023 NFL Draft.

We already opened up today by talking about top 30 visits, what they mean for the New England Patriots, but now it's time to sink our teeth into some of the mock drafts that are submitted by you, the great listeners here of Locked On Patriots. And we've got a couple that are very intriguing and kind of interesting. And in a way, it kind of fits with our guest each and every Monday here. He's intriguing and very interesting as well. The Green King of Sting himself, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com.

Murph, it's always my honor, always my pleasure to join you here on Mock Draft Monday. And we've got a couple of very interesting mock drafts to break down for you, my friend. It's always, always a lot of fun. So we're going to dive right into it. And that is the musings of a good friend here on the pod uh jason sullivan at sully 6827 sully's back in action been a little absent for the last couple weeks but we always love him he's always always working the lines behind the scenes trying to look for the best possible fits for the new england patriots and murphy when i are going to judge in a moment here

if he's actually done that so let's start right in bit of a different look here so we're using the draft networks new draft simulator re-invited by the way and we start obviously with a couple of good selections here selections we've talked about a lot Murph here on Locked On Patriots I don't think we can say any more that's been said about Jackson Smith I know the Patriots have added Juju Smith. I know they've added Mike Gusecki as a red zone target. Jackson is the type of receiver that can be both, but there's still a lot to like here. If the Patriots, they're maybe bargaining more

from a position of strength now than they were maybe a few weeks ago before free agency, but I still can't argue with making this pick at number 14 if he's available there i just that's how much i like this kid yeah the the kid is just imagine is is just amazing that the the talent that he possesses is is um i don't want to say generational okay but it's definitely if you consider a generation um maybe four years of college, okay, then maybe that. But this kid is definitely my number one wide receiver on the board this year.

He's somebody that I would definitely go after, especially since the fact that the Pats have brought in Juju. Right. Okay. It takes the pressure off this kid. Okay. It takes the pressure off this kid. Okay. It takes the pressure off Juju, who has, who has a lot of history of,

of, of knee issues over the past few years that we brought up here. But you can't, you can't go wrong with J JSN right here. You really can't. It's a, it's a no brainer pick, which probably means that Bill will not make it.

Yeah. It's good. Whenever you think he's going to zig, he's going to zag. And that's pretty much what Bill Belichick has been throughout his entire career, really throughout his entire draft history. Our good friend Alex Barth put it to me right on these airwaves a couple of years ago about Bill Belichick. He is predictably unpredictable. And I think that's really, I think that is a, you know, that is a very, very good area

to go into. Yeah, Bill could definitely go Dante Banks in the first round at 14. A lot of people are starting to take a stronger look at Deontay Banks. And I'm glad that you mentioned that because we have mentioned him here on the pod in previous segments. But Deontay is someone that's kind him here on the pod in previous segments. But Deontay is someone that's kind of rising up the ranks a little bit. Very strong showing at the Combine, showing a lot of athleticism.

This kid can break up a pass. He can get in. He's got the ability to be a big physical corner. And again, we've talked about that. That's one thing that you can look at this cornerback group and say that the Patriots are lacking. My question here is, do the Patriots get a chance to take him at 47? I think there's a little bit. I don't know. Yeah, I think he's off the board at this point. Yeah, I really do. You know, the algorithms are really messed up

right now as to, you know, one site to another, when somebody is going to be available and when he's not. I don't think Deontay gets out of the first round right now or at least 10 picks into the second round. I would not mind Deontay Banks in the first round, probably not at 14, even though some people are taking him earlier. This is a guy that can cover on all levels of the field. He's a physical freak. He really showed out at the combine, and that's why he's rising up these boards the way he is as opposed to what we saw earlier.

But if he's there at 47 after some of the nice trades that our man sully made here um if he's there at 47 i'm grabbing him yeah i think at that point you really cannot lay off him if he's sitting there in this part of the draft you definitely have to go after him because he can play impress he can play in odd coverages and the one thing that i really like the the more I watch Deontay Banks, someone that I didn't scout early on in this draft process, but seeing him pop up on a lot of the draft boards and mock drafts throughout the league, I looked at him closer and the transitions that he makes into not only meeting his receiver,

but also his ability to stick with it and mirror his receiver really really impressive so uh good stuff i like deontay banks two home runs right off the bat as far as i'm concerned two great players the question is availability but only a little height he's yeah he's at least almost as tall as my son absolutely folks definitely you can't go wrong there so um suully was not done. Again, these drafts are kind of coming to us in bits and pieces, but Sully sent us the full product, and we're going to show that to you. At 77 here, again, through some savvy trades, I will say that.

