Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots: Zay Flowers Learning Pats Offense? Mac Jones Still QB1? Pre-Draft Visits

Episode Date: April 8, 2023

The New England Patriots hosted several highly-touted prospects for pre-Draft visits. However, Boston College wideout Zay Flowers meeting with Bill O’Brien sent significant excitement through Pats Nation. Host Mike D’Abate provides the details on Flowers visit before welcoming Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy of E2G Sports to discuss the latest on Mac Jones trade rumors. Lastly, the duo give their thoughts on the pre-Draft visits of Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones and defender Nolan Smith.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

Spending the day learning the offense with Bill O'Brien? Does Zay Flowers already seem like he's a Patriot? 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. So subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts to get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate, and I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So reach out to me and let me know what is on your mind on Twitter at MDA, BAT, E NFL. And while you're out there showing some love to the Twitter verse,

please be sure to follow the lockdown Patriots account as well at L O underscore Patriots. That's fans. Thank you very much for closing the week in style here on lockdown Patriots. Today, we are freeing the format up a little bit and we're going to bring you a little free form Friday. In the interest of that freedom, we're going to welcome back the Green King of Sting, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com.

Going to join me in just a moment. And Murph and I are going to discuss the lingering story of the week. The Mac Jones trade rumors. Why do they just keep hanging around? Murph and I are going to discuss that. Black Jones trade rumors. Why do they just keep hanging around? Murph and I are going to discuss that. And we're also going to discuss some of the high-profile pre-draft visits that the Patriots had this week, including a pair of Georgia Bulldogs that might look pretty good in Patriots uniforms.

So a full agenda today, folks. Stick around. You won't want to miss this one. But before we welcome Murph into the party here, the Georgia duo weren't the only prospects finding their way to Foxborough. One of them with ties to the area was here on Thursday, and it set Pat's social media into a frenzy. Yeah, you know who I'm talking about, folks. I haven't changed my mind that the offensive line should be the Patriots' priority

in the upcoming draft, but I gotta be honest here. Zay Flowers is looking pretty, pretty, pretty good. After a visit with the Las Vegas Raiders, Flowers took a red-eye flight to Boston that landed around 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, drove straight to Gillette Stadium, and visited the New England Patriots. This according to a report from NFL media's Tom Pellicero. And the visit included a full day of work with Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien. Sounds an awful lot like these guys are trying to get a jump on the competition. But I caution you, the Patriots definitely do their due diligence with a lot of prospects.

So be careful about reading way too much into this, but it's easy to start getting excited about it. The report generated a lot of excitement out there, and I completely understand it. A lot of you want the Patriots to land this Boston College standout. He's a hometown guy, although he is from Fort Lauderdale. I will point that out. But he does have ties to the area, like I said before,

and he's an explosive playmaker, something the Patriots have not had in quite some time. During his four seasons in Chestnut Hill, he caught 78 passes, 1,077 yards, 12 touchdowns. That's just in 2022, by the way, and he did it in one of the nation's worst offenses. Now, the Patriots did get an up-close and personal look at Zay, and they've done that a couple of times now. The first time was they coached him in the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl. He participated in just one Shrine Bowl week, but he did spend the week working with the Patriots coaching staff,

and they got a good opportunity to really see exactly what he can bring to the table. Bill O'Brien got a front- row seat, as did Troy Brown. Ross Douglas, they work with the wide receivers. They definitely had their sharp eye on Zay Flowers. And another one to keep in mind is Vinny Censieri. He's the running backs coach, but he did coach the wideouts during the Shrine Bowl week. And that's interesting to me because Zay also carried the ball 57 times for 345 yards and two touchdowns over his four-year college career.

So definitely adept at being able to carry the ball a little bit out of the backfield he needed to on a jet sweep. We've seen Patriots players do that. We've seen receivers do it. And definitely he's got the size to be able to do it as well. And again, he is definitely one of the top wideout prospects in this year's NFL draft. He could be a first rounder. He could be an early second rounder.

