Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Outlook: Patriots’ 2025 Concerns And Excitment | Vrabel Speaks Parsons

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

Patriots' 2025 Season: Rookie Excitement Meets O-Line ConcernsWill the New England Patriots' offensive line protect Drake Maye's blind side? Nick Cattles breaks down the team's top concerns and reasons for optimism heading into 2025. From the promising rookie class led by TreVeyon Henderson to the potential resurgence of the pass rush, this analysis covers it all. Cattles explores the Drake Maye-Josh McDaniels partnership and dissects Mike Vrabel's candid comments on those Micah Parsons trade rumors.Discover why NFL executives are high on Maye's potential and how the Patriots' defensive scheme could lead to more big plays in 2025. Tune in for expert insights on New England's path to success in the upcoming season.Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPatriots?sid=YouTubeLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL#patriots #newenglandpatriotsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashWith DoorDash Streaks, you save every Saturday you order — stack it up all season and you could save up to $250. Order this Saturday. Keep the streak alive. Fuel your gameday — only with DoorDash. Terms apply. Promo period through 11/18.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.UpsideDon’t let this offer drive on by, download the free Upside app now using my limited time promo code TOUCHDOWN for a limited time 25 cent per gallon bonus! Offers vary by user and location, Go to upside.com for terms and conditions.Click Here to download the app: https://getupside.onelink.me/zlLr?af_xp=custom&pid=barrington&c=barrington_lockedon25&deep_link_value=promo&deep_link_sub1=lockedon25&af_dp=upsideapp%3A%2F%2FYahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Draft now at https://yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.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)

There are three things that concern me the most about this upcoming Pat's season. That's what we start on this episode of Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcasts Network, your team every day. What's happening? And I'm your host, Nick Cattles. I've been covering this team for the past 16 years. and raised in New England, also co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattels and a sports talk show host veteran. On today's episode, three things that get us the most

excited about this 2025 season. And also, Mike Vrable speaks candidly about Micah Parsons and whether or not the Pats were seriously involved in those trade talks. But first, we tell you what keeps us up at night about this football team. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listen, and for being an everydayer, the lockdown, Patriots podcast, a proud part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. And this episode is brought to by Mazda, just like there's more to every player, more dedication, more attention to detail. There's more to a Mazda vehicle.

Stay tuned later in the episode for highlights in this week's moving the game forward. Yesterday, on the pod, I talked about my prediction for the 2025 season, and I predicted the Patriots would finish at nine and eight. Some of you likely upset about that. some of you completely agree with me on that some might actually believe i'm crazy believing that this team is going to win nine games in 2025 i actually fixed my lips to tell you that the ceiling for this team is 11 wins if everything worked out perfectly 11 wins full health everybody plays their role uh everybody hits their potential drake may takes a big time leap

ceiling 11 wins but what is the floor the floor to me is seven wins So I'm going with nine, ceiling 11, floor, seven. Now why? Why is the floor? Why is the floor at seven? Well, I want to tell you three things that concern me the most about this football team right now. And I feel like a broken record, but it is what it is. We've been talking about this the past couple of years, but I've got to start with the offensive line.

The offensive line, it's got some questions, especially early. left side, Will Campbell, Jared Wilson, you've got two rookies on the left side of your O line trying to protect the blind side of Drake May. In early on, first month, month and a half, maybe even two months, we have to expect. We have to anticipate Campbell and Wilson having some struggles. They're rookies getting thrown right into the deep end of the pool. And you know that defenses are going to try them. They're going to try them early in office.

Often. Defenses are going to run stunts. They're going to run twists. Play all sorts of games up front. Creeper pressure, simulated pressure, all out zero blitzes. They are going to throw the kitchen sink at Campbell and Wilson. And for at least the first month and a half, two months, I would just expect some errors, some mental mistakes from your rookies on the left side. But that's not it. Then we get to Garrett Bradbury, who has been a problem all camp long. Massively up and down roller coaster right there at center. And Bradbury wasn't very good last year in past protection for Minnesota. And I don't know why we would think Garrett Bradbury would be great in past protection this year. I don't know why we would

even expect Garrett Bradbury to be even average at past protection. It is what it is. He's a smaller center. He gets beat up by bigger interior defensive linemen. And it's going to happen again in 2025. So I've got questions about Garrett Bradbury's past protection. I've got questions about Jared Wilson's past protection because at times, especially late in camp, it became a little bit leaky. So those are all things that we look at. And then the big picture is that you have four out of five of your offensive linemen playing together for the first time.

