Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Overlooked: Patriots Battle Low ESPN Grade After Acquiring A.J. Brown

Episode Date: July 1, 2026

New England Patriots silence critics with bold offseason moves as the A.J. Brown trade elevates their offense and stirs debate over ESPN’s B- grade. Nick Cattles breaks down the impact of acquiring Brown, Mike Onwenu’s pay cut, and the addition of Dre’Mont Jones, pushing back against claims of overpaid contracts while highlighting smarter roster construction. Key discussions center on the battle for backup ‘X’ receiver—will Kyle Williams step up behind A.J. Brown, or will Mack Hollins and Romeo Doubs claim key roles? Cattles also examines Devin McCourty’s insights on the secondary’s potential and the critical need for improved pass rush from the Patriots’ defensive line to unlock elite coverage from Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones. Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts... Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/... #patriots #newenglandpatriots Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Offseason grades are handed out, and we can't believe our eyes looking at one expert's mark for the Pats. This is 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 happening? I am your host of Nick Cattels. Today's episode is brought to by Fandul. The biggest stage in world soccer is happening.

Let there be goals on Fandals. Visit fandul.com to get started now. On today's episode, Devin McCordy tells us what could make the path secondary even better than it looks on paper. In the second segment, we'll discuss one of the most anticipated camp battles this summer. But first, grading out a post-A.J. Brown offseason for your Patriots.

The disrespect card is usually overplayed by some in the media, right? And it's definitely overplayed by a section of fans. and I'm talking about any team in sports. Oh, well, that broadcast is disrespecting my team. That outlet is disrespecting my team. But really the past couple of weeks, you go back to the football power index from ESPN, ranking the Patriots 14th in the NFL,

seventh in the AFC. I said it last week. I'll say it again, disrespectful. And now we have Seth Walder from ESPN giving his offseason grades and his grade for the Patriots for this off season, the one we just witnessed, was a B-minus. The biggest move,

according to Seth Walder, was trading for A.J. Brown. The move that Seth Walder liked was getting Mike Owenu to take a pay cut. The move that Walder disliked was signing Edge Draymont Jones. Two moves, Walder really criticized

when breaking down his grower, grade. He wrote, I thought the Patriots overpaid, considering his struggles to stay on the field. He's talking about Elijah Vera Tucker with the jets and metrics that lag behind his reputation. So he did not like the Elijah Verit Tucker contract. Then he jumped to edge. Walder wrote putting aside that Caleb on Chase-on signed with the commanders for a cheaper contract than Draymond Jones was signed to. I would rather have held on to Chase on as Jones recorded a pass rush win rate at Edge. in just a 22nd percentile. Let's start with Elijah Veritucker's contract.

I disagree with Seth Walder. I actually think that Elijah Vera Tucker's contract is very reasonable when you actually dive into the details. Elijah Verit Tucker in this contract with the Patriots is set to make $4.25 million a year in per game roster bonuses. That is an astronomical number. And that covers the Patriots in case of injury. When you look at total guaranteed money,

Elijah Verit Tucker is set to make with this contract. He got a $7.2 million signing bonus, more than reasonable. He gets $2.3 million guaranteed this year. Very reasonable. And his guaranteed money for next year in 2027 is only $7 million. That is it. You're talking about $16 to $17 million guaranteed with the deal that he signed. $16 to $17 million guaranteed for a guy who has the ceiling of being at least a pro bowl,

if not possibly sneaking in to the all pro team. You're telling me that that contract is not good. It's bad. I vehemently disagree. I think the Elijah Vera Tucker contract. is actually smart business. And yes, we all understand the risk. The risk is assumed, which is why the contract is structured the way it's

the way it's structured. So, yeah, I think that's a fine deal. Then let's jump to Draymont Jones. This Draymont Jones versus Caleb-on-Chayson conversation. Seth Walder says he would have kept Caleban chase on. He would not have signed Draymont Jones. Well, we can look at the pass rush win rate at edge all that we want. And it's a fine point made by Seth Walder.