New England currently owns that 14th pick. And they lack a high-end talent at the receiver position. But there are other guys out there that they might consider with that number 14 pick. I still love Ohio State's Jackson Smith Najiba. He's a guy that I would definitely consider taking if he's on the board. Jordan Madison, Quentin Johnston, I like these two players. Not necessarily as in love with them for the Patriots system as I am with basically JSN and with Zay Flowers. I really like the way these guys fit. But Patriots still have veterans

on this roster as well. It's not like they're devoid of any talent whatsoever. Juju Smith-Schuster came in as a free agent. You also have Devontae Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, and Lynn Bowden and Trey Nixon are still out there as well. So keep in mind that the Patriots do have a little bit of depth here at the wide receiver position. but getting back to where they could possibly go. I think 14 is a little high for wide receivers in general. It's probably a little bit high for Zay Flowers as well. I know we're all excited about the possibility. We're really overselling him, I think a little bit, but at the same time he's got that explosive ability and I think he'd be a great patriot but taking him at number 14 seems to be

a little bit over aggressive now his projection I've seen him as high as 18 I've seen him as low as 27 28 some even 32 there were a few times I've even seen him drafted in the second round in some mocks there are some of you out there I know that feel strongly enough to take Zay at number 14. Folks, I'm not going to argue with you. I'm not as opposed to it as I was a couple of weeks ago. But if I'm the GM, I'm looking at the top offensive tackles in the draft class if I hold on to that number 14 pick. That means Ohio State's Parrish Johnson Jr. That means Peter Skowronski of Northwestern. That means also Broderick Jones of Georgia,

who I think has the biggest upside in the draft with his size, his athleticism, his physicality. The more film, the more tape I watch on Broderick Jones, I think he could be a future all pro. And I don't hesitate when I say that he's got that type of capability. He's still a little bit raw, hasn't played all that much at the tackle position, but once he gets the experience he needs, he could be a real difference maker in this league and really a difference maker on the Patriots offensive line. Skowronski, I've heard some of the negatives about him. Oh, he's more of a guard than he is a tackle. I'm not really worried about the wingspan.

I'm not worried about the hand size, any type of things of that nature. I think he could make a good tackle. He's got solid fundamentals. And at the end of the day, if you have solid fundamentals in a Patriots system, you can usually do pretty well. So that's where I'm looking if the Patriots are going to hold on to 14. However, if they are all gone, and there is a chance that they will be, if I'm Bill Belichick, I'm picking up the phone, I'm trying to trade down into the early 20s,

and I'm making sure that I leave town with Zay Flowers. Other than taking an offensive tackle, I think that's the way to go cornerback is a huge need for this team without any question but the top cornerbacks are probably going to be gone by number 14 the more we see of Christian Gonzalez the more we see of Devin Witherspoon even Joey Porter Jr. there's going to be a demand on these players and I think actually there's a chance that all three of them may be gone by the time the Patriots hit number 14. So that's where I'm thinking right now, folks. What are you thinking?

Drop me a line in the comments section below. Would love to hear your feedback. Good, bad, or indifferent. We all have opinions. And you know what? Bottom line, folks, until the Patriots actually do it, anything and everything is fair game. So if Zay Flowers being in a Patriots uniform is your dream, cling to it because it still might have a chance to happen.

But what will the Patriots do? And if Zay Flowers does end up in Foxborough, who's going to be throwing him passes? Well, sit tight, folks, because in just a moment, the Count of Murphy Fisto joins me here to tackle these issues and more when Freeform Friday here on Lockdown Patriots continues. But first, today's episode brought to you by our good friends over at Ultimate Pro Football

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Patriots fans. Thank you once again for joining us here on this free form Friday on locked on Patriots, your questions, once again for joining us here on this Freeform Friday on Locked On Patriots. Your questions, burning concerns, all of that, all in a format-free agenda today here on Locked On Patriots. And remember, Locked On Patriots is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, I want you to check out our new Locked On NFL Draft Buzz newsletter. You can find it on lockedonpodcast.com slash newsletters. Each and every week, folks, you'll be well informed for the NFL Draft.

