Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - One More Time: New England Patriots Draft Musings During Draft Week — 4/25/22

Episode Date: April 26, 2022

With the time remaining until the 2022 NFL Draft being measured by hours instead of days, the New England Patriots are making last minute preparations for this weekend’s events. Host Mike D’Abate is joined by Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy as the duo provide their thoughts and grades on several mock drafts submitted by Locked On Patriots listeners. Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave, Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis and Michigan safety Dax Hill are among the notables discussed.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/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On 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 “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Shady RaysEXCLUSIVELY FOR OUR LISTENERS, HEAD TO SHADYRAYS.COM AND USE CODE LOCKEDON TO GET FIFTY PERCENT OFF TWO OR MORE PAIRS OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES.Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 yearsupply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK.Blue NileThis Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, the NFL draft is now being measured in hours instead of days. Chris Alave in the first round, Dax Hill possibly being the next big piece in the Patriots secondary. We cover all of that today. As Murph and I muse the draft here on Locked On Patriots, I'm Mike DeBate, and you are about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots

a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Remember, Locked On Patriots is always free and available on all platforms. Wherever you get your podcasts, you can find Locked on Patriots, and we appreciate you always making us a part of your day each and every day. And, of course, Locked on Patriots, definitely brought to you today by the folks over at BetOnline. Find all of the latest sports developments league reviews and news anytime you log into bet online head over to the website today or use your mobile device to learn

more about the trends in the action that online where the game starts folks it's hard to believe that the nfl draft is less than a week away starting this Thursday, April 28th. And there's a part of you that's really excited about today. And then there's a part of you that's almost like, well, it's the last day we get to muse the draft here until next year. But fear not, folks. We have an action-packed agenda today here on the pod. Without further ado, I welcome in the resident don of locked on patriots he's got his

very own day his very own branded hashtag and of course folks there's a reason for that columnist extraordinaire whether it be mlb nfl or anything in the world the great sage always provides the queen the green wisdom and counsel that we need if i can talk today the legendary thomas murphy of e2gsports.com joins me today thank you for coming to me in friendship thank you for joining me today don murph always my pleasure michael always my pleasure um i wasn't i wasn't done chair dancing there at the end i love this theme song it is it's pretty silly it really is and i dig it i dig it i just i just said snappy i think i stepped out of that thing you do.

I really am. I don't know. I don't know where that came from. It's a snappy tune. That's it. Yeah. Yeah, man. As you can see, Murph and I are about to go off the rails. So let's bring it back in. Murph, it's the last day we get to muse the draft in the calendar year of 2022. It's very, very depressing, very heartbreaking. But fear not, folks.

For those of you that are huge fans of the great man sitting right here next to me, folks, let me tell you, that hashtag LockedOnMurphMonday is his. Murph's not going anywhere. As a matter of fact, next week may be the ultimate musing the draft because we're not just going to muse your great musings here and basically use those for our enjoyment, but we're going to mock the whole damn thing. We're going to talk about the Patriots and we're actually going to grade their draft. But bottom line today,

this is going to be a lot of fun because some of our all-stars have submitted. I think they've saved some of the best for last. We really, really have great, great mocks to share with you today, folks. So without further ado, Murph and I are going to dive right in. It's all draft all the time here on Muse the Draft Monday on hashtag Locked on Murph Monday. So let's go. And we start with our buddy Nick, who submitted his first draft that we're downloading um downloading and we're uh you know going through here on the pod and Nick I want to give you a lot of a lot of kudos on this one this was a very

smart uh very well very methodical uh draft has the Patriots hanging on to number 21 Murph this is a wide receiver that I've had my eye on for quite some time spent a lot of time lately talking about jameson williams talking about john mechi but chris olabi out of ohio state is just i think the most nuanced and the most complete route runner in this draft phenomenal talent this kid i i know in the recent weeks i've said the patriots because they got devonte parker cannot uh they they can shy away from maybe taking a wide receiver in the first round, but a lot of sitting there, that's going to be a tough one to lay off of. This to me is a home run pick. I mean, if the Patriots did this, even if they have

other holes, I mean, this is the type of talent you just don't leave on the board. Right. It really is. And five years of control just like trumps everything that anybody could could possibly, you know, any argument that they could possibly have for making this selection. If he's there, you have to grab him. He's just like without a doubt. Outside of Jameis Williams, my favorite wide receiver in Jameson. Sorry, my favorite wide receiver in this draft not named john matchy yeah absolutely and you know i mean regardless of what i mean i know a lot of people are making a lot about williams or mostly metchy because of his connection uh that he has to uh

mac up to mac jones and uh even slade bolden in a lot of respect yeah i saw some tweets flying around over the weekend in our direction, but maybe not so much yours, but in my direction about suggesting that Slade Bolden was going to be the next coming of, that Mack and Slade were going to be the next coming of Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. I don't know

where that came from. Those words have never been uttered on this show or anything we've ever done, folks. That's clearly, clearly not what we're getting at but bottom line when you look at synergy between a quarterback and a wide receiver and mark scofield talked about this on friday when the two of us spoke regarding the draft thank you very much uh mark is always amazing and he always it's it's out of the park whenever he provides this type of insight and he he mentioned an interview that Joe Montana gave years ago about the importance of having a wide receiver that you have comfort with, that you have a synergy with.