He's got Trenton Simpson out of Clemson as a linebacker. Murph, you and I have talked about this. Simpson is definitely going to help a linebacking court in the NFL, but he's very zone-specific. And if the Patriots are serious about mixing their coverages the way they usually like to do it, I'm not sure this is the fit for New England. Again, I think he's going to be a good pro,

but I just don't see the fit here with the way the Patriots play. He's a tweener that's the wrong tween. That's the way I'm seeing him. I don't love Trenton Simpson as much as other people do. I'm definitely not taking him at 77. I know that I've beat the drum that the linebacking room is suspect, to put it bluntly. But I would still go free agency before I went anything before the fourth round in this draft. It is just so thin at linebacker. It's unreal. In my lifetime,

in my extent, you look at all this gray hair. I have never seen a draft class at linebacker that is this weak. It really isn't. There will not be a linebacker taken in the first round of this NFL draft and maybe the first 55 picks. Yeah, I mean, you're seeing linebackers fall throughout the draft hierarchy, especially as we get closer and closer to the draft, that may end up coming to fruition. I mean, there are some, you know, talented players that are going to make an impact. And again, I think that, you know, I think Simpson had an opportunity to come in and be an effective weapon for the right team.

But you saw a reduction in his impact last year when he moved to a more traditional stack role. I think it really lessened what he's able to do and to me that's if you're going to come in here and be a linebacker especially you know that type of linebacker that the patriots are going to want that type of multiple front that zone pressure scheme you know the nickel type player that i think the patriots are looking for if you're going to come in here and do that, you mentioned it last week, you have to be able to set an edge. And I think that's a weak part in his game right now.

Again, training can change that. But I don't think the Patriots are going to be in the mode of trying to gloom another player in that regard. I don't think he's a top 100 pick. I really don't. I mean, bravo, Sully. He was there and you took him. You saw a hole to fill,

and you did. I like what you did at 108 a lot better. Yeah, I mean, Shoemaker, if you want to talk about a blocking tight end, a sizable blocking tight end that I know Claire and I have talked about several times here on these airwaves right here on Locked On Patriots.

Shoemaker, definitely. Absolutely, folks. Never miss that. You're not going to want to miss this one. We're going to talk a little tight-ended, but it's going to be a lot more. So definitely check out our show on Wednesday. But thank you for checking us out today. We do appreciate that.

And Shoemaker, yeah, definitely fills a need, especially with guys like Gusecki and Hunter Henry, who aren't the best blockers in the world. Hunter Henry a little bit more adept to being able to block. Yeah, that's not what they brought him in here for, folks. That is not what they signed up for. But Shoemaker can do it, and he can do it at a high level. If he's here late day two, early day three,

you've got to pull the trigger on this one. Love a guy. Love a Michigan guy. Can come in here. They know how to play in the elements they know how to play in cold doesn't bother them at all uh shoemaker's good schumacher is going to be out there in warm-ups without a shirt on looking like a you know just a freak you know who does that but he's going to do it and it's a great pick yeah it is really is a great pick sully's always not done yet, folks. We move along to now the Patriots picking at 118 and 136. Murph, you and I were talking about this a little bit earlier.

We've been talking about it offline for quite a while now. Andre Carter, the second coming in, an edge rusher from Army, other than the fact that Bill Belichick may have to swallow his pride a little bit and pick one from the army as opposed to going with a navy guy uh this one is yeah this one at 118 not happening yeah you're not going to be there uh I wish he was but there's no way in fresh hell that that this is going to happen Andre Carter is going to be long gone at 118 if he's there at 118 and Bill Belichick doesn't take him, I am a vermicious knid.

Okay, that's it. This is a fantastic pick. If Andre Carter falls outside the top 100, I'll be shocked. I really will. Give me all the ham, though. If he's there, give me all the ham. Oh, yeah, absolutely. If he's still on the very

good friend of our shows um you know would love this and uh but yeah bill bill would have to swallow a little bit being a navy guy going with the army dude absolutely and speaking of army dudes and great army dudes uh keep a sharp eye out folks our voice of reason uh maybe back on the airwaves here pretty shortly we're trying to work something out and definitely we welcome steve back with open arms can't wait to talk football with him once again but um i agree with you i mean if there is a situation where the patriots can make this happen with andre carter you definitely do i think this is a great move for them the edge help that they need he's the type of player that can come in and do it great stuff for sully so i think a redemption here on this placard without any question about it.