You'll get a top story from NFL Draft expert Luke Inman, a top five ranking, links to great draft content all across the Locked On network. So be sure to check that out at www.lockedonpodcast.com slash newsletters. Folks, again, it can't be a free-form Friday. It can't be a fabulous Friday without welcoming in a gentleman that helps us open the week with class and close the week with class. That's right, folks.

The legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com joins me. And Murph, we're going to talk about the topic of the week. It's been talked about ad nauseum, the emphasis on nauseum, because really, I think that's what it induces. But you know what, folks? It is a hot topic. No question about it. And Murph, after we spoke the last time here on Locked On Patriots earlier this week for Mock Draft Monday, a lot of reports started to surface that Mac Jones is on the trading block.

Apparently, he was being shot to three or four teams. Those three or four teams came out and said they have not spoken with the Patriots on this. We've heard that his name comes up in trade rumors. That I believe, and that really doesn't tell us much of anything. Now we're hearing reports that the Patriots may be interested in veteran arms. We've even seen some NFL draft analysts predict that the Patriots may go quarterback again at number 14. It's a cluster out there, Murph.

I'm trying to restrain my language because it is a family show, but I will give you the floor, my friend. What do you make of all of this? What can we glean from any of this when it comes to the 2023 future of our New England Patriots? What can we do to generate clicks? Okay, that's what we need to do right now. We've run out of mock draft stuff. We've run out of rumors here.

Free agency has crawled to a dead halt. And what can we do to generate clicks? I'm sorry, man. I jumped on Florio for this when he first said it. It's garbage. It did not happen. Okay. When you make phone calls around the league, people are going to ask about you. What are you going to do? What are you doing with, uh, with Mac Jones, you know, trying to buy low, the Patriots are not shopping him. Okay. Every team that came out and said that, uh, that, that Florio or whoever else has said that the Patriots are shopping Mac Jones too. I said, no, no, but I tweeted it first. Okay. No, it's, it's not happening. One, one, the Patriots are not going to sell low on him. Two, they will not be bringing in Bill O'Brien to work for him.

Three, for the last time. All right. Everybody talking about Jones being in the doghouse because he was calling around during the season last year, trying to figure out how to make things work. Guess where he was calling? Alabama. He was calling Bill O'Brien, you bucket heads.

Okay? Nobody is pissed off about that. Nobody's going to get upset that your second-year quarterback is calling back to his college coach to say, give me a little help. All right? He didn't announce this last year. He didn't say that he was going to. It was reported.

Okay? The reports were true but he was calling Bill O'Brien who who Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft handpicked to come in here and and take this over now listen they wanted him last year but he couldn't get out of his contract that led to this entire insipid moronic let's make defensive uh coaches offensive coaches that got us into this trouble matt mac was sitting there with nobody to turn to in that uh in that building in trying to help him help the patriots and help himself all All right. He's not going anywhere. Not off of last year. The Patriots will not be selecting a quarterback in the first round.

Okay. Often they, they do, they go quarterback every single year. Brian Hoyer is not here maybe because of his attitude and his, his outspoken stuff. You could, you can get into that, but I'm not losing sleep over Brian Hoyer, not being here, uh, and running the here and running the practice squad. Let's put this to bed, people. While Bill might text deep into the night with Jimmy Garoppolo, it doesn't mean he has to text deep into the night with other quarterbacks.