But let me counter as to why the Patriots would sign Draymond Jones and let Caleban Chase on walk to Washington. Because Draymond Jones is a better three-down player, period, end of sentence. He's better against this run. And that's not even debatable. He plays the run better than Caleban Chase on. And after watching the Super Bowl, I'm sure Mike Vrable, that defensive staff said, we cannot allow that to happen.

We can't let a running back keep bouncing out to the edge and beating our edges up. We have to find guys that can defend the run better than what we see out there. Now, yes, Anthony Jennings, they cut Anthony Jennings, but they brought in Gabe Accus via the draft. Another guy who you would expect can play the run. Now, he might not be at the level of a Harold Landry when Harold Landry is healthy, but Gabe Backus walking into the draft was seen as a guy who could become a three-down player by the end of his first season, beginning of his second. So Draymond Jones, he's a better three-down player.

Draymond Jones is also more versatile. See, the part of the conversation regarding the pass-rush win rate of Draymont Jones at edge, some of the context that could be missed is the fact that you can slide him inside. And so playing inside, he might get. give you a little bit more past rush juice. You're not moving Calaimon Chase on inside. You would not even think about it. He ain't big enough.

So Draymont Jones, better three-down player, Draymont Jones more versatile. And by the way, is anybody, including Seth Walder, questioning the idea of Caleban Chase on only getting a one-year deal in Washington? Why did CalaVan Chase-on only get a one-year deal? The edge market was pretty hot. Now, I thought Kalevon Chason would end up getting, you know, 10 to 12 million a year.

I said that you go back to the beginning of the offseason. And I thought people were overstating the market locally for Chason. So the money itself did not surprise me. But the one year term practically stunned me. So if Kalevon Chason is your answer, then why was nobody willing to go more than one year on reasonable money for him. I think that tells a story. Now, if you're wondering what my offseason grade is, and of course, I believe we went through offseason grades before the AJ Brown trade, post-A. Brown trade, I would settle on a B-plus. I think a B-plus is fair. I think you

could argue an A-minus. Some might say a B, but I think a B is a little bit too light. You know, you walk into this offseason with really three or four top priorities. You're walking into the offseason saying, we need to find some tackle deck. You did that. You absolutely did that via free agency, James Hudson, one-year deal. And then, of course, drafting Caleb Lomu, Demetrius Crownover, check, check. You walked in saying, we need to improve the weapons around Drake May. We need to give him more at wide receiver.

Well, A.J. Brown, Romeo Dobbs. Check, chiggity check. you wanted to address Edge. I think you upgraded from Caleb on Chase on with Draymont Jones. I think if he could get on the darn field that Gabe Accus is an upgrade over Anthony Jennings. And then we're not even talking about Elijah Ponder's possible leap in year two and his development throughout this camp. And then you could look at tight end. And, you know, before the Julian Hill injury, which you can't control.

I thought the Patriots did a good job of addressing tight end. Hunter Henry Captain Dependable, Julian Hill was going to be your blocking tight end, and then you used the third round pick on Eli Raarden, a guy that you want to develop. So I'm not really sure where the Patriots swung and missed here this offseason. I thought the A.J. Brown acquisition was the cherry to plop on top. They didn't give any outrageous or bad contracts. and they fully supported their quarterback, which we talked about in a prior podcast,

helping Drake May, which is critical. So B minus to me, it's just way too low. Coming up, the battle for backup X snaps that wide receiver could be at all-timer this camp. This is Lockdown Patriots,

part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. The biggest stage in world soccer is happening. I mean, I just watched Netherlands, Morocco on Monday night, tremendous finish. Every match feels like it has the potential for a memorable moment. One goal can completely change the energy of a game, shift momentum, and all to the outcome in an instant. That's what makes tournament soccer so exciting from the opening whistle to the final kick.

