Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - NFL Draft Trade Winds SWIRLING For New England Patriots?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The trade winds could be starting to swirl around Gillette Stadium. That's where we start on this episode of Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Patriots f Nick Cattles born and rais your New England Patriots the Everything Pats podc

Starting point is 00:00:34 of the Greg Bedard Patri Cattles and also a sports veteran on today's episod putting so much weight on could be a detriment on draft night. Also our draft superlatives for the number four pick but we start with the latest draft intel and how it might lead to a first round deal for the Pats on Thursday night. We appreciate you joining the show making us your first listen and for being an everydayer the Locked On Patriots

Starting point is 00:01:02 podcast is a proud partner of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. The closer we get to the draft, the better the information that we get. The reason is quite simple. The closer you get to the draft, the more the hay is in the barn, as they say. Teams across the league, all 32, they understand what they want to do in round one. They have stacked their boards. All the scouts have spoken. The coaching staff has spoken. The front office is now in the final moments of putting information together and figuring out what path they want to take. It's not to say that things can't change.

Starting point is 00:01:43 Of course they can change. You get closer to picking. You don take. It's not to say that things can't change. Of course they can change. You get closer to picking. You don't know who's going to be there. You don't know if trades happen before you get on the clock. All of those things will unfold. And you have to be able to react and adjust accordingly. But as we get closer to Thursday night, and that first pick from the Tennessee Titans is on the clock, as we all know it's going to be cam ward

Starting point is 00:02:05 But as that clock begins Everything is set The plan is set and as we get closer to thursday night The info that is leaked to insiders the people that are talking around the league They know more now than they knew before Because that prep work is done. And the closer you get to that number one pick, the closer we get to actual tangible information being leaked. And because of that, the angling has begun. And we should take it

Starting point is 00:02:39 seriously. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN was on NFL live recently, and Jeremy said the Jaguars could be a sleeper to pick Ashton Gentry at number five. It's funny because Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network, he did a conference call and he mentioned the Jags as a team to keep an eye on for Gentry, calling it a potential quote unquote statement pick at number five for the new regime. Adam Schefter, he wrote a long column about the intel that he has gathered over the past couple of weeks and Schefter wrote that new GM, James Gladstone of the Jags might not be predictable.

Starting point is 00:03:19 As one league executive said recently, quote, Jacksonville is a wild card. Watch, unquote. A lot of people have been talking about Mason Graham going to the Jags at five. I was not necessarily swayed saying, oh, yeah, that's 100% going to happen because the head coach of the Jags, as we know, is Liam Cohen from Warwick, Rhode Island.

Starting point is 00:03:41 He's an offensive guy, was the offensive coordinator for Tampa Bay last year. So I wasn't just going to easily write down Mason Graham and Sharpie at number five. And as we get closer to the draft, there's a lot of people talking about the Jags selecting Gentie at five. It begs the question number one, who's leaking this information? Who's leaking the information that the Jags might use that fifth pick on Gentie and not Mason Graham? We have a couple of options here, a few options. Number one, it could be the Jags. The Jaguars could want to trade down, understanding that the Raiders and other teams could be in love with Ashton Gentie. Those teams might think they're a final piece away from the puzzle.

Starting point is 00:04:26 And so the Jaguars are putting out there, hey, we might draft Ashton Gentry, kind of love the guy. Trying to persuade teams under them to move up and give them the offer that they can't refuse. Second option here is that Gentry himself, his representation, they are leaking the Jaguars stuff at number five. Why would that be? Because you're trying to raise the stock of your client. Oh, you think Gentie is going to go six to the Raiders?

Starting point is 00:04:57 Well, he's going to be a top five guy because the Jaguars have their eyes on our Ashton Gentie. So this could be coming from Team Genty. It also could be coming from your New England Patriots. Why would the Patriots start leaking information about the Jaguars possibly taking Genty at five? Because if you're the Raiders and you thought that Genty was going to fall to you at six, you might show a little bit more urgency

Starting point is 00:05:25 to leapfrog Jacksonville in the draft order to pick Gentie if that's the guy that you truly want. The team that you would call is obviously the Patriots. Under the scenario that Cam Ward goes one, Hunter goes two, Carter goes three, the Raiders are sitting there at six. They think the Jaguars might pick Gentie at five, but they want Gentie. They would have to leapfrog the Jaguars and get to you at four and make a deal with the Patriots. So any of those three makes sense. The Jaguars trying to put a for sale sign up on the front lawn for their number five pick. It could be the Gentie team trying to raise his stock. It could be the Patriots trying to ramp up the value of that fourth pick. I'm buying the possibility that Gentie does go to the Jaguars at five.