And so he and Mac aren't text buddies. Big, hairy deal. They're going to work together. All right. That's what's going to happen. Neither of them are going anywhere. Yeah. I'm glad that you mentioned that neither of them are going anywhere because I

don't think you're seeing the beginning of the end of bill Belichick in new England. I know we hear this all the time. We heard it. Murphy and I go back a long way on these rumors. We heard that after the Patriots super bowl loss to the philadelphia eagles that bill has bags packed for east rutherford he was going back to the giants we we were we were under that impression that he was ready to announce that the morning after that loss happened he's still here um you

know so i i don't think he's going anywhere i think he realizes that this is his best chance to break shula's record as a new england patriots coach and i think that's going anywhere. I think he realizes that this is his best chance to break Shula's record as a New England Patriots head coach, and I think that's what Bill Belichick wants. And that's what everybody wants. Because you know what that means? Wins. People keep harping about this record that Shula has and that Bill is chasing. Well, you know what he has to do to break that record?

Win a lot of football games. And that's the only thing he's trying to do. What they did last year. Now, Bill said at the beginning of last year when everybody was jumping on him about this concept change, you know, it ends with me. It ends with me. The buck stops here. Okay. You've got anybody to blame, come blame me.

And now what's the narration? Why isn't Bill taking responsibility for what happened last year? Why isn't Bill out there in front saying, blame me? Because he's already said it. You people just wanted to say it and say it again. It's like talking to one of your kids and how many times times do i have to say i'm sorry i ate the cookie okay no you ask them once and they say they're sorry and they say okay good job go have a cookie well that cookie that patriots fans are elusively chasing has not been here for the last couple of years and the ink starts to build and then you have stories like this that come out when it comes to mac though and i do want to bring this back to mac jones because obviously he's the centerpiece of all

of this and i think that bill belichick now it definitely goes hand in hand and i think that's absolutely um vital to this discussion is the relationship between coach and quarterback do i think there may be uh some fences that need to be mended between now and the start of 2023 absolutely yeah i don't think it rubbed bill the right way that max calling around maybe calling his former coach is calling someone that used to work for him it's not going to create a good narrative but i also don't think it's going to deteriorate the relationship way it's been pushed here in the national media and some local media as well that the antics on the field during it i mean yeah that's the competitive

quarterback that i want i'm sorry i didn't mean to interrupt you no you did not interrupt you're absolutely right and that is the spirit of the quarterback that i think you're going to get this year bottom line the two pieces of to me empirical evidence that i don't think can be really be refuted at this point of mac jones being the guy at least at the outset of training camp and through training camp is the fact that one he is the number 15 pick in the 2021 NFL draft just a couple of years ago the Patriots are not going to give up on that type of draft capital that easy not after one down season Bill Belichick has been around the league long enough to know that he needs to cultivate this type of player with the right environment around him. Mack had a serviceable,

pretty good rookie season. Not so great of a season last year. Exactly. And then you look now at what he's going to be able to do. If they can get some pieces around him, I think he'll be better off. But to me, the smoking gun here in terms of evidence that Mac is going to be around is Bill O'Brien. If this ticked Bill off, Bill Belichick meaning, enough that he was really upset with Mac for calling around in Alabama, and most likely O'Brien was one of the guys he was talking to, there's no way he'd be in Foxborough right now. He was brought here to help cultivate Mac Jones. And I think that's where we're going here. Now, the other question beckons Murph is if Bailey Zappi comes in, has a tremendous training

camp and Mac Jones maybe sputters a little bit. Can you see the keys of the kingdom being turned back over to Bailey? Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Just stop people. Okay.

Especially you people that keep bringing up the green Bay game and the other games that Zappi had to start in. And especially the Bears game. The Bears freaking exposed him. Now listen, Bailey Zappi is a fine backup. I called him Don Strzok. He can come in here and he can be Don Strzok. Go back and take a look at the tape. All right. Take a look at, at the offense that, that Mack Jones was being asked to run and learn on the run and the offense that Bailey Zappi was running. Bailey Zappi was still running this bastardized Earhart offense.

Every snap, he was under center on almost every snap. I can count on two hands how many times I saw him line up in the gun for something for a stretch play. And if they had done that with Mack from the beginning of the year, there wouldn't have been the turmoil at the beginning of the year that they had. They didn't.