Now, yeah, they've had a camp. They've had some joint practices. But game number one against the Raiders, it is. going to be the first time that four of these five individuals played together as a cohesive unit. The only guy that's left over is Michael Wenner from 2024. Just lots of change. A new man leading the offensive line and Doug Marone. So that's concern number one, offensive line, especially the first six to eight weeks of this season. Second concern is depth or lack thereof. You can look at this team and you can feel pretty decent about roster spot,

number four or five to roster spot number 30 to 32. But once you get to 32 to 53, you've got a lot of issues with the depth of this team. This team is thin in multiple spots. Let's look at linebacker. Robert Spillane, you've got the age question and how he plays so hard and so physical and so violent. He's going to be a fan favorite, but he's also going to be shot out. of a cannon every single time he's out there and he's, you know, closer to the end than he is

to the beginning of his NFL career. So you've got some age. You've got some age with Jalani Tavai. You've got injury issues with Tavai. You've got injury issues with Marte Mapu. And then you look at potential. Mapu, yeah, he's got potential, but that might not be fulfilled. We can feel decent about Mapu and the possibility of him covering. trying tight ends and doing a good job on the second level in coverage. He had a good preseason game against the Giants' twos and threes. But when you stack it all up together on the second level of the defense between age, injury, and pretty much unknown, Christian Ellis, you could say, is not a total unknown,

but he played less than 50% of the snaps last year. So linebacker, I'm looking at, I'm looking at offensive tackle. Marcus Bryant, is he going to be able to do the job as the top reserve tackle on this team? team. And maybe he's not asked to do that by week three or four. Maybe the Patriots make a change there. They pull somebody up in the practice squad and you're not so worried about Marcus Bryant holding his water at right tackle or left tackle. But right now, you've got Marcus Bryant and Vidarian Lowe as your backup tackles. And I know it's tough to find tackle depth in the NFL. It's tough to find tackle depth in college. But when I'm looking at this team and I'm talking about

the lack of depth. What happens if Will Campbell goes down with an injury, God forbid? Are you content with Vedarian Lowe? I'm not. What if Morgan Moses goes down? He's 34, by the way, coming off an injury and surgery. What happens if he goes down? Are you supremely confident in Marcus Bryant being able to fill that spot? Then you look at tight end. We've talked about it. Hooper, Hunter, Henry, and bust. I don't know. Hunter, Henry, Austin Hooper, Beyond that, Jack Westover, some would argue, and I tend to not disagree with this, some would argue Westover is not even an NFL player right now at this point. He would not make a lot of rosters across the league, but he's on this one.

And then you've got the injuries at corner with Gonzalez and Davis and how that's going to eat into your depth. If those guys continue to be banged up, especially Davis, who has the long track record, you need health on this football team. The third concern, big plays against. this defense. Now, I think this defense could be good. I think this defense could be borderline top 10 in the NFL this year. However, this defensive scheme is so aggressive. They scream downhill. They play violent and physical. They play fast and athletic. And that's fun to watch.

But you also have to understand. You also have to embrace the idea that the faster you play, and the more aggressive that you are, the bigger plays you're going to give up. And we've seen that in the preseason. We've seen that in joint practices. You look at the tight ends causing issues. You look at the screen game causing issues. You look at some plays over the top causing some issues. The more aggressive you are, the more open you are to give up big plays, chunk plays. The Bill Belichick's old, you know, get the bleep back, play safe, bend don't break, death by a thousand paper cuts, all that stuff. It's different now with Mike Rabel and Terrell Williams.

And with that change becomes more vulnerability to give up that one big player, two big plays, and all of a sudden, the game has changed dramatically. I also think, you know, defense against the tight ends, I mentioned they made some plays in the joint practices, made some plays in the preseason, scored a number of touchdowns in those preseason games. Who's going to cover the tight ends? Who's going to have that assignment? Is it Marcus Jones?

too small. Craig Woodson, rookie, a lot on his plate. The linebackers, are they going to be able to handle the coverage? That's when Marte Mapu comes up. Any of the other cornerbacks? Sounds like the Patriots defense. They don't necessarily want to match up their cornerbacks with specific players. And if that holds, who's playing Brock Bowers week one?