Starting point is 00:06:15 He is the third best player in this draft. If you don't look at positional value, you don't look at positional versatility. It's not a premium position as we know, running back, we've talked about it. But if you were just putting the names on the board, one, two, three, four, five, for a lot of people, including myself, Gentie would be third. Gentie would be that guy. He'd be after Hunter and after Carter, but he would be right there at three. So Gentie getting picked at number five is not a stretch, not the least.

Starting point is 00:06:48 As I mentioned a couple of minutes ago, he could be looked at as that piece to help finish the roster out. Adam Schefter wrote about Ashton Gentie in that same article I mentioned a few moments ago, and he wrote that there are multiple personnel people who believe the Bears are praying that Genty slips to them at number 10 and that makes sense.

Starting point is 00:07:11 Ben Johnson, offensive, my new head coach of Chicago. They did a lot of work in the off season via free agency on that offensive line. They've got their offensive line figured out. They've got a couple of really good receivers and they've got their quarterback. They believe in Caleb Williams. So why not draft Ashton Gentry? Why not be praying that he falls to number 10 with an offensive mind like Ben Johnson, with all of those weapons.

Starting point is 00:07:40 And really the fourth position in the draft isn't bad. It's really not bad because other teams are looking at the Patriots and they're saying to themselves, you have the shot at the next best guy on the board. Teams they know that Hunter and Carter are going to be gone, most likely. Hunter seems like it's inevitable that he goes to Cleveland at number two. Carter, there still seems to be a little bit of back and forth on him, but I would still lean towards Carter going third to the Giants. So teams, they're looking at their board and they say, who's the top guy on our

Starting point is 00:08:14 board right now? And what is the best chance that we can draft that guy? It's the Patriots at four. So it's not a bad spot to be in. It's not a bad spot to be in. It's not a bad spot in a draft that's not necessarily elite at the top, right? You've got Hunter, you've got Carter, you've got Gentie, and then a bunch of other guys that we've talked about. But there is a tier system to this. And everything that I read, all the scouts, the personnel executives, the insiders, they say that pick

Starting point is 00:08:46 number eight or pick number 10 depending on which insider that you read that pick is for all intents and purposes, the same pick that you could get at 25 to 32. Well, the Patriots are sitting there at four. So they're nestled inside that seven eight. And so you could look at this and say to yourself if you're a football team, there are 8 to 10 impact guys in this draft. If I can get to 4, I guarantee my shot at the impact guy that I want that is at the top of my board. I find it still to this day, to this moment, that a trade is unlikely for the Patriots, but I don't think it's crazy to believe that the Jaguars are legitimately interested in

Starting point is 00:09:30 Ashton Gentry. The Raiders or some other team might want to jump up like Chicago and leapfrog Jacksonville at five to land their guy Genty, the third best player on the board. All right. It sounds like Mike Vrabel has fallen in love with two prospects. And that might just be a problem. That's next as we continue with today's episode of lockdown Patriots, part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day, there is nothing like the

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Starting point is 00:11:13 Mike Vrabel is putting a big time value on character and the culture fit and the maturity of a player. We've talked about it the last couple of weeks. It's near the top of the charts for Vrabel, what is important to him regarding these prospects that he has been evaluating over the past couple of months. Character, culture, maturity. But is that the driving force at number four? Is that what is leading the dance, so to speak, with the top pick for the Patriots coming up on Thursday night?

Starting point is 00:11:42 And I ask that question because Burt Breer at SI wrote this recently regarding the fourth pick and Will Campbell. Here's what Breer wrote, Mike Vrabel has spent a ton of time one-on-one with Campbell and Campbell knocked his 30 visit in March out of the park. If it's not Campbell, Georgia hybrid linebacker edge Jaylen Walker is another quote unquote program guy who'd be a solid fit for the remade Patriots. So there's Bert telling us the Patriots, they've spent a ton of time with Campbell. Mike Vrabel has spent a ton of one-on-one time

Starting point is 00:12:20 with Will Campbell. And he mentions how Campbell knocked that 30 visit out of the park. So a great interview. He won you over with his character, his personality. Then Burt jumps to Jalen Walker and says that the Georgia hybrid is another program guy, would be a solid fit for the Remade Patriots, a program guy. You say that about somebody who's going to be a culture fit. Then we have Mike Reese at ESPN writing a column on Sunday. And he made not one, but two mentions of Walker in his column.