It is very important, folks, for the development of a young quarterback. And not to mention that Mack is also right now facing a situation where he's going to have a new offensive coordinator, new offensive minds. Maybe they're not going to name that OC this year, but Matt Patricia, Joe Judge are going to clearly have their agenda. It's going to be different than Josh McDaniels. Not radically different. I don't think they're reinventing the wheel here in New England, but there will be different approaches.

Right. They're still pulling from the same encyclopedia, Biltanica. Absolutely. That's it. And That's the bottom line, that whoever's making those calls has the big line of white books that their mother spent too much money on in high school and is pulling it out. Go look that up, younger folks. Absolutely. I had a world book myself instead of the Biltanica. Oh, okay. I was a world book kid. But bottom line, I really – getting back to Nick's draft here when it comes to bringing in someone like a lot, it just has that ability to really fit in with any type of quarterback.

And when you're this good of a route runner and when route running is as important to an offense as it is here in New England, especially a quarterback that's so predicated on making those timing-based throws. I think Mac Jones would absolutely love this. And as much as I hate Ohio State quarterbacks, I love Ohio State wide receivers. Yeah, and Olave has a chance to be one of the great ones in this league. Reminds me very much of Justin Jefferson coming out a couple of years ago. Myself and Evan Lazar of CLNS media are still heartbroken over that one but you know

what such is life my friend and uh not there's nowhere near what nick uh did we're not even close to being at the pinnacle uh pulled off a nice trade here i'm actually when i looked at this the first time a little surprised this went through because the patriots did get a haul they received the 64th pick in the second round the 96th pick in the third number 206 in the sixth round and then number 232 in the seventh round shipping obviously number 54 over to the denver broncos right um i i wow yeah this this really, I mean, this is, this was good. This was smart. This was obviously the algorithms approve this. So this does have some basis in reality.

I know a lot of people like to think those algorithms are not reality based. Are they far-fetched? Absolutely. But there is reality in here. So good job, Nick, with, uh, with pulling off this trade and he turned it into a couple of us for a second rounder and a third rounder that could really help to shore up the secondary. And I think really, I think from top to bottom,

maybe the area where the Patriots really needed it the most. Cam Taylor Britt out of Nebraska with the number 64 pick coming over from the Broncos and then following that up with Marcus Jones at round three and number 85. Two solid picks here, Mur murph i really think neither one of these guys are going to be number ones just yet but i i think solid additions both um they're kind of smurfy um you know not to not to just smirk disparage uh smurfs they're they're

little guys they are um i i don't know if either one of them is going to end up being a number one corner in the league. It's a tad bit too early for me for both of them, but it definitely shores up a hole that you have at both spots. They are guys that are going to come in, going to be able to contribute in year one, and that's what I think he was going for here. Absolutely, yeah, and I think that is a good move for the New England Patriots at that point. And trying to shore up that defensive backfield is something that's so important. And it's so much a part of what New England.

It's just short people. You know, you can't teach height. And they say that for a reason. 5'11 is okay. But, I mean, you know, we're talking 5 8 here on jones i i it's kind of small but he is he is he is a very athletic uh quarterback uh he's got some special teams ability um he's gonna play inside you can't put him outside smooth Smooth footwork, but that punt and kick returner stuff, Bill really likes. I just don't know if it's going to happen in this round.

Yeah, I think I can see the argument about third round maybe being a little bit tough, especially for Jones. But Jones continues to, you know, don't forget, this is a guy that came in here for a top 30 visit last week. So New England obviously is eyeing these positions. That didn't shy them away we'll see we'll see what happens uh you know with the new england patriots uh nick goes on to put out a solid performance here i think of course this week as always we'll definitely tweet these

out and keep them uh on the uh the new england patriots twitter account for locked on patriots one position that i wanted to address here on Nick's draft before we give him our overall grade at the tackle position, San Diego State, Zachary Thomas. I'm seeing Thomas show up a lot on mock drafts lately. I'm seeing him show up in national media and local

media, starting to warm to the idea that this could be a late round steal for the offensive line. definitely good athlete here uh good body control good agility right um size yeah exactly uh smart football iq um probably better off i know he's listed as a tackle here yeah exactly the impression that i'm getting is that he's much better suited on the interior i I think that's where he can be most effective. What are your thoughts on Zachary Thomas and his rise in the ranks lately? Yeah, it's been a mediocre rise up through the ranks, and he's finally getting a

little bit of traction here. There were actually some people talking about him going as an undrafted free agent just, you know, a month ago. And right now he's in the conversation, you know, down at the bottom of a lot of different drafts. And I like the pick. I like the pick. Again, a bit too soon for me, but if you like the guy, you go up and you get him. All right. I would have taken him around or so later. But no, an excellent pick here i i think uh the algorithms gave them an a plus on it i'm squinting because this one's so small but uh but no an excellent pick an excellent draft really a great draft yeah i think an excellent draft as well i give them a solid b plus on this maybe with an a