Who's defending him? So those are the three concerns. Offensive line, especially early. The lack of depth and this defense giving up some big plays due to its aggressiveness this season. But not everything concerns me. Not everything concerns me. I'm actually excited for a number of reasons for this upcoming season. I'll give you my top three reasons next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

This is Mazda's moving the game forward brought to by those who believe it's not just about playing the game, it's about redefining it because these moments do more than when they push what's possible. They remind us to go that extra yard, shift into that extra gear, and keep moving the game forward. Let's talk about a moment that define the excitement surrounding one player, Trayvion Henderson. It took one single solitary play in the preseason to see everything that's been said and written about Henderson as he took the opening kickoff of the preseason to the House against the Washington commanders. As we get ready for the 2025 season, we get ready for Trayvon Henderson, maybe being the best and most explosive rookie the Patriots have had in quite some time. That's what keeps fans and

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Thanks for helping us out. All right. Legit excited. Legit excited about this team. I'll give you three reasons why. I just gave you in the last segment three concerns that I have. Let's flip this on its side, and let's look at three things I am excited about. I think this team's going to be competitive.

I think they're going to be a mostly clean operation, and I've got three things that excite me. Let's start with the rookie class, the 2025 rookie class. You just heard my read from Mazda about Trayvion Henderson, and what he did the first time he touched the football in the preseason, taking it to the house. against the commanders and his ceiling is legit and if you don't believe me just look around google search travion henderson read some of the stories that are out there if you don't want to i'll save you the time jordan rodriguez of the athletic wrote about henderson she wrote watching henderson for two days at vikings patriots joint practices this summer absolutely impressed me henderson is quiet but moves like a much more experienced

veteran, especially in past protection, and seems on the doorstep of an explosive gain at any moment. He should be a go-to outlet in the passing game immediately for Drake May and could make waves on special teams. One coach I spoke with said Henderson has the makings of a star. Jeff Howe also wrote about Henderson recently. The Patriots are ecstatic over Henderson, so don't be surprised if he turns into their leading. option. Dan Graziano of ESPN heard the same thing. He wrote at ESPN.com. Don't be surprised if Henderson

is the team's number one running back all season. Henderson has been the most explosive element of the offense throughout camp and the coaching staff is smart enough to know New England needs some explosiveness. There's some sentiment in Foxborough that Henderson is going to be the type of player, they don't want to take off the field. Everybody's talking about him. Everybody's writing about him. The coaching staff, people at Gillette are certainly not afraid to talk about him in leak information about how excited they are about his upcoming rookie season.

I would be concerned that this is all over hype, but honestly, it's tough to believe that after watching Henderson in the preseason and seeing what he did during joint practices in camp. So I am so excited to watch Trayvion Henderson in 2025. I'm also excited to watch Will Campbell and Jared Wilson. I know I talked about last segment, expect some early struggles. And I do expect some early struggles. But I also expect some early highs from both of these guys. I do think with the more reps that they get, the more time they play together,

the more comfortable they are in their skin at the NFL level, they will grow into good, if not very good, young offensive linemen. And I'm going to find it fun to watch that left side of the O line get better as these season progresses. I'm also going to have a lot of fun watching Kyle Williams progress. I'm not sure how much he's going to play in the first month, six weeks, maybe even two months. A lot of receivers fighting for some time in New England. But I really feel that by the end of the season, we're going to look at,

Kyle Williams and feel confident that he's going to be a legitimate contributor to this offense for years to come. We saw it. We saw it throughout the preseason. He was gaining momentum before the injury. Well, he's been back now. He's ready. He's healthy.

And I think it's going to be maybe a slower progression for him than the offensive line because he's not going to play as much, but he's still going to show that development and that improvement. And I think he's going to help this football team. Craig Woodson, I feel like he's the ultimate chess piece in the secondary. And that's a lot to ask. And he might miss a couple of assignments early. He might blow a coverage.

He might make a couple of mistakes. Again, we have to be patient with the young players. But I do believe that Craig Woodson, you know, by the second half of this season, is going to be dependable. And he's going to start making some plays. And he's going to help the back end of this defense. So this 2025 draft class, I was excited about it in late April when it happened about four months ago. And I am as excited, if not more excited, to see them play when kickoff comes up on Sunday against the Raiders. Another thing I'm excited about, Drake May and Josh McDaniels in this marriage.

I do believe in Drake May's tools. I do believe he has the potential to be a top 10 quarterback in the league. And I feel like he had a good camp. And when you look at the latest from Jeff Howe of the athletic, you know, Jeff spoke to 31 executives and coaches. I mentioned this poll during yesterday's episode, talking about Josh McDaniels and, you know, the Patriots and how their expectations.