Starting point is 00:12:55 Here's what Mike wrote. The first time, could Georgia linebacker pass rusher, Jalen Walker, be a wild card selection at number four? Reese writes, versatile Walker affects the opposing quarterback 34 pressures in 2024 while also earning high marks from Scott scouts for his leadership. A trait Vrabel naturally values we go back to the leadership we go back to the culture. We go back to the character. The second time that Mike Reese mentions Jlen Walker in his Sunday column is as follows.

Starting point is 00:13:27 Tuesday, Vrabel acknowledged the team has assessed how prospects will handle lofty expectations. An AFC scout said he wouldn't have any concerns with Campbell or Walker. Character, culture, maturity. I'm not here to tell you that character doesn't matter. Of course it matters. I'm not here to tell you that culture and the fit doesn't, of course it does. Of course it matters. Maturity absolutely matters when you draft somebody at number four.

Starting point is 00:13:58 It is part of the equation. It's part of the evaluation that you go through But character cannot and should not overwhelm the talent evaluation of the player you're looking at the only time that character Should overwhelm the talent evaluation is if the character is so bad The red flags are so troubling that there's no way you want to touch that guy, that you've got information that is so bad that you just say thanks but no thanks. Whether it's a criminal background or he's just a bad guy, if there is terrible allegations that are swirling around the player, those kinds of character concerns I get. But you can't look at it and say, this guy might have gotten in trouble in his sophomore

Starting point is 00:14:49 year for doing something in college, and it's really not as big of a deal as something else like domestic violence or some kind of assault and battery or something along those lines. Not every single character question is the same. We got different values. And something that somebody had done three, four years ago might not be as big of a deal now because it happened three, four years ago, or it could be the beginning of a troubling pattern.

Starting point is 00:15:25 But character, while important, isn't the end all be all. And I do think when you look at some of these things that have been written, some of the things that have been said about Mike Vrabel and what he's looking for from his players, it's all understandable. And I agree with most of what has been said or written and what Vrabel is looking for from his players. But there is a concern, not a panic, there is a concern that Vrabel, if he falls in love with a Will Campbell, that he ends up picking the guy, picking the person and not necessarily the player, which begs the question of how much of a czar is Mike Vrabel? It seems to me that Mike Vrabel is running this program. He has a ton of power within those walls at

Starting point is 00:16:19 Gillette, but how much is he going to utilize that power? How open is he to listening to other people in the front office? What are those conversations like? They're going to tell us that everything is great. They're going to tell us that they respect each other, they appreciate what each person brings to the table, whether it's Elliot Wolf or Matt Groh, I know I said the name. Don't freak out. But whether it's Elliott Wolf or Groh or Highsmith or Cowden Everybody's gonna be throwing bouquets at each other. That's how this works publicly but when you sit down on draft night and you're having these kinds of conversations and

Starting point is 00:17:03 Vrabel is weighing the pros and the cons of who they might want to take at four and he's looking at Will Campbell for example and he says I love the guy I love the guy great leadership somebody else says yeah but he's not a tackle Mike or we don't believe that he's talented enough to justify using the fourth pick in the draft on him. Does Mike take that information and does he truly listen to it, absorb it, and contemplate what others are saying or does he just fall in love with the guy and says character, culture, maturity, good football player, I'm taking him at four. He might not have the ceiling of other people that we could take at four, but I love the

Starting point is 00:17:50 guy. Is he doing that? It's a concern. Now, inevitably, I trust Vrabel. Inevitably, I believe that Vrabel is going to pick the player at number four for the right reasons. Vrabel himself has said you can't win the games that we want to win. You can't play at the level that we want to play

Starting point is 00:18:11 at eventually. You cannot reach that level with a bunch of boy scouts, with a bunch of good guys. He knows that. He's been in locker rooms. He understands that sometimes you got to take some risk. But is he willing to take that risk at four? That's what we don't know. He's never truly had his grasp on a front office like he has right now. He has not had the kind of control within the organization that he has right now with the Patriots. And so this is the first time around and we'll see. I trust Fable will pick the right player for the right reasons at number four but i'm not guaranteeing it. I certainly leave the door open for that concern of rable picking the person instead of the player.