Zappi ran the old offense, and he ran it pretty well. All right? But he also ran it well against teams that weren't expecting to see that old offense. That the offensive line had a working knowledge of. I mean, there were veterans that had been running that offense for years out there. So the blocking was better. And he had time. It's apples and oranges.

So just stop. Just stop. All the talking heads out there that are talking about Bailey Zappi coming in here and having a fantastic camp and Bill giving it. Bill says that every year about every freaking position. The only time he doesn't say that is when Tom Brady is involved. Other than that, everybody gets a chance to play and we play the best players. And that's still the reason mac jones is the best player mac jones was the number 15 pick mac jones didn't go in the fourth round yes tom brady was selected when tom brady was selected mac jones ain't tom brady that's it no it's not happening yeah you're absolutely right

and again you want to talk about evidence and you want to talk about actual like proof in the pudding the Patriots rumors out there right now that they're still interested in a veteran on that comes from Mike Giardi a guy that you and I trust implicitly and I trust my of course they are on this report and that to me says that there's still development needed maybe even with Mac but definitely with Bailey if you're talking a backup and the names that are out there I mean we're hearing Matt Ryan Carson Wentz Teddy Bridgewater um I wouldn't mind seeing that by the way uh Mason Rudolph Blaine Gabbert I'm just looking at these at the list of available quarterbacks right now folks Chase Daniel Joe Flacco Trevor Simeon Brandon Allen Josh Johnson John Walford Brett Rippin Bryce Perkins yeah If you throw Brian Hoyer's name

into that mix, yeah, he definitely looks better by comparison to some of those names because of his experience here. But at the same time, if you're looking to bring in a veteran arm like that, it definitely shows that if the Patriots are going to carry three quarterbacks, there's development needed. And that tells me they're going to go with the more seasoned option in Mac Jones with another year under his belt. belt look this is somebody coming in here that they're looking for to do what uh hoyer did run the practice squad right okay we need you to run the opponent's offense so our defense can practice against it that's what brian hoyer was brian hoyer was no longer the number two man here. All right.

Bailey Zappi was, they, it's just not happening. All right. And that's what Hoyer is going to end up being out there. He's going to be out there running the practice squad in Vegas. All right. Very Josh McDaniels is not an idiot. He brought him in there to do that. And only that he didn't bring it in there to stick it to Bill or anything like that. That's not what's happening. That's not what Josh is doing. That's not what Josh has done. He's brought in smart football players, a lot of them that happen to play for the Patriots.

They're going to be good in their respective rooms, be the quarterback room, the running back room. Hey, Brandon, how you doing Brandon Bowler? We miss you. And, and that's what's happening. And if, if a, a veteran quarterback is brought in and I do expect it to happen because it's smart football is to do exactly what Hoyer was doing here. Okay. Be, be the veteran presence in the quarterback room and go run the practice squad. No, absolutely. Yeah.

And I mean, if you're looking, I mean, other than names like Ryan and, and whites and, you know, bigger names like that, if those guys are going to be the type of guys that you're going to bring in, absolutely. It's going to be scout team acumen and we'll see the quarterback. Controversies continue to swirl uh Murph and I hope we've thrown a little cold water on that for you here today but online we'd love to hear what you think as well because to continue to let us know and reach out uh but Murph it's not all about quarterbacks in New England one more thing okay now this all changes if the Patriots go out and steal discount double choke from the Jets just to, you know, screw everything up.

Wouldn't it be the ultimate? If Aaron Rodgers somehow ends up here, okay, then yeah. Everything I just said goes out the window. But other than that, no. It's all about my man, Mac. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it would be the ultimate, ultimate revenge for the Jets. That would be, oh, God.