A lot of people around the league feel like they're going to exceed those expectations. Well, there was another question in that Jeff Howe article. And the question was, you're starting a franchise from scratch. Who are the top three quarterbacks you take? 31 responses. Josh Allen led everybody. Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow were second. Then you had Jaden Daniels.

Then you had Lamar Jackson. Then you had Justin Herbert. And then you had Drake May. You had Drake May tied with C.J. Stroud and Baker Mayfield. So people in the game feel like May has all that potential. And a voter said to Jeff Howe, quote, May has every physical trait you'd want plus the competitiveness. And we've talked about the raw potential, the raw tools, but also some of the intangibles that he has.

The voter said, quote, May got better over the course of the year. It's probably too early to put him on that list. But if you're going young and counting the contracts, I'd take them. And Drake May has looked comfortable with the offense, which is a pretty significant step early on of this. 2025 season, how would he get through the camp? He looks like he's comfortable. He'll have Josh McDaniels in his ear pre-snap, which I think is something that is substantial. I think that will help him.

I think McDaniels will run the football effectively. This offensive line will block for the run effectively. I think Josh McDaniels will get guys uncovered with his scheme at receiver. So I'm excited to see May and McDaniels. And lastly, I'm excited to see the pass rush. you know, what was non-existent last year. Christian Barmore had a really good camp. Milton Williams had a good camp, especially when he was next to Barmore.

Kalevon Chase on was a revelation during this camp. He was absolutely tremendous from beginning to end. And his pal across from him, Harold Landry, showed signs of the old Harold Landry. Andrew Callahan recently posted, it's been close to nonstop pressure from Landry this summer. Landry, who looks ready for regular season football, his first step is one of, if not the fastest on the team. And Terrell Williams said that Landry looks like a guy with something to prove.

The Patriots were 32nd in sacks with 28 last year. That is laughable. And I think that is going to be improved by a bunch. Barmore, Williams, Chase on, Landry, white off the bench, maybe a little bit of Elijah Ponder mixed in, the scheme that's going to send some people, try to fool offensive lines. I think this pass rush is going to be fun to watch in 2025. Mike Rable takes us behind the scenes of the Micah Parsons conversation in New England.

That's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. This episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. The NFL season is right around the corner and you can feel the buzz. Fantasy football season is here. Everyone's researching, drafting, and building their championship squads. And if you haven't joined a league yet, now's the time. It's all happening on Yahoo Fantasy.

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to play. The NFL season kicks off September 4th. So do not. wait start your league now draft at yahoo fantasy dot com slash locked on NFL that's yahoo fantasy dot com slash locked on NFL the NFL season is almost here and fandul is making sure you're ready for kickoff but they can't miss offer right now new customers can bet just five dollars and if your bet wins you'll get three hundred dollars in bonus bets to use across the app i love using fandul it fits however you like to bet player props got it building a same game parlay got it or even jumping in live as the action unfolds it makes every game more exciting whether you're watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup it's quick

it's easy and it's the best way to add a little more energy to your sundays so are you ready to play download the fandul app now by visiting fandul dot com to get started again that's fandul dot com and don't forget new customers bet just five dollars and if your bet wins you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. That's Fanduil.com to place your first $5 bet. So Mike Vrable was on the Greg Hill Show, W.EEEI on Tuesday, and he told us all the Patriots were not in on the Micah Parsons trade conversations. And I thought Vrable was more open than anybody would have expected him to be during this

interview. He said we continue to have conversations about all players that are available, a great player, but that wasn't something we were really invested a lot of time or resources in. I think when you just try to look at what we feel like is best for us right now, that wasn't entertaining that specific transaction. He talked about the depth. The depth of the roster has not been through our draft the last handful of years, and that has to change. We all know that. We'll focus on that when we get there in April. Right now, it's putting guys in roles that have some versatility and building the game day roster and these different things. I think the best teams in the league draft well.

They develop their players. They re-sign them and then they carefully choose the players they want to add in free agency. I'm not sure if Mike Vrable was recently listening to some of my content, but a lot of what he just said is some of the things that we have said. The best organizations draft and develop, they re-sign their players. They re-sign their players early to make sure those extensions get done. they don't drag their feet. And when they carefully choose the players that they want, they do that in free agency.