And now Fandul is giving fans another reason to stay locked into every match with every goal pays. Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal. scored in that match. More goals mean more bonus bets. All you have to do is turn on your token. I mean, this is what it's all about. You'll love these tournaments, right? You can turn on a match between teams you don't normally follow and suddenly one goal changes everything. And now you get to benefit from each goal scored. From the opening whistle to that final kick, I'll say, let there be goals on Fandool. Visit Fandul.com again, that is Fandul.com to get get started now. The search for a true boundary X wide receiver is over with the addition of

AJ Brown. But the addition also creates one of the more fascinating camp battles coming up later this month. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Don't forget to like, comment, comment, and subscribe. Click that thumbs up. Give us that like, throw a comment and subscribe that all helps us with the algorithm. And don't forget to check out the every day or club today, seven-day free trial. Go to lockdown patriots. dot supercast.com. Well, as of recording this,

Kishan Booty is still a Patriot, and you could say another day that Kishan Booty has survived on the roster, and the longer he stays, if he stays, that backup battle this camp at the X wide receiver position,

I mean, this thing could be an all-out war at camp. fascinating snap counts. And I don't know how the reps are going to be split. Again, you would imagine that AJ Brown is going to be the primary boundary X, but you would also expect AJ Brown to move because Josh McDaniels loves moving his receivers, especially his alphas.

He likes to move them around advantageous matchups, take advantage of those and keep on rolling. So now the question is, especially if booty is in town. What do the Patriots do behind A.J. Brown at X. You could argue Kyle Williams say, hey, look, second year, you invested, you know, a top 100 pick in him last year. It is time to get him going. It is time to get him reps. It is time to get him chemistry with Drake May. I want to see Kyle Williams.

And I don't think you'd be out of bounds saying that. You could look at Matt Collins. How about old dependable put together a very good year last year considering the expectations? You go back to, you know, throughout his career, and he's played his best for Josh McDaniels in this offense. So how much will Mack Hollins get a shot at being that primary backup X? How much will Romeo Dobbs play X? Because he is certainly capable of doing that. So you start to look and you say, is it Kyle Williams?

Is it Matt Collins? Is it Romeo Dobbs? Shoot. Again, if Kishon Booty doesn't get traded. How much does Kishon Booty play a role within all of this? Fton Chisholm got a few snaps last year at X. Is he at all warranted a couple of looks? I mean, this folks is going to be an absolute freaking battle.

And I can't wait. I can't wait to see how it unfolds. I can't wait how Todd Downing, Josh McDaniels, Thomas Brown, the offensive brain trust, so to speak. I can't wait to see how the Patriots brain trust on that side of the ball goes into camp splitting these reps. I mean, I don't want to say an embarrassment of riches because I don't know if you would say those guys quality-wise would be, quote-unquote, riches. But it's getting close. I mean, Romeo Dobbs is absolutely a bona fide number two guy in the NFL.

And Kyle Williams, if he can hit his potential, if he can fulfill that potential, then he's in the conversation. So there is a lot of competition behind A.J. Brown at that boundary. If you ask me, in my perfect world, Kyle Williams is the guy. In my perfect world, you look at Kyle Williams and you give him the legitimate opportunity. Now, he has to earn the job. But the perfect scenario is Kyle Williams being that third receiver. I mean, you drafted him in the third round.

That's a pretty good investment on the player. He is 23 years old. So, I mean, if Kyle Williams can find that chemistry with Drake May, if he continues to show his ability to separate the line of scrimmage, which we did see last year, if he shows the potential we know that he has with a football in his hands, yards after the catch, we know he can track the football downfield.

We saw multiple examples of that in his rookie season. And you could look at Kyle Williams and say, he's only 23 years old. That's a legitimate future piece for your offense, the next six or seven years, which would be monumental for this program. We talked about it on yesterday's podcast, looking at the skill positions.

The Patriots, to me, they are a top 10 team at the skill positions this year. but there's a caveat to that. They are also older at some pretty significant positions. Ramandre Stevenson, what's he, like 28, Hunter Henry is in his 30s, A.J. Brown, just turned 29. Happy birthday to A.J. Brown. You're going to start finding dependable younger answers behind those guys.