My buddy John Buchko, his head would explode if this happened. And yeah, it would be interesting to say. There'd be a nice Lockdown Patriots-Lockdown Jets crossover in our future, I'm sure, if that happened. Just try to play hardball just a little too much. No, no, I'm going to take this first round pick in 2028 and a second rounder this year. And here you go. It would. It really, really would.

Yeah, you'd absolutely love it talk about plot twists folks yeah it would be uh it would be interesting to say the least here in New England and in East Rutherford as well but uh bottom line folks it is not all about the quarterbacks the New England Patriots still have business to take care of and over the week they've been taking care of that business by way of pre-draft free agent visits. This is going to be interesting to see what the Patriots are going to do here because a cross-section of top-level talent has found its way to Foxborough throughout the past week. What does Murph think about all this?

What do I think about all of it? And is it going to matter when the Patriots are on the draft board? All of this and more when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, folks, the NBA playoffs are almost here, and now is the perfect time to download FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because new customers get a no-sweat first bet up to $1,000. That's bonus bets back if your first bet doesn't win.

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That's fanduel.com slash locked on to learn more. Make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook betting partner of the NBA. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here on Free Form Friday. Joined by the legend himself, Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com, right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, proud part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And don't forget, folks, to sign up for our new NFL Draft newsletter

with NFL Locked On Draft Buzz. That's LockedOnPodcast.com slash newsletters. Murph, in the previous segment, we tried to tackle the curious conundrum that is the Mac Jones, Bailey Zappi, Lamar Jackson. I don't know.

You can throw anybody's name into that list. Quarterback controversy that's brewing here in New England. I think we've kind of quelled the waters a little bit when it comes to that. We'll see if there's anything that actually comes of this. RKK, you're still cool. Meek Mills texts you. Okay, we get it.

But in any case, Murph, there is a lot of work still to be done for the New England Patriots. Tangible work. Things that the Patriots actually do need to do. And one of which is hosting pre-draft visits for a lot of exciting young draft prospects and this week has been a particularly big week for the New England Patriots in that department Austin College

Zay Flowers is a big name still circulating throughout Patriots fandom right now but I think the more intriguing pair that came through Foxborough this week is from the defending national champions, Nolan Smith of Georgia and Broderick Jones of Georgia coming through. Murph, they say that, I say it all the time, that skill position players get the headlines, but championships are won in the trenches. These two or two of the best prospects are doing what they do in the game right now. What is your reaction to the guys

that the Patriots have brought in here? Throw in the names of people we haven't mentioned as well. The floor is yours because it's Freeform Friday, but your thoughts on the Patriots pre-draft as it's thus far. I think they're fantastic. I think what you're seeing them do is their due diligence,

just the way the Patriots do every single season. A lot of the guys that they bring in, they know they're going to be facing. These are guys that could end up in Buffalo, that could end up with the Jets, that could end up in Miami. And they could end up facing these guys two years. They're in there picking their brains. They're seeing how smart they are. It's, it's not just how well they're going to fit in here, but what they can garner from these visits if they end up having to face them. And, um, but if they grab Roderick Jones at, uh, at 14, I, I will be a happy camper. And we mentioned Zay Flowers there. And you just heard in the deep background, Evan Lazar screaming at the top of his lungs

because he wants this absolutely so bad. Yeah, I think a lot of Patriots fans definitely want that. And look, there is a lot to be said about electrifying players that can come through. I'll admit, each time I watch film on guys like Jackson Smith and the Jigba, like, say, Flowers. Who the Patriots met with while they were out there at Ohio State, bringing an entire throng of coaches out there to scout that team because there are a lot of guys there that might end up falling to them. And that would be the wide receiver

that I grabbed at 14. Yeah, I know. Tell me about it. Yeah, I mean, if all things being equal, I'm still a JSN guy as well. And I love Zay. And that is no knock to him whatsoever. But JSN has the ability to do, I think, a little bit more in a dual threat role. And I think that's why he may be the more valuable to a Bill O'Brien offense.