But again, Sully is not done. He's got a trio here that really, I think, are starting to make some waves here in draft predictions. Jonathan Mingo coming in. We mentioned him in the earlier segment. Patriots looking at him with a visit in town to try to see what his services can bring. Murph, an interesting prospect, wide receiver. Probably middle round. I think this is right about the area where he could be,

but he's getting a lot of light on him. I think 186 might be a little bit aggressive. I think he may be off the board by this point. Yeah, I do too. I like Mingo, but not a ton. He's 6'1", 220. He's almost like a running back out there. And that's not something that you're seeing in this class.

His route running has gotten better every single year. And I like that. But again, there's just been so much scuttlebutt going on right now uh I'm not sure that he's going to be there at at 186 you know at at 156 I I think you you've got a shot at it I I just don't think he's going to be there at 186 yeah and again you know I think it's uh it's always interesting to think about what the team is going to do and how they're going to address needs. Murph, Sully waited until number 189 to address the white elephant in the room, and that is offensive tackle.

I think the Patriots dip into that well a lot sooner than we've seen it here. But if they can come away with Jackson Kirkland, he is really one of my sleeper underrated picks here in this draft. I think this kid is going to make a solid pro, a versatile solid pro that can play either guard or tackle. He's done them both. And with the right type of training in the right environment, I think this kid's going to be a solid offensive lineman in this league for many years to come.

Yeah, there's no quit in Jackson Kirkland whatsoever, which is, is really refreshing considering some of the guys that we've had on the right side last year, but you're right. They've got them listed as an offensive tackle. He can play. I think he could play the right side at both positions at the next level. And we all know how much Bill loves that and grabbing him here at one 89 after completely ignoring large round people and toll here uh that's a great pick so yeah good job and Sully is ready to finish up the night here with a couple of uh interesting picks guys that um I think could be sleepers in the later part

maybe I guess we're past sleepers at this point I think this would probably be diamonds in the later part. Maybe, I guess we're past sleepers at this point. I think this would probably be diamonds in the rough where you can really consider Jair Brown, a safety out of Penn State at 212 and then 247. Bring up the caboose. Connor Galvin at offensive tackle with Baylor. Yeah, Sully may have waited a while, but he got a couple of pretty good value tackles here in the later part of this draft.

Calvin's another player that I think can really, really come around soon. Connor Galvin, I think would be a fantastic stash on the, on the practice squad. And when you're in round seven, that's what you're really looking to looking for. He's somebody that,

that we, the, the Patriots offensive line coaches can work with, can build up a little bit. I like his footwork. I just think that he needs a bit more time and a bit more seasoning. Good pick there. And thank you for Jair Brown.

Do you know what this name does to me, being dyslexic, people? You have no idea. You really don't. All you have to do is throw in that little comma there, and it completely screws me up forever. This is a nice pick here. Where's he at? 2-12.

You can't go wrong. And I think he would come in here. Another guy that you could stash on the practice squad, which is really what you're looking for right here at this point in the draft. It's a good draft, Sol. It's a good draft. Yeah, solid from top to bottom, Sol. Yeah, you can't cut it up too much.

I would have gone large round people a lot earlier than you did, but I can't argue with the talent that you brought in at the top of this draft. This is a solid B draft. And believe me, Sully sent this sucker in bits and pieces. And at first I was asking, what the hell is he doing? Did he trade out of everything and go go get you know number one picks in 2027 what's going on and i was at a c right now he's at a solid b yeah i would agree with you here and i think that's a good point the only reason why i don't go the full b plus i'll

give it a b plus rising but not the full b plus is because i think the patriots will look into offensive tackle a lot earlier uh than the middle part of this draft. But other than that, again, I like the Banks pick. Jackson Smith to Jigba is, again, one of my draft rushes. He will remain as such, and I like him at number 14, and I think you've done a great job of bringing in value to that offensive tackle position, even if you didn't address it that early. So, Sully, tip of the cap, my friend.