You hope Trayvion Henderson and Eli Raarden is the answer at running back and tight end respectively. And I would lump Kyle Williams into that list as well. hope that Kyle Williams is that young developmental guy who's starting to take steps at wide receiver. And if Kyle Williams does do that, if we see Kyle Williams take that step, then it gives me even more confidence in this coaching staff. If Williams finds that next gear within this offense, it makes me feel even better about Josh McDaniels and especially Todd Downey. Because at that point, they would have shown the ability to take a young player,

get him into the system, and develop that player. Perfect world to me, perfect world to me is AJ Brown, Romeo Dobbs, Kyle Williams, while sprinkling in some Pop Douglas. If you tell me you've got Brown, Dobbs, and Williams in a sprinkle of pop, that makes me very excited for this passing game. makes me very excited for this passing offense. Now, what wouldn't be great is Kyle Williams disappoints. If we're talking about a player that doesn't seem comfortable running certain rounds, if we're looking at Kyle Williams not necessarily being on the same page as Drake May. And Kyle Williams starts to fade into the black.

And we start to forget about Kyle Williams. And we're not even having conversations about Kyle Williams by the time. you have that joint practice against the Indianapolis Colts, that would be a problem. That would not be great. Because then, of course, you've got to depend on Mac Collins and for as good as he was last year, and as good as he has been with Josh McDaniels.

He is still 33 years old. You could be looking at Kashan Booty. If he's still in town, he's playing on the last year of his contract, and how does that play mentally with him? But if you can find that right mix, If you can find a good mix, whether it's Williams or Hollins or Dobbs or you find a good mix, even if it takes all of those guys and you can play those guys at that X receiver and you can trust them that opens the door for even more opportunity to find those advantageous matchups for the Alpha A.J. Brown.

So one of the camp battles we are going to keep a very close eye on is that backup ex position. Does Mack Hollins keep the younger guys at bay? How much is Romeo Dobbs rolling to the outside? And most importantly to me is Kyle Williams taking that next step that we all hope he takes. Devin McCordy tells us what could truly separate this Pat's defense compared to other defenses in the NFL. That's next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. On paper, the Pats have a secondary to die for.

I think a lot of teams in the NFL would love to have the top three corners the Patriots have. And that's why I've been saying all offseason worrying about the fourth or fifth corner is a first world problem. Not a lot of teams can go four or five deep at cornerback and feel really good, right? Just not feeling great about your fifth corner. It happens. It happens. But last season, as we talked here on YouTube, don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe.

It was obvious last season how much the pass rush was married to the coverage. And that is always the case, right? The pass rush is married to the coverage. The coverage could be married to the pass rush. And we saw that because what the Patriots did as the season went on, especially in the playoffs, they got more aggressive. They understood our corners are good enough. We might not want to play as much man as we're going to play,

but we're going to play that much man because we believe playing man coverage and sending extra guys at the quarterback and getting a little bit more exotic, if not a lot more exotic, is what's best for our defense and what's best for this football team. aggression, aggression, aggression. Well, Devin McCordy recently weighed in on the Pat's secondary and the defense. And here's what he told Karen Geregian of Mass Live. I think the Patriots have a chance to be one of the best secondaries.

I think they will get that credit if the pass rush gets better. There's a few different secondaries I like, but the elite ones have really good pass rush. marrying pass rush with the coverage. If you don't have great pass rush, if you don't even have like very good pass rush, that will lead you to a lot of blitzing. The beginning of the year in 2025, we had a lot of conversations about the Patriots past defense,

the Patriots pass rush, the edge position, and the Patriots early in the season, they had a really tough time getting pressure with four guys up front. At times, they had, you know, a horrendous adventure trying to do that. And the Patriots would get pressure, but you'd notice games, twists, blitzes, they were doing some funky stuff to get that pressure. And because of that, you leave your secondary susceptible in man coverage.