But there's a lot to be said about football IQ. And supposedly, Murph, Zay has already learned Haas Juk. He's ready to go in there. He's ready to do his thing. He's watching film with Bill O'Brien. I don't know. They're making popcorn and they're watching film. And this is a foregone conclusion.

Until draft night. Until draft night. They were working with him at the Senior Bowl, at the Reese's Bowl, teaching him Haas Wai Juuk. And everything is awesome. Yeah, absolutely. Tell me one time people tell me one time that you saw bill belichick zig and then keep zigging okay no the zag is coming

the zag is coming and it's going to be a large round person there at 14 or 18 yeah you uh you mentioned uh that the patriots did go out to Ohio State and they had a throng of people that were there as well. Harris Johnson, folks, is definitely on their radar and I'm glad that you mentioned Broderick Jones because it's not a name that we've brought up an awful lot here on Locked On Patriots.

He's not mocked to New England as much as I would like to see. A lot of times fans will go with the splashy pick, maybe a wide receiver or a cornerback. And then they'll go with DeJuan Jones as kind of their consolation prize. I wouldn't mind seeing that, folks. Not definitely not. No, not at all.

Roderick Jones at 14, if the Patriots does slip that far, and that's not a guarantee. No. It's something I think the Patriots have to seriously consider. Look, four jets are right in front of them they could pick him there's a lot of people that are going to be opening their eyes to see that this kid this guy is the most ready tackle in this draft he really is with the highest upside i think right away you look at the athleticism and you look at what he brings to the table in terms of what he can be as opposed to what he is right now healing as opposed to the floor yeah this kid has future all pro uh ability oh yeah i'm not saying he's going to do it but when you post a 1.97 second 10 yard split at the combine

you're doing something right especially at his his size, measured in 6'4", just a little under 6'4". Some people have him listed as the full 6'5", 310 pounds. This would be interesting because he only has 19 games under his belt as a tackle at Georgia. But the 19 games that he played definitely showed that this kid is a full-time tackle in the NFL. So it would be a little bit of a departure. The Patriots usually like their linemen a little more seasoned, a little more experienced. But again, you look at the athletic upside,

you look at the physicality, I think they really have to consider this. I was so excited to see that he was coming in for a top-30 visit. This is one I have my eye on heading into the next few weeks of the waning time before the draft. This was something that I was excited to see. It was fantastic. You've got to love the guys coming out of Georgia.

It's going to be another big Georgia first round this year as it was last year so it guys coming from that that program uh have how do i want to say this they they you're just a little bit more sure about the guys that come to that from that program than other programs two-time back-to-back, you know, two-time defending champions now going into this season. And it's just this kid, like we said, he might not have the highest floor, but he has the highest ceiling. And he's a 10-year left tackle in this league.

Yeah, without question. And I think one of the Patriots' biggest needs, if arguably their biggest need because what it comes down to is if in the first round yeah yeah when you got mac jones out there or bailey zappy or whoever even if you get lamar jackson in here folks i mean you know anything is possible in foxborough murph and i didn't mean to throw complete cold water on that because until it actually doesn't happen, there's still a possibility. So no one's saying it can't happen, but I don't care who you have back there.

If they're not getting the time to operate and do what they need to do, it doesn't matter who's there. It doesn't matter who they're throwing passes to. We've talked about, and the Patriots just didn't have it last year. Right. We've talked about cornerbacks that you can get in the fourth round. We know that Bill can bring guys in off the street that nobody's ever heard of and turn them into multi-multi-millionaires by the time they get to their second contract. What you can't do anymore is find those fourth round tackles and guards and centers. You can't.

Because they keep saying that this is a copycat league. Well, you know, when the Patriots were taking all those all-pro guys back in the early 2000s, the mid-2000s, nobody else was. That's why they were able to get them in the fourth round. Now everybody wants their line solid. And they go early. Exactly. I would not be surprised to see Bill double dip on the offensive line in the first round

and the second round, or even trade up in the second round to get back up into the first round to grab another offensive lineman. That's interesting. Or Washington. Who is an offensive lineman? Yeah, absolutely. And that is interesting because one of the things that we hear a lot from analysts, from fans, things of that nature, about the Patriots potentially double-dipping at offensive tackle is that, well, they brought in Riley Rafe.