minus rising uh yeah obviously i mean you start off a draft and you're able to pull off chris right there i love it i love the ingenuity on the trades and then good value i think in the middle part of the rounds michael mcfadden out of indiana the linebacker coming in he can i think give a good opportunity um kyron williams out of uh notre dame coming out of the way you know to play that backfield i think could be a uh an option as well so good good stuff uh nick thank you very much uh we tip the cap no pun intended my friend uh but thank you very much for uh for your uh contribution and a solid draft there uh murph we got another first timer uh that submitted this one yeah and uh i was glad to uh to pull this one in again i

think another solid effort smart effort i'm here by uh corn patriot you can follow him on twitter as well and he starts off right off the bat making a trade and the patriots ship off number 21 in the first round to the kansas city chiefs for the 29th pick in the first round and then number 62 in the in the second round good value here you pick up another second round you still are able to draft in the first round um i like the trade uh you know maybe who knows maybe kansas city does bite at this um in reality i don't necessarily know if there's any uh opportunity for the patriots to uh to trade down apparently a lot of teams based on monday morning reports are looking to trade down. Apparently a lot of teams, based on Monday morning reports,

are looking to trade down here in New England, all over the NFL landscape. Round one, 29, Zion Johnson goes to the New England Patriots at Austin College. We've talked about Zion before. I think this one has been kind of given back and forth. Your thoughts, if this is where the Patriots are headed, is this the right pick for them this early for the offensive line?

No, I really don't. That could just be my bias because we just don't get the opportunities to pick. I hate when I say we, the Patriots do not get the opportunities to pick the kinds of weapons on both sides of the ball this year that they normally do. And Johnson, as excellent as he is, he's a top three offensive lineman on anybody's board and would be here for a very long time and anchor a spot. I just can't do it. I just can't. I'm not making that pick. But bravo to you for staying the course with Bill and trading down and getting a game changer on the offensive line. I can see Bill doing this. It's just not something that I'm going to be able to swallow really well on draft night. Yeah. I mean, in terms of dynamic athletes,

and I completely see where you're coming from. You look at the Devin Lloyd, you look at the N'Kobe Beans, you look at the corner position, somebody like Andrew Booth, or maybe even the McDuffie or an Elam throwing those guys in there. I'll lobby at the wide receiver position, Jameson Williams, obviously, if he's there at number 21, the Patriots can't lay off of that despite of the other needs. But if you look at the biggest hole on this team right now, it's left guard. I mean, that's really, that's the position where you don't have a starter or a capable backup that's being able to take on that role.

So if that's the case and the Patriots want to go that route and some of the guys they want are off the board or they feel that they can duplicate those efforts elsewhere, it's got a shot. And even though Johnson, I'm sorry, even though I wouldn't do this, there's a 70% chance that this happens. 70% chance

that this happens. And I end up throwing a TV through a wall. And we'll have live coverage here on the Lockdown Podcast Network of Murph throwing a TV through the wall, folks. You definitely want to tune in for it. It's must-see TV. Actually, it's must-go TV, I guess is the best way to put it.

But Korn Patriot puts out another, I think, solid draft here. There were a lot of positions that he got in the second round at number 62. Kingsley Anibari, we talked a little bit about him last week. Marcus Jones, we just talked about. McFadden, Kyron Williams, good solid additions here. But one guy that we haven't mentioned a whole lot, Murph, just wanted to get your thoughts. Second round, number 54, Jaquan Brisker out of Penn State. The safety, very highly touted. I think an interesting prospect. Patriots fans are going to yell at the wall saying they don't need a safety, but this kid has the potential to be more. Yeah, I love this pick. I really do. And he fixes everybody's mistakes on the back end. He's

somebody that is just so fast and so quick and smart. It kills me that it's not going to happen because the guy went to Penn State. Bill doesn't do Penn State. It's true, but it's a first time for everything there, but don't forget. But yeah, it is. He's somebody that is incredibly smart out there. A new quarterback for the back end of this defensive backfield. I would really like to move. I love watching this kid play football.

Yeah, really, really good. And, you know, one thing that I think a lot of people have to remember is the safety position in New England is so fluid. There are guys that can come in and play multiple positions, be able to utilize multiple roles. It doesn't necessarily mean that because you're a safety drafted by the Patriots that that's where you're going to end up. We're going to get into that a little bit more just a little later because there is a guy that's listed as a safety that I think could be a very intriguing

potential for the Patriots. We'll see if Murph agrees. We don't always agree here on Murph Monday, but variety is the spice of life, folks uh we will continue on with your musing the draft here in just a moment folks but first today's episode is brought to you by the great folks over at athletic greens they put out a fantastic product i literally use it every day let's face it we all want more energy folks the days are getting longer we want to maximize our health to enjoy the upcoming spring and summer months. I started taking their AG1 for that reason, and I love it. One delicious scoop of athletic greens, and I'm already enjoying better gut health, more energy, greater focus, and folks, you will too.