Again, the Patriots played more man as the season went on, the Patriots played decent amount of man in the playoffs and they got aggressive. But from a principled standpoint, you don't want to leave your corners on an island consistently or constantly because your corners are inevitably susceptible. Christian Gonzalez is great. Christian Gonzalez is not flawless. The majority of corners, they slip up if they're asked to play a man a bunch, which is why you don't see a ton of man coverage in the league.

very difficult to find corners that can do that. Now, again, that's why I think the Patriots have one of the best secondaries in football, and I might argue they have the best secondary because all three of their guys are actually capable of playing man. Now, Marcus Jones has a little bit better, a little bit tougher of a time against bigger guys, but he can play man coverage. He's capable. Carlton Davis can certainly play that physical jammy at the line of scrimmage man coverage. And Christian Gonzalez, as we all know, one of the better corners in football.

but most corners, they slip up. And so if the Patriots can get a four-man pass rush, I want you to envision this. If you're getting pressure up front and you're not having to send, you know, five, six, seven guys, you're not sending, you know, zero blitzes, if you are capable of getting that four-man pass rush this season, Gonzalez, Davis, and Jones,

Think about their talent level. Think about what they can do individually. And then think about what those three corners are capable of if you have the entire defensive playbook at your disposal. If you're not handcuffed in any way. Imagine if you get that four-man pass rush going with those corners, the things that you can do defensively are pretty much you know, unlimited.

Shout out to Russell Wilson who retire. Now, of course, the other part of this conversation, another part of why having a four-man pass rush would really help this defense and this team, you know, aside from the obvious, you don't really have the healthiest track record with Gonzalez or Davis.

Now, last year, you felt pretty good after you got past the hamstring issue at the beginning of the season for Gonzalez. Davis somehow, some way played the most games he's played in quite a long time. Felt like he was banged up every week. We pretty much started to joke how Carlton Davis almost every single week was down at some point, had to be looked at, took a series off, went to the locker room. But somehow some way, man, I don't know how they did it.

but super glue duct tape Carlton Davis always got back out there last year. Now, you would hope it's going to be the same case in 2026, but given the track record, I think it's reasonable to expect Carlton Davis to miss at least a couple of games this year. And Marcus Jones, not the biggest guy in the world. He plays a very physical type of football, physical brand of, football given his size, which I credit to him, but also leaves him susceptible to an injury. If you're not getting the four-man pass rush, you know, it's going to cause you to try to figure

out ways to get the most out of your defense. If one of those guys goes down, God forbid, multiple guys go down. Then you've got a big problem with your hands or on your hands. But, you know, if you look at the Patriots, if you can get that four-man pass rush, you're forcing offenses to deal with a lot. You know, you're almost forcing them to play with their offhand, so to speak. And that is critical if you're going to take that next step defensively. Because I do think there is some credence to what the defense did last year in the playoff run, given who they were going against.

They did have some good fortune. You know, the Chargers tackle situation. C.J. Stroud was abominable. You played Jared Stidham, the AFC championship game. If you want to have that type of defensive performance or get close to that type of defensive performance that we saw during last year's run against better teams, better offenses, and healthier offensive lines,

four-man pass rush helps you take that big step. And I have high expectations for this, defense. High expectations. I think their defensive line is talented and more than good enough. Robert Spillane will see. Can he stay healthy? I'm not going to freak out over mandatory minicamp.

He's a veteran. I trust that he'll figure it out. But that secondary, man, the interior defensive line, that secondary at both cornerback and safety. What we saw Zach Cordue do last season. as he progressed as a play caller, the different looks. I've got some high expectations. And they need to be very good because, again, this schedule is different than last year's schedule.

It might not be the toughest schedule in all of football, as some said it was going to be at the end of last year. But it is certainly a tough schedule. And there is no, no debating that this year's schedule is tougher than last year's schedule. and I think this year's schedule is much tougher than last year's schedule. So as good as your defense was and as good as it continued to get throughout the year in 2025, you need to be even better in 26. In marrying the pass rush with your coverage and turning that secondary into an even more dangerous secondary, that'll help you get there.

That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. 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. And if you never miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get Lockdown Patriots ad free plus members only Discord access and more. Head to Lockdownpatriots.com or check the link and the show notes to learn even more. Have a great day and we will see you next time.