Thank you very much for sending him in. Keep sending him in, because there's still a month month away there's still plenty of time here on mock draft monday to get your drafts notice and murph in just a moment we're going to be welcoming in a first-time submitter here long time um uh supporter of the show but a definite interesting draft and someone at the top that murph may not be as high on as a lot of the other draft analysts out there, including yours truly. Murph and I are going to get into that in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, the legendary count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the great Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com, joining us here on the Locked On Patriots podcast,

a proud part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And, folks, we are discussing your team and your mock drafts here on hashtag LockedOnMurphMonday and, of course, hashtag MockDraftMonday. And, Murph, in the previous segment, Jason Sullivan, our good friend, definitely took an interesting approach in sending these in. We've got a little bit more of a traditional look for you here today from a longtime supporter of Locked On Patriots, first-time submitter. And I liked this one.

I definitely wanted to showcase this. It's Twitter, NFLWannabeInsider. Well, maybe he can be a little bit more than a wannabe. He can be found at NFL the underscore insider. That's NFL the underscore insider on Twitter. And right off the bat, folks, a popular selection lately, especially with everything that we've been hearing. Boston College, Zay Flowers, hometown guy staying in New England, but

if you notice, it's the number 29 pick that is bringing him back because the Patriots are sending number 14 over to the New Orleans Saints. The Saints send back a pretty good trio of consolation prizes for the Patriots. Number 29, number 40, and

of course, number 115. So the Patriots getting a little bit of a haul back if the saints agree to this trade i'll send ross jackson hose of locked on saints a nice big fruit basket because it'll be a gift for the new england patriots i like what they've done there i like this trade um murph zay flowers is a popular selection for a lot of reasons incredible ability to get uh separation ability to play over the top plays a lot bigger than his stature is i know that's deterring some people from looking at this but the more you look at zay the more you say okay this could be a really good fit here in new england even with

juju smith schuster on this roster but i know you've had kind of been on the fence a little bit about this one um talk to us a little bit about your feelings on, say, Flowers, because I've talked ad nauseum about my fit or my feelings on this fit for this kid in New England. I mean, what conference is he playing? All right. It's not 1987 anymore, boys and girls. It's not even, you know, 2007 anymore. I worry a little bit about the competition that he faced. It's just, yeah, I think too many people see homegrown BC guy.

Think about a couple of guys on the other side of the ball that they missed on in the past few years that have been wearing Buffalo jerseys. But it's, it just doesn't do it for me. You know, I watch tape on him and, and I think he's fine. And then I look at the people that are covering him. Yes. I,

I, I know, I understand that it's important to you people to keep the Boston guys. Oh, he's not really from here. You know? No, he's not. I really think that that's blinded a lot of people.

And I'm not knocking the guy. There's just wide outs in this draft that I would rather have. And if the Patriots are going to trade back here, I would like to see them double dip at the tackle position. It's a fantastic trade, dude. It really is. It's a great trade. But this is something where they could really shore up the offensive line on both ends.

And I know Bill's done a lot this year in bringing in some solid backup guys. But we need to start thinking about protecting Mack in the long term. And at 29, I'm going offensive tackle twice. I'm not doing Zay Flowers at 29. I'm really not. And if I'm taking a wide receiver in the first round i'm sticking at 14 and i'm grabbing um the aforementioned jackson smith yeah and i understand a lot of what you're saying and i i really and honestly if logic is taking over in my brain then that's exactly what

i'm going to do and i would rather the patriots double dip at tackle because it is a situation where there is a deep class early on I know it's not the sexy pick I know it's not going to put you know butts in the seats I know it's also not going to uh you know illuminate fantasy teams and things like that I know those things are concerns of a lot of right and rightfully so but at the same time if you're not going to get Mac Jones protection it's not going to matter who's catching his passes. And I'll be the first to admit, Almea Culpa, I fall victim to it an awful lot in looking at the electric nature of the way these guys play. Their pro day, you know, especially with Zay Flowers, his pro day performance really opened a lot of eyes.

It really shined a lot of light on him. I mean, I had to take a step back. I really did. I watched what he did, but then again, you know, you're playing against air. You're playing against air. I understand. People, everybody in this world, in this Locked On

Patriots world, knows my affinity for Yak, and this kid is a great Yak guy. I just don't know. I mean, we fell into a trap a few years ago within keel harry loving what he did on tape after draft night when we went back and we watched it and then we looked at the count you know we saw the competition that he played against and what a difference it made compared to coming to the nfl all right i just i just don't. I just don't because the ACC just isn't what it used to be.

It's just not. It's true. And as we all reach for the end, that's now because Murph has invoked the name of Nikhil Harry, folks. We're going to move on right now. We're going to move on to the area where the insider did address the Patriots' need at tackle, and he did it in a big way.