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Again, that's athleticgreens.com slash NFL Network to take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. Patriots fans, once again, it is hashtag Locked on Murph Monday. We are musing the draft. The draft is our muse for you today. I am joined by the legendary Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com, columnist extraordinaire and great draft sage, my best good friend and really one of the best guys

that you'll ever meet in this or any walk of life. But in the previous segment, we had some interesting mock drafts that came out. Loved them both. Love the ingenuity, trades going on, a lot of interesting stuff. We kick off segment number two here on Locked On Patriots with our good friend, the high school legend himself. High school ledge four. I love the high school legend. I love the avatar. It makes me think of Al Bundy scoring four touchdowns in one game for Polk High School. It really is. It's great.

It really, and I love, love the insight that you provide, my friend. Thank you so much for becoming a great friend and a great support to us here at Locked On Patriots. The legend pulls it off in round one, pick 21. You

want to talk about mana from heaven baby this is it jordan davis uh falls to the new england patriots uh again uh just like i said about a lobby last time uh this this is i mean this is a generational talent yeah and it's really it's it's tough to pass on that if he's there at 21 i think bill himself from his Nantucket home runs to the podium to hand in this card. Yeah, please, please, please let this happen. I will. I'll do cartwheels up and down Main Street here in Portland. It's God.

Let me make this happen. This is this is a man that that will anchor this line for a generation okay the way the way we talk about vince woolfork you know our our grandkids will be talking about um about this man he he just he brings it all he does it all i want this i want this bad i really hope that that that bill is drafting against the same people that uh that the legend was drafting against it on this night because it's a beautiful thing. Absolutely. And the legend even put in his comments, and he put, My final mock, I hope it goes like this with exclamation points.

Right. From your lips to the Almighty's ears, my friend. We hope so as well. So do the rest of us. I mean, yeah. I mean, how can you not like, you know, automatically just give this guy the top of the grade, top of the heap? But he does a great job with the rest of this draft i mean really i don't think there's a dud

among his selections um the patriots do pull off a trade with the new york football giants shipping off uh number two uh number 54 in round two and number 158 in round five they get three picks back they get a third rounder this year uh number 67 the third rounder number 81 this year and then a seventh rounder in 2024 which is uh not purposeful for our discussions today but you know a nice piece to have down the line uh some interesting choices um again he's going safety just like a lot of other people did nick cross coming in from maryland again another kid that listed as a safety but a lot of potential people did. Nick Cross coming in from Maryland. Again, another kid that listed as a safety, but a lot of potential here. Going to be highly touted.

This is definitely a solid day two pick, I think, in my opinion, with Nick. Probably early on in day two. I agree where he's grabbing him. I like the pick. He's got more size than some of the guys that we were talking about earlier. His technique needs to improve. He doesn't necessarily fit a two-safety system. That's a bit much.

He's going to be a nickel guy early. Yeah, absolutely, and he will. And that's the one thing about defensive backs that can come in. When you have the versatility to play, if you're a corner on the outside, if you can kick in and be a nickel or play in the slot, or even as a safety, have the ability to kick up and play cornerback for a little while, get to know the position and then shift back, you're onto something there. And I think that this kid has the potential.

There is a guy in this draft I like a little better for that role. Again, we'll get to that. But again, I think a solid effort here for the legend. No question about it uh brian awesome law coming in from oklahoma at the linebacker position he's getting some value there he got him at number 85 in the third round i think he comes off the board a little quicker but right bottom line i mean you can only give you can only go with the algorithm algorithm right algorithms that you are given that's three three-ton ties today, Mark.

Yeah, you can only play the teams that are on the schedule. And the guy was on the schedule, and he made a good pick right there. Again, I think that's about 15 spots lower than he's probably going to go. But I would love it if it happened, man. The kid is just a baller. Absolutely. And I want to skip over to his round out pick which is the seventh rounder that the patriots picked up uh in his uh in his draft at number 246 because they

pull off another trade with the cleveland browns to trade back down they ship away 210 in the sixth round round seven they get number 233 uh 223 and then number 246. The pick at 246 to me is interesting. And I'm not quite sure why this one hasn't gained a little bit more steam. Maybe Murph can tell us because he doesn't quite like this organization or should I say this, well, the athletic franchise. I don't think he has anything against the institution of higher education. But a Michigan State Spartan comes uh to round out this draft tight end slash fullback connor hayward now right i know the patriots are talking about going away from the fullback but this kid can play

that h-back role claire and i talked about connor right from the get-go when right it was when uh jacob johnson uh signed with the Raiders. This has the potential to be a patriotic pick here. Yeah, it really, really does. I love this pick. And I'm not a fan of Michigan State at all whatsoever. But I am a fan of Connor Hayward. He is a Patriots fit. He does it all.

He played running back, fullback, tight end, and return kicks while he was at Michigan State. He's the son of Craig Ironhead Hayward. There you go. A little bit of trivia there for you. He's the brother of Steelers defensive lineman Cam Hayward. This dude has no off switch whatsoever. He's a competitor from whistle to final gun. He will immediately compete as a core special teamer in this Patriot system.