And if you want to make a deal, you've got to carefully choose the player. So I agree with pretty much everything Vrable just said. However, when I look at Micah Parsons specifically, and we have that draft and develop conversation, I feel like Parsons being 26 years old changes the math. At least it changes my math. You're not trading for somebody who's 29, 30 years old. You're not trading for somebody who's going to give you two or three years of their best years or two of their three years of their final years. You're trading for somebody who literally is walking into his prime, a generational player, some would argue the best defensive player in football.

And the fact he just turned 26 makes me feel like if you're going to swing a deal for somebody, swinging a deal for someone like Micah Parsons makes sense, even if you're the Patriots. because he should give you six, seven great years. I mean, this guy should be one of the best players in football for the next four or five years at least. And when you talk about draft picks and trading picks, let's not get this twisted. The 2026 pick that you would trade for Micah Parsons, that's Micah Parsons. Would you rather have the 2026 first round pick or Michael Parsons? Now you have to add the 2027. So you're really, to me, the way I look.

at it is you're trading a player and you're trading a first round pick for Parsons because that that swap of 26 that is straight up for Parsons in essence. He's going to fill that void of that pick in 2026. And I know what I'm getting from Parsons. I know he's one of the best players in the league. I don't know that about anybody in next year's draft class and I have no idea where I will be in next year's draft class. I have no idea if I'm picking the top 10, the middle of the pack, late first round. So for Parsons specifically, I would entertain that conversation, and that's why I pushed for the Patriots to get involved in those talks.

Because I think at 26 years old, generational player, he raises your ceiling quickly, and he's young enough to give you years of great production. Now, there are questions, and I wonder if part of this was the culture fit. was part of it the culture fit. You know, Vrable talks about having people that they want,

you know, someone that they feel comfortable with. And Albert Breer of SI wrote recently about Parsons, quote, there is a difference between this negotiation in the previous three. Talk about Zach Martin, C.D. Lamb, and Dak Prescott. All three of those guys, according to Bert,

were or are very popular in the locker room. Bert wrote that's not the case with Parsons who has rankled teammates in different ways seen by some as egotistical and self-centered. Is that part of the story here? Of course, Vrable's not going to go out there and tell us that. Bert wrote, his podcast has created issues too that go all the way up to quarterback Dak Prescott. So the podcast's causing problems.

Did Vrable look at it and say, I'm not really in love with the idea. of trading for someone like Parsons who some believe has a big ego. Some believe he is self-centered. Will his podcast cause issues? Will he be a problem with some of his teammates? We want to make sure that people are getting along. Now, it doesn't have to be the Boy Scouts. As Ravel has said, you don't need 53 Boy Scouts, but maybe this caused some hesitation.

And when you look back, you know, I was researching today. Cowboys Zone is a chat board. It's a fan site. It's a chat board. And somebody listed the weaknesses from Parsons draft profile. And there was high maintenance mentioned in maturity, runs himself out of position with unnecessary early changes. So he, you know, he freelanced a little too often.

Film study needed to get better at that point when he was getting into the draft. May need guidance from coaches and veteran players. And the person commented that looking at the pre-draft profile three or four years later, It's amazingly accurate. So maybe it was some of that. Maybe the Patriots looked at Parsons and said, we're going to have to pay that guy $45 plus million a year. Once we give him that kind of a contract,

what impact does that have on the locker room? They were obviously, the Patriots were obviously comfortable giving Milton Williams that big deal they gave him in the off season, but they feel like Williams has the work ethic, has the personality, fits the culture, that they want to establish in New England. And I would love to give Mike Vrable Truth Serum

and ask him, does he feel like Parsons, whether or not he would be a culture fit this early on? Maybe two or three years from now, he would feel like Parsons would fit better because he'd have established more. But maybe this early, he doesn't feel comfortable giving somebody 45, 46, 47 million a year like Parsons and saying,

all right, he's the guy now. because that's the statement you make. He would be the guy. You also look at the closest fit for a trade because it's obvious the Cowboys wanted a big-time interior defensive lineman. They got Kenny Clark from the Packers, who's a pro bowler. I mean, you're probably looking at Christian Barmore as the closest fit to make a deal happen. That pro-bowl potential interior D-line.

Now, of course, Barmore has questions from last year's blood clots. Would Dallas want to make that deal? I don't know. But if it's Barmore and two firsts and Barmore is healthy, that's not as easy of a yes. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being in every day. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. And don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel.

Hit that like button and subscribe. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL season previews on Lockdown NFL. Everything you need to know about the NFL season. find Lockdown NFL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Have a great day and we will see you tomorrow.