Starting point is 00:18:55 And being more concerned with the character culture fit and maturity at number four that he might be looking at the talent. As far as jalen walker goes it's safe to say there's some legit smoke. I think many of us believe that Will Campbell is going to be the pick at four if the Patriots stay, that they'll stick and pick and Campbell will be the guy. But Mike Reese is not just throwing out Jalen Walker's name twice in his Sunday column unless he's hearing from somebody in that building that Jaylen Walker is a legitimate possibility at number four. And Breer is not throwing out his name just to throw out his name. It seems like right now, a couple of days before the draft, that at the number four

Starting point is 00:19:40 pick it is a two horse race. It's Campbell or it's Jaylen Walker. I think, and I would imagine that most of you think after reading what we've read, hearing what we've heard, seeing what we've seen, that Campbell's going to be the guy, but there's a lot being said about Jaylen Walker week of the draft. And remember how we started this pod,

Starting point is 00:20:01 talking about how the information that is leaking right now is much more serious than the information that might have been leaked two, three, four, five, six weeks ago. This is when we start to get a gauge of feel as to what a team might really do on draft night. And Walker, Mike Reese is no joke. Mike Reese is as good as it gets. And if he's throwing Walker's name out there twice the week of the draft, that tells me he's at least in the running. Let's have some fun.

Starting point is 00:20:31 Let's have some fun and give you our draft superlatives at number four. That's coming up as we continue with today's episode of Locked On Patriots, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Did you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV stick 4K devices. No console required. Just grab your paired controller, subscribe or sign in to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with EA Play included and you're ready to play. Dive into hundreds of premium titles

Starting point is 00:21:06 from EA Sports College Football 25 to Call of Duty Black Ops 6 and Avowed as easily as you stream your favorite shows. It's gaming made simple and it's all on your Fire TV. We are talking about endless entertainment my friends with 4k streaming watch more than one and a half million movies and tv episodes from your favorite subscribed services like netflix prime video disney max and more head to amazon.com slash fire tv locked on to get started xbox game pass ultimate subscription and compatible controller is required available on select devices including fire TV stick for Second gen fire TV stick 4k max first and second gen and fire TV cube third gen Just a couple of nights in just a couple of nights the Pats could change

Starting point is 00:22:01 Their ceiling as a football team with the number four pick You pick the right guy and that guy has the kind of impact that a number four pick can have You could change the ceiling of your team in 2025. So let's look at some superlatives. Let's have some fun Let's look at the fourth pick and I give you three superlatives Let's start here. The biggest risk reward player. Who do you think it is? Who would be your biggest risk reward player at number four? My guy is Tet McMillan. The risk is simple. The risk is something that we've actually seen play out with our eyes on this football team in prior years. Tet Macmillan is not a super speedy athletic freak

Starting point is 00:22:46 when it comes to shooting down the field. He doesn't have that top notch speed, somewhere in the mid to high four fives running the 40. That could be an issue. That is certainly a risk. Tet Macmillan also does not always get separation. And how many times have we talked about separation, the lack thereof that these Patriots receivers

Starting point is 00:23:08 can get play in and play out. It's been a major problem over the past several years. Why receivers not getting separation, forcing quarterbacks to throw the football into tight windows, making mistakes, turning the football over. Tett is not a guy that gets a ton of separation on the field. So there is a

Starting point is 00:23:26 legitimate risk that Tet McMillan will end up as the fourth pick a flop. Not ever getting the kind of production that you want to get from a top five pick at that premium position. But here's the reward. This is why it's the risk reward, the biggest risk reward at four for me. Tet does have the potential to be an alpha, an alpha wide receiver one, big bodied X receiver on the outside, somebody that can take a game over.

Starting point is 00:24:00 Somebody who is, while not speed demon athleticism down the field, is athletic. He can jump up and he can get it. And he has plenty of plays on the film that could open the doors to your love for Tett Macmillan. If you watch enough of him, if you see enough of his top plays, you could look at Tett Macmillan and say he's a bonafide number one receiver for the next eight to 10 years at the NFL level. He fills a major need at X for the Patriots and he could be that alpha. He could be a T Higgins type player.