The only thing is they're looking for more of a pass catching back right here. So that's the only downside to it. He hasn't caught a lot of passes. But you draft this man with the thought of, I mean, exactly where we're drafting, where they're drafting him here as a future, somebody with a future, somebody that could fit in here, somebody with a future, somebody that could fit in here, somebody that is going to work on his pass catching. And don't expect to see him in 2022, but 2023, 2024,

he could get on the field and do some damage and be one of those guys that Bill is like, hey, I can use you for five plays. Absolutely. Those type of Swiss Army knife players New England absolutely loves. I wrote about a guy over the weekend in a published article that just dropped this morning on Sports Illustrated about Troy Anderson out of Montana State and how this guy has played literally all over the field. He excelled at quarterback position. He excelled at running back.

He aligned at fullback. And then you want to talk about linebacker, won the defensive player of the year in his conference last year. So exactly. I mean, you talk about these types of versatile players. Bill Belichick loves these guys. You've got plenty of players that have played out of position here in New England. And he really is like that. I don't know. I want to maybe that defensive version of Taysom Hill where you can just kind of do anything with him. Great stuff. Again, legend.

Very, very good. I love the draft. I love what he did. I'm in a generous mood again here. Yeah, I like that. He's a wide receiver. He picked up a guard at 200. You know, Joshua Enzo, who we've talked about before.

This is a solid draft from top to bottom, an outstanding draft up top, and he just kept the A's going. I don't know why Josh Johnson got a C there in the fifth round, for Christ's sake. Yeah, I like him as well. I think that that's a good move. I love picking up in the sixth round at number 200. I love picking up Izudu from North Carolina. Versatile guard there.

Someone you want to talk about, a guy that may not be ready to start day one, but really could develop into a solid piece along this offensive line. By week six or seven, this is not a solid piece for next year or the year after. This is not going to be a guy that's going to get a red shirt season here. This was a fantastic pick. I like it. And this is exactly what goes back to the other drafts that we were talking about

where they're taking linemen in the first round. Yeah, absolutely. And again, a deep draft. I know a lot of people are saying, oh, this has the potential to be a dud draft. Yeah, people are saying that because you don't have the flashy quarterback class that you usually have in some of these

drafts but there's talent at that position as well the patriots won't be dipping into that unless it's very late in the draft or as an undrafted free agent but at the same time there is a lot of good talent at a lot of positions of need for new england so maybe this isn't the national darling draft that everybody wants no this has the potential to be a pretty good one because they can really get some gems here. You're great for the high school legend today, my friend. Oh, it's got to be an A. Yeah, I agree.

Straight A. And like you said, maybe the coffee was just really good this morning that I'm drinking. But no, this is an A draft. From top to bottom, you cannot cut this draft up. There isn't a pick here or a trade here that i disagreed with so yeah a solid a maybe an a plus yeah wow oh yeah that's great and i haven't i haven't i don't i don't give those out man i am not you know very very seldom no that's that's it you gotta earn that murph a and you gotta earlier in that but that that a plus, and that is definitely something to, yeah,

definitely without any question. Murph, it is always, always fun to mock over, should say, muse the draft because we don't mock the draft. We don't make fun of it. Never have folks never will.

We're going to close the show today with two of our all stars, guys that have been with us since the very beginning year on lockdown Patriots in terms of musing the draft. And they really submitted, I think, two solid efforts here without any question. And we're going to get to two of our favorites in just a moment. But first, Murph, it's Team Butchie's favorite part of the show. The part of the show where I get to tell you all about the great products that are put out by our good friends over at Built Bar. Easter is just a few days removed, and I know there's still some sweet treats laying around in your house, maybe

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Patriots fans, we once again use the draft here on Locked On Patriots for the final time in 2022. And it has been a great ride before Murph and I get into some of the great content that has been put out all throughout this draft season. We tried to do our best to get to as many mock drafts that were submitted. Some of them we were able to get to. Some, unfortunately, for time restraints, we weren't able to get to as many mock drafts that were submitted. Some of them we were able to get to. Some, unfortunately, for time restraints, we weren't able to get to. I really want to give a shout out to a new submitter here who submitted some great mock drafts for us today. Time restraints, unfortunately, are handcuffing us a little bit.

But WhoMacJones on Twitter, at TheKingMac10. Change up the Twitter handle there, folks. So please go out, do yourself a favor, follow this person. Definitely a great Twitter follow. That's at the KingMac10. Pulled off a great draft. I thought very, very good. Boy, Maeve coming in as an edge rusher.

John Meche coming in as a wide receiver. You know, the Patriots pulling out all the stops. We talked about azudu last uh time he gets him same position round six at number 200 great drafts so definitely go out there and check him out and humac jones thank you so much for all of your submissions folks thank everybody for all of the submissions that they've had we've had some great ones and it's been a fun year this has been one of the really has mike and I have been doing this for a few seasons now. And this is without a doubt,

one of the best seasons that we've, we've been able to, uh, to bring to you for lack of a better term. It really has been. It really, really is. It really and truly is.