He did it with a trade, gets the number 33 pick in the second round, trading with the Houston Texans, sending the newly acquired number 40 and, of course, number 187 over to the Houston Texans for number 33. Nice little haul here, getting DeJuan Jones. This is a pick that I feel a lot of Patriots fans. I'd love to see size wingspan ability. Yeah. All day. All day long. Talk about all the ham.

Yep. There you go. Delon Jones. Just love it. Just love it. Absolutely. Absolutely. And then moving on to the number 46,

which is currently where the Patriots are slated. A guy that's kind of skyrocketing up a lot of boards that I've seen. Patriots are going to be having him in here for a visit. Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, interception machine this kid Murph. Tell me a little bit about your thoughts on Emmanuel Forbes. The more I'm seeing from him, the more I like him. Yeah, I mean, it's the wrong Bulldogs, but you know, he's still a Bulldog, okay? Forbes has been starting since his freshman year. Every single year he's taken a jump, and probably those jumps have been two-step jumps.

A little skinny, you know, a little bit of Slim Reaper-ish type individual, but he doesn't play that way. And I really like his, uh, his, um, his ball skills, his, his production. He's got 14 picks and 17 pass breakups in his career. Uh, yes, I do know this off the top of my head because that's how much fricking tape I've watched on this kid. I love it. Yeah. Really, really, um, impressive when it comes to the type of coverage versatility that he can bring to the table. I like that an awful lot. He's sized at 6'1", 166, so he is slim, but he's got the height to be able to go up and to make plays on the ball

with some of the more sizable receivers out there. Great football IQ, great instincts. Really, that leaps off the page when it comes to Emmanuel Forbes. But like you said, that slim build. And I think because of the maybe lack of bulk that he has on him has a tendency to be a little bit overaggressive. That can be a problem if you're a defensive back in this league because you can try to overcompensate.

He's got slim man compensation issues. And he tries to jump on everything and he gets burned. He does. But I still think that he would be a good fit here, a good piece in the rotation. Yeah, absolutely. So again, I think a great pick here. The Insider's doing us proud so far, really liking what I'm seeing. Andre Carter, we talked a lot about him in the previous segment at number 76.

Yeah, this is where I think you can really expect to see him. Yeah, it is. Even maybe a little bit earlier, you may have to trade up from 76 here into like 66 to get him. But that's something Bill would do. This is what I would love Bill to do is to trade everything outside the top 100 to get back up into it, into the top 100, you know, as much as humanly possible because the Patriots need help. They need help this year. Yeah, they do. They really and truly do. So he's also looking at linebacker edge and has gone a little bit heavy on that in the middle part of the draft here by going back to back in the fourth round, 115 and

117. Ivan Pace Jr. out of Cincinnati, Carl Brooks out of Blowing Green. We see the names pop up an awful lot on a lot of the aggregate mock drafts that we break down here on Lockdown Patriots. Murph, why should we be excited about either one of these players in the New England Patriots? Ivan Pace is another tweener guy, but I think he's somebody that could come in here and really excel in the way that Bill is building this defense. You know, the guy's got a six-foot wingspan.

And I love that. I think it's fantastic. And getting him here, I mean, even being, you know, just – he's not six feet tall. I know that off the top of my head. He's like 5'10", 5'11", and you all know that's probably in cleats. So, yeah, no, I like the pick here. Where's he got him at, 115?

I can't see. Yeah, Pace is at 115, and then we've got Carl Brooks coming in at 170. Right. I really like Brooks. I like Brooks a lot. He's somebody that can come in here and do exactly what the Patriots are looking to do. He's another guy that's outside the top 100 and that I haven't watched a ton of film on, but what I've seen, I've liked. He's somebody with a nose to the ball, gets his head in there and really searches for the ball carrier. Especially in the insider's draft here, going very heavy on the edge. We've got the Alami Filoco coming in from San Jose State at number 184. So

a lot of edge, a lot of defense in this draft. I think it's an interesting approach. Again, with the exception of DeJuan Jones, he goes with our guy Antonio Mafi coming in from UCLA at 210 at guard. Again, I really, I love what I see from the ingenuity on this draft from this kid, but at the same time, I think the Patriots are probably better off going with at least another offensive lineman here.