Starting point is 00:24:35 Now T Higgins obviously went in the second round for Cincinnati, but Tet Macmillan could end up being your T Higgins. And remember how we began the off season, all of that T Higgins talk. The Patriots were interested T Higgins and remember how we began the offseason all of that T Higgins talk the Patriots were interested in Higgins they were going to offer him a ton of money before since he franchise tagged him so if you're not gonna get T Higgins because he stays in since he Tett Macmillan could be the next best guy for you to fill that need risk reward I think of tet macmillan what about best upside i'm gonna go with armand memboo i believe that armand memboo gives you the most the best upside it's it's a simple idea as to why because when we talk about upside and memboo, we talk about memboo playing left tackle. And if he fulfills that potential with his unbelievable athleticism and his size, he

Starting point is 00:25:33 could be a pro bowl left tackle. Everything has to go right. He has to be able to go from the right side to the left side. That athleticism has to be able to play itself out on the left side against NFL athletes dealing with speed pass rushers but if you wanted to look at this glass half full when discussing Armand Membou and the potential and the fact that he has great upside and I would say the best upside you would look at it and say everything unfolds perfectly and he is your answer at left tackle for the next decade if not longer and ends up being the best tackle by far of this class with that elite athleticism and if you could if you could see

Starting point is 00:26:19 into the future and Membu is that guy and he fulfills that upside he fulfills that potential and he becomes that pro bowl left tackle just imagine how great that would be imagine how great it would be to have a player at left tackle who you trust you have confidence in can actually play the position consistently and is a pillar. He is a pillar of your offense for the next decade, protecting the blind side of Drake May. Just imagine after all the stuff we've gone through with the Patriots over the last several years

Starting point is 00:26:58 at that one particular position, left tackle, it's been a pain in the tuk-tuk to deal with the left tackles that we've seen roll on through here, the ups and downs of Trent Brown, Viderian Lowe last year. We've gone through it. Best upside, Armand Membu. If he fulfills that, you draft him at four, he becomes that pro bowl left tackle tackle no more left tackle headache until 2036 hopefully What about safest? Who is the safest pick at number four? I'm going to go with Will Campbell now you could argue this and say well if you draft Campbell

Starting point is 00:27:38 And he ends up not being a left tackle then he wasn't the safest pick at number four because that's a top five pick. This is how I look at it. Campbell is the safest pick because worst case scenario, Will Campbell is going to be a top-notch pro bowl maybe even if you read enough people and you listen to enough people that know these things they will tell you will Campbell could be an all-pro guard At the nfl level So if the worst case scenario is getting an all-pro level talent That's not bad, is it? Worst case scenario you got to push will Campbell into guard

Starting point is 00:28:22 Year two year three he ends up being an all pro and you have an all pro left tackle, no, all pro left guard rather for eight, nine, 10, 11 years. That's the worst case scenario I see with Campbell. It's very difficult for me to believe that Campbell will just be an absolute flop, a huge swing and miss. Now he might not be that left tackle. You might draft him at left tackle. You might be convicted of that idea, believing that he is going to be that guy. You're committed to playing him at left tackle. But eventually year two, year three, he ends up

Starting point is 00:28:55 being a guard. But it's tough for me to envision Campbell being a flop with his ability, his athleticism, his level of play in the SEC, his maturity, his football IQ. Very difficult to imagine him being a complete swing and miss and not being a cornerstone of this team for the next 10 years. Now the best case, he's an above average left tackle and he is a leader for your football team. So biggest risk reward, I got Tet McMillan, best upside Armand Membu, safest pick, Will Campbell because of that worst case scenario not being too bad at all. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. On tomorrow's show, we'll talk about an overlooked prospect on the offensive line. Let me know your thoughts on today's topics.

Starting point is 00:29:46 Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C radio. You can follow me as well and don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today. For your second listen, check out the Lockdown NFL Draft with Damien Parson and Keith Sanchez. Get the latest draft rankings, rumors, and news as we get closer and closer to draft night. You can also check out the Locked On Mock Draft episode that has been recently released. Find both programs on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a fantastic day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - NFL Draft Trade Winds SWIRLING For New England Patriots?

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