It's, it's something that we have always enjoyed doing. It's something that as a concept, a couple of years ago, when we started doing this and breaking these down, uh, I started doing it solo and then murph started to join me on a monday and we really just enjoyed hitting the microphone together and doing this and it never gets old and we'll be back here next year doing this lord willing we'll continue to keep bringing you uh our musing the draft uh you know moments on mondays and don't forget we're not quite done musing the draft yet because we're going to ultimately

muse the draft, the Patriots draft next week. And we're going to grade Bill Belichick and company and Matt Groh and all those guys up there that won Patriots place. But it wouldn't be muse the draft Monday if we didn't close out with a great submission from these two gentlemen. We're going to start with a guy that has the distinction of being one of the very few if only submitters here on lockdown patriots that has actually joined the guest chair and co-hosted with me one day and that is our good friend andrew carraway at carraway six

andrew a tip of the cap here my friend because you pulled off another good one here right he has the patriots trading out of the first well I shouldn't say that he has the Patriots trading out of the number 21 the number 26 pick comes back from the Tennessee Titans along with the 90th pick in the third round and number 143 in the fourth round so increasing the Patriots draft capital we love it at wide receiver he takes Georgia wide out George Pickens a guy he knows very well right home run with this one. I love Pickens. And at this pick, I think this is a great move.

It really is. The only concern is the knee. And other than that, you know, coming from Andrew, you can't argue with the man. The man knows Georgia football inside and out, upside and down. You could put him on the sidelines. That's how entrenched he is with the SEC and especially with Georgia football. I'm not cutting this up. I can't. Even though a lot of people have him, even outside the top 10, behind guys like Dotson, behind guys like Robinson, Traylon Burks, and of course, who we talked about, Crystal Lave earlier, but,

you know, I'm just not, I can't do it. Yeah, I agree. Look, Pickens is someone that my colleague at Sports Illustrated, Kevin Tame, talked about a little bit before here on these airwaves about a potential that may not be the, you not be the flash pick that everybody is projecting at wide receiver. Before the knee injury, he was the best wide receiver in this class. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that's something that's important to note is that this kid has all of the tools,

folks. There have been injury concerns. And I know, yes, there are injury concerns on Mechie. There are injury concerns on Jamison Williams. They've been a little bit more highly touted I think in this area I think people are hyping Mechie a little bit more because of his connection to Mac Jones but Jamison Williams is still the media darling when it comes to the wide receiver in this class they still look at him as the best receiver in this class but Pickens is really I think a 1a here in terms of talent and if that is okay you're getting a dynamic talent someone that can really be a special force in this wide

receiver core for a number of years so uh bravo uh andrew great move trading out and still being able to get the the uh the top one of the top wide outs in the first round you're doing something right there you go uh leo chanel joins the patriots at number 54 in the first round, you're doing something right. There you go. Leo Chanel joins the Patriots at number 54 in the second round. We talked about Leo last week. Versatile linebacker. Good opportunity for the Patriots to get, I think, a prototypical guy that can do some great things. If you're not going to address linebacker in round one,

this is the way to go. This is the way to go. He is a prototypical Patriot linebacker, and he is somebody who will come in here that Bill will love. And he does have more speed than some other guys that are of his size. But Bill likes those big guys, and if he goes in another direction and doesn't listen to me, you can't go wrong with Leo.

Absolutely. Yeah, very well said. Very, very well said. At number 85 in the third round, Max Mitchell, coming in a tackle position, Louisiana, not a name that, uh, Patriots fans have heard a whole lot of, uh, in mock drafts, but, uh, he's been thrown around. I've seen him in some of the mock drafts that, uh, Patriots media has submitted. Uh, what are your thoughts on this?

Because you have a way of being able to see things in offensive line. Us mere mortals don't see much. Yeah, he doesn't handle the power moves really, really well. His anchor is not the best on the planet. He struggled with guys during the senior bowl when I went back and looked at some film for that. But he's got a frame at 6'6 and 307 that you could add 25 pounds to him and address some of those things. He has good extension in his arms, has a good short punch, a really good bend for a tall player, for a guy that's 6'6. I really like him. There'll be a little laundry on the floor because he tends to be a bit grabby.

You know, that happens with him in some of the tape that I've watched. And, you know, but another good solid pick, man. I get, like I said before, I'm not going to argue the man. Absolutely. Yeah. And I think a good opportunity and everything is you know going along well so i think that uh so far uh you know not bad andrew you saved a good one and i like the addition of max mitchell in this um in this offensive line uh patriots do address corner at number 90 in the

third round one of those trade picks that comes over jalen on more davis coming over from uh alabama uh this is is another pick that could be intriguing. You know if Andrew's going with a Bama guy that it's got to be difficult for him to do it, but there's got to be a reason. What is that reason, my friend? Just the fact that the competition that he's been able to face and stare down to this point in time. He's a fantastic addition. And grabbing him here, I think, is kind of a steal. Absolutely. I agree. I really do. I think that this opportunity for the New England Patriots to increase so many areas of need on this team really helps.

And it really does give, I think, a lot. And it lends a lot of credence into what this team is able to do. So good stuff. You know, right off the bat with Andrew, no question about it. He continues to, I think,

make some pretty good picks here. He does go into the cornerback. Well, one more time though, and he goes into Georgia with Darion Kendrick. The algorithm gods didn't like this one too much, but you know, I don't know.

I don't necessarily know if this is too bad. Maybe number 170 is a little high for Kendrick. But I just love the opportunity to bring in another guy that has the last name Kendrick. I can call him Lieutenant Kendrick because it's the last name. Did you order the code red? I can repeat that. I already said, I already tried to get Kendrick Bourne and Kendrick ordering the code run when he takes the ball on the jet sweep out of the backfield.