They brought in Calvin. These are the types of players that they've brought in. So they don't need to waste two picks. And I'm not saying these are my words. These are words that I hear a lot. Waste either one or two high-level picks on a position where they've added some depth. To me, none of the guys that they have on this line right now, with the exception of Ueno, Strange, and really with the exception of a way new and strange are long-term solutions i love david andrews but there's not a lot of shelf life left on david andrews you have

to be realistic here folks to me that's it right now if you have a chance to get a other world talent at this position you've got to do it and you've got to do it early yep and and we've talked about uh centers coming in here um They had Cody Mosh in. Did I pronounce that right, Mosh? The kid from North Dakota State in. I could see him being a day two target for the Patriots. I really could. I don't think that's a stretch.

He's somebody that can play all over the field, including center. This is where the focus needs to be. And I know it's fun to talk about wide receivers and, and, and tight ends that are athletic freaks and, and all that, but you, you, you build an offense from the inside out, you build a defense from the outside in. I've been saying this for decades and most of the league has finally caught up with me. See folks, you listen to Murph, you go to the top.

You don't listen to Murph, you're never heard from again and I think that's a perfect way to put a bow on the week that was here on Locked On Patriots and it's been a great one folks. It's been a lot of action, a lot of intrigue and a little bit of nausea mixed in as well. And that's what we can guarantee you

here again next week on Locked On Patriots. I'm sorry. I could not resist. I really just could not resist. But in all actuality, no, we seriously and sincerely thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us here on Locked On Patriots each and every day and make us a part of your daily Patriots coverage. Folks, please, if you've made us your first listen, please make your second listen. Our good friends over at Locked On NFL

Scouting with my good friends, Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino. These guys are absolutely the greatest. They don't call them the draft dudes for nothing. They are impeccable at their coverage, but they also help walk you through all the ins and outs of building a franchise in the NFL. So check that out wherever you get your podcasts and especially on YouTube. But I would not be doing my job unless I gave a tip of the cap and a nod, a very, very special nod to my good friend here, the kind murphy fisto himself for being my cohort in crime open in the weekend style closing the weekend style mock draft monday whatever the guy's always there for me and i do appreciate it my friend so before i let you go for the weekend any parting thoughts to our adoring public and what can we expect from the great and the great voice of

thomas murphy in the coming days? Well, not a lot. I got a nice piece up over there on the Red Sox, and Garrett Whitlock made a fantastic start up there at AA. You should make a fantastic start at AA. You're Garrett Whitlock for Christ's sakes. And he'll be coming back to the rotation this week along with Bellow. That should really even out things and help out the Sox there. But with the Patriots, I'm glad you bring me on because I'm so deep into MLB coverage and Red Sox coverage right now that I just don't have time to do the writing that I would. So thank you,

Michael, for having me back here on Mondays and Fridays and any day in between that you want me, I'm here for you. Absolutely. Anytime you're willing, we're always willing to have you here. And folks, speaking of which, we'll be back here on Monday for mock draft Monday. Keep your mock drafts coming in over the weekend. Definitely send them to LO underscore Patriots on Twitter, or you can tag me and Murph as well at NDA,

BAT, E NFL, or tag my good friend at team Murph 207. We love breaking down your work and we'd love to showcase it here. And we're looking forward to the next round because we're running thin on time, but there is still enough time to get those in and have them featured here on locked on Patriots.

Once again, on behalf of my good friend, the monster master of disaster himself, Thomas Murphy of E2G sports.com. I'm Mike debate. Continue folks to stay safe and stay well be the change you wish to see in the world have a great weekend everyone and we'll see you back here on monday on locked on patriots wide receivers in three