I'd like to see them with the current haul that they have, unless they start trading away assets, I'd love to see them come away with at least three linemen here to be able to put into the mix. I like Mace down the bottom there. Eric Gray is somebody that we've talked about in the past. But yeah, what was done at the top of this draft? And folks, don't start DMing me and jumping into the comments about what I said earlier

about Zay Flowers and the competition that he faced. Yes, I understand that there are some good cornerbacks that have, that are coming out of that division, but it's, it's defenses as a whole that you have to look at. It's not just the cornerback that they're going up against. Okay. It's a defense as a whole and what you're able to do to exploit. And yes, he has exploited and he's, he's done really well at it. I hate circling back like this on Mike, because he wasn't expecting it. I just don't want to see the entire, the entire comment section, you know, filled up with what's Murph talking about. I'm talking about the big picture of what he went up against, not just specifically that, but this is a solid draft and especially,

you know, Zay Flowers is a talent. He is an impact player. DeJuan Jones, I thought, is fantastic. Emmanuel Forbes, there you go, right there. Andre Carter, this is a solid, solid, a very solid B, possibly a B-plus draft. I would have just look at what the Patriots need and their overwhelming need for help at offensive tackle, you probably need to address that a little bit earlier, at least in the middle part of the rounds, in order to really, really hammer that point home. But again, the insider, I love the effort. I'm a little higher on flowers than Herb is, in terms of what he can bring to the table and his ability to assimilate into this offense. You know Bill O'Brien would love this kid.

We'll see. We'll see what it brings to the table. So short. Hey, you said last week here on the program that short people do matter. So I'm taking that to the bank. I am standing by that. But all kidding aside, all kidding aside,

Insider, thank you very, very much for your submission. I'm going to give this a B. I'm going to give it with a B plus rising as well. I like the ingenuity of Flowers. To me, I think the pick that really put me over the top was Forbes. I know maybe add a little bit of bulk, but I like the way this kid could possibly fit in New England. So a B with a B plus rising for me on this.

Stop wondering. We got pasta. Come on. Yeah, you might have to cook for 20 guys someday, Murph. That's it. A little bit of sugar. And that's my trick. And that's my trick. Folks, thank you so much for sending in your amazing mock drafts. We love doing this. Murph and I absolutely have a blast each and every Monday breaking down. It gets harder every week to pick two. It truly does. It really and truly

does. I've backed off. Mike picks everything now because I want to do everybody, and we don't have two hours. Yeah, it's true. It really, really is. And sometimes it is difficult to weed through them, but please continue to send them in. Murph and I will definitely do our best to always give you our feedback,

even if it can't be featured on Locked On Patriots. Your submissions are important to us, and we will do our due diligence to make sure to get back to each and every one of you. So thank you once again for making Mock Draft Monday what it is here on Locked On Patriots, and also thank you for making us your first listen every day.

If you've made us your first listen, please make your second listen. Our good friends over at Locked On NFL Scouting with the Draft Dudes, my good friends Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino putting on an amazing show. Please, folks, check it out. They will walk you through every aspect of having to

build a professional franchise, and they do it with a class and style that's all their own. Check them out wherever you get your podcasts, and of course on YouTube as well. And what can I say to my cohort in crime here each and every Monday, Fridayiday whenever we want to bring them in we always love it you always love it and it's always a lot of fun my good friend

thomas murphy but before i let you go please let everyone know where they can find you your great work and what you got cooking this week in murph's kitchen that's it man you can check me out on the bird app at teamerf207 uh over at E2GSports.com. Red Sox stuff coming out. I got a UConn piece out this morning. Go Huskies. And other than that, you know, tomorrow we will have Karen Garigian of the Boston Herald on One Patriot's Place.

Don't miss that one. No, please, folks, do not. Whenever Karen puts voice to microphone on One Patriot Place. Don't miss that one. No, please, folks, do not. Whenever Karen puts voice to microphone on One Patriots Place, it's happening and you're always going to learn an awful lot. So do that. And don't forget to check out Murph each and every Monday, each and every Friday, whenever, like I said, we want to bring him on.

He'll be here and all the great guests. We've got a lot packed, an action-packed week here on Locked on Patriots. We'll check out the weekend show. Absolutely. And we will. We'll check out the weekend show. Stay tuned. Absolutely. And we will. We'll definitely be here for you. So on behalf of my good friend, the kind of Murphy Fisto himself, all legendary Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate.

Folks, please continue to stay safe and stay well. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. We are UConn.