That fell flat last year, folks. Nobody seemed to appreciate it. But no, all kidding aside, I think a good solid effort here. Chris Allen coming in from the edge at number 200 in the sixth round out of Alabama that's great value love that's great and the sixth round I like what he did there uh and of course I think as a nod to Murph just to help satisfy his Bolden uh requirement of a bolding coming in at safety giving Bolden's a d is just you know yeah that no it isn't right it isn't right yeah you don't give boldens a d

at all i mean you're just any bolden but no all kidding aside but i mean i really i like what he brings to the table so i was a little surprised by this um the algorithm gods gave this one a b plus i'm willing to go a little higher on this one for uh for andrew um i think a b plus with an a minus rising i love the trade down and still being able to get Pickens and Chenal as your first two options here. Yeah, help me out here at round four, 143. Otito, blah, blah, blah, blah. I've been up since three o'clock in the morning, people. I don't understand the D there.

Kendrick, I don't understand the D plus there. And blah, blah, blah. The algorithm slid this down a little bit to a B plus. This is an A draft. This is an A draft right here. Andrew goes in, does his work, and you can't cut him up. You really can't at any point in time. What he did at the top of this draft I thought was fantastic.

I love Max Mitchell. We talked about Chanel. And, of course, Pickens is, like I said, with, you know, sans the knee injury is the best wide receiver in this draft, in my opinion. And it's just fantastic stuff. Absolutely. It's an absolute without any question. Great. And great, great stuff.

And it is. It absolutely is. I think great submissions, as always, from Mr. Carraway. Andrew, thank you so much for being a great friend, for being a great support to the New England Patriots, Lockdown Patriots podcast. And what can I say? We always appreciate it.

And we hope you'll continue to give us your musings and your thoughts on some of these draft picks and how they end up doing in New England if some of these guys are guys you hit on. And last but certainly not least, Murph, it's almost time to close up the mock draft mailbag for the year, but not before we go to our good friend at Sully6827, Jason Sullivan, closing things out. The Patriots trading with the Chiefs. A lot of people, I think, you know, trading with Kansas City.

I think that number 29 to number 21, Kansas City wanted to move up a little bit, maybe get a wide receiver to replace Tyreek Hill. I'm not sure. But number 21 and number 210 in the sixth round go to the Chiefs. The Patriots, in return, get number 29 in the first round. And then, wow, yeah, number 62 in the second round. This is a pretty good haul for Sully. and he turns water into wine on this one. Three top picks.

Great, great stuff here, and then he continues on in this draft. I'm not going to give away too much, but at number 29, Daxton Hill comes in. Michigan listed technically as a safety although the algorithm gods are listed him as a cornerback and yeah i don't get that yeah that's something i wrote about a little over the weekend i don't know if maybe word is spreading i'm not saying that it was my article that did that folks because this has been in the pipeline for a while so i'm not quite that arrogant but um there is a uh i think a little bit of a movement now for this kid. Yeah.

And what they are looking for in terms of someone that can come in and be that type of player in this system. Dax Hill, obviously, is someone that has played corner before. He does have the ability to play outside. He's drawing a lot of comparisons to Devin McCourty and a lot of people are saying well the Patriots are loaded in the box they got a lot of box safeties they've got Duggar they've got Adrian Phillips they've got Jabril Peppers coming in now even Joshua Bledsoe can play in that role in a little bit if they decide to keep

him on staff but they don't really have that heir apparent to Devin McCourty folks Dax Hill is definitely the heir apparent to Devin McCourty. Folks, Dax Hill is definitely the heir apparent to Devin McCourty. I think really he has the chance to be this type of player. Leadership capabilities as well. Patriots fans' heads are going to explode if this happens, but I think this could be a really solid move if the Patriots do it. You know, I got to say I agree, but I like Brisker better, who we talked about earlier. He is a fantastic athlete. He's one of the quickest guys in this draft. You want to get faster, you got faster with this dude.

He's not somebody that I would call an interception machine. He's not really a ball hawk. He's in there on every single play. He's a hard hitter across the middle. Uh, fundamental, fundamentally sound. Um, his best attribute has gotta be his athleticism and he relies on it a bit too much. Um, other than that, it's, it's, you know, it's, it's hard to go wrong here. It is. I'm trying to, because I like Prisker better, but it's hard to, it's, it's, it's hard to say that this is a terrible pick because it's not. Well, I think where this kid really, I think stands out as his ability to

contribute at outside, maybe kick back into free safety, very similar to the career path that McCourty had, but also his prowess on special teams. Obviously, he's not unique in that regard, but a very notable asset on kick coverage teams. I think he can be a standout in that role. So to me, there's a lot to like. There's a lot to bite onto with Dax Hill. And I'm liking the rumors that link him to the New England Patriots.

Chances of it happening, probably not as good as i would put out there right now but at the same time uh this one does have a little uh you know fire where where that smoke is billowing so if you can see their way clear on that folks definitely take a look at some of the film on dax hill i really enjoyed looking at some of the options that he provides and just great stuff all the way around. He continues on here, John Mechie. How can you not be satisfied with a draft that gives you John Mechie at the wide receiver position, number 54 in the second round? Great stuff here. I know the algorithms are a little iffy on going that high for Mechie. But his stock is building. And the more you hear about his knee, it's doing much better.

Mark and I talked a little bit about his prowess and his abilities. I love this pick at 54. Me too. I think it's great. Then the Patriots address linebacker. And if you can do this at number 62 in the second round, you're also doing something right. And that's Christian Harris out of Alabama. Liking this kid a lot more.

I watch him. Yeah. The more you watch him, the more you like him. He's just a fantastic athlete that is able to get the job done every single time. So go get him. I love it. Absolutely. Without any question.

Another good pick. We don't talk about too much here on the airwaves and locked on Patriots but a solid pick at the tackle position a little bit Sean Ryan out of UCLA right I like this pick as well this was good I don't know why uh the algorithms didn't like this one no much I think this is brilliant so I don't either a lot of people are picking him outside the top 100 if at 85 if if Bill is able to grab him i am a happy camper yeah without question uh and again i think it solves a lot of problems obviously the patriots have more of a needed traditional guard than tackle but there are some questions that tackle i love trent brown and i

want him to be healthy and i want him to be the player everyone knows he can be but until that track record starts to recede a little bit, you've got to be careful. Isaiah Wynn, we're not sure. There's injury history there as well. Two solid players when they're healthy, but you need the ability to be able to replace some of these guys if need be. And Sean Ryan gives you that opportunity. Cornerback in the fourth round, number 127, Josh Jobe comes in from Alabama. I like him as well.

I think this is a good solid depth piece someone that can round into maybe a rotational corner um he goes with lieutenant kendrick once again darian kendrick out in georgia followed that up in the fifth round alec lindstrom uh the center out of boston college um late rounder i know a lot of people aren't too high on this kid but again again, David Andrews doesn't have a solid backup center right now. That's a position you have to always wonder, especially with the health issue and the health history of David Andrews. Thankfully, that hasn't been the case, and hopefully it won't continue to be, but it's always a consideration. And then rounding

it out with Chris Paul at number 200 in the sixth round, a player you and I are very high on. Right. I really love Chris Paul. I don't understand why he is as low as he is in most people's mocks and most people's thinking. I think he's somebody that can come in here, learn, grow a little bit, and become a solid rotational piece. Absolutely, without any question. And, you know, folks, bottom line, these types of mock drafts

that really, I think, accentuate what the Patriots need, whether the algorithm writers like these or not, it really is about the fit for the New England Patriots. And a lot of times you see grades that are thrown out that really, I think, are more national-driven than really Patriots-driven. This is one of those. The algorithm gods gave him a B-minus on this. I give him a solid B+. I think this was a great effort on Sully's part. Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt. Solid B+. These algorithms get dragged down a little bit because of people's preconceived notions about a player's overall talent and not how they fit into somebody's system. Sully hit a home run here.

Absolutely. He truly hit a home run here. And you know what? Bottom line, guys, it really is just an amazing opportunity to delve into the Patriots brain trust, to delve into what you believe they're going to do. Obviously on Thursday night, we're all going to get a glimpse into what the Patriots first round plans are.

When we sit here next week, Murph, we're going to know everything that the New England Patriots have done. And in that regard, my friend, all bets are off. This is going to be a fun one. This is going to be an interesting draft. And I can't wait to break it all down with you here again next week on Locked On Patriots because we're going

to be doing the ultimate musing of the draft when we look at the New England Patriots Hall and Murph and I will provide our grades right here next week on Locked On Patriots. But what can I say? I thank you for joining me along on this great ride of musing the draft each and every Monday.

If you will do me the service, I would be very honored, very grateful. Coming to you in friendship, as always, if you would join me, Godfather, in Musing the Draft with me again next year. I will. It's always a lot of fun. Thank you, Godfather. Thank you. No, no, no, no, no, no. My pleasure.

Always my pleasure. You know, this is, you know, most people say it's business, not personal. This is personal because I really enjoy coming here every single year, every single Monday. And folks, check us out at E2GSports.com. We will be having live coverage of the first two rounds of the draft and possibly the third, if I can get a few more people on board. Absolutely. And definitely be sure to check that out as well. Folks,

E2GSports.com doing a great job. Of course, I'm a little biased in terms of my coverage. I love the Murph coverage that he provides, but folks really, it can't go wrong at all. The wishlist is coming. The wishlist is coming.

Absolutely. And don't forget right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, live coverage of all rounds of the draft, live from our studios. Definitely, folks, all of our great hosts, including yours, truly be making appearances to talk about their picks, their teams, and their hauls, and what it means for the

2022 season. But once again, we close up amusing the draft mailbag for the year, but we're not done. We will continue to be bringing you all the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough. So be sure to stay locked in to Locked On Patriots. Smash that subscribe button on YouTube.

Download, subscribe to, and follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, the Odyssey app, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure that you are staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. On behalf of the Don of Locked On Patriots, the great Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate. Stay safe,

folks. Stay well. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.