Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Patriots on Opening Day, Free Agency 2022; Musing the Draft, Part III — 3/14/22

Episode Date: March 15, 2022

The New England Patriots are about to begin the process of building their roster for the upcoming 2022 season. Joining host Mike D’Abate is fan-favorite Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy, as the duo discuss the Patriots strategy on Day One of 2022 NFL Free Agency and grade a pair of Mock Draft Monday submissions by Locked On Patriots listeners Andrew Caraway and Jason Sullivan.Support 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, the unofficial official beginning of NFL free agency for 2022 is about to commence. What will the Patriots do and how will the Patriots approach the draft based on their apposition to what they're going to do in free agency? Here today to discuss all of that with me is my good friend, the counter Murphy Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy joins me for his weekly appearance here on locked on Patriots on Mike debate. And you're about to be locked in to the locked on Patriots podcast. You are locked on Patriots,

your daily new England Patriots podcast, part of the locked on podcast network, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Thank you very much for joining me today here on Lockdown Patriots, a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Thank you very much for joining me today here on Locked On Patriots, your first listen every day, available on all

platforms, especially here on YouTube where you might be viewing or listening to this podcast. As you can see, it is Monday. That definitely means that I am not alone here on the pod today. My good friend, the legendary man himself, the Green man,

Thomas Murphy joins me here on Lockdown Patriots. Murph, thank you for joining me today in friendship. Thank you for coming to me today, Don Murph. Oh, always my pleasure, Michael. Always my pleasure. Happy to spread the news, you know, or, you know, get back to the nitty gritty of everything that's happening in New England Patriots history. And it's terrible. I'm sorry.

Well, you know, today is Amuse the Draft Monday. And yes, we will continue to amuse the draft here on Locked On Patriots, because after all, we're contractually obligated to do it. No, I'm just kidding, folks. Murph and I love to amuse the draft. We are very reverent to the draft. If you notice, we don't use the term mocking. We do not make fun of the draft. We take the draft. We hold it sacred. You know, like the Christian takes the Bible and he holds it sacred, Murph, the way a lot of people hold their marriage sacred, you know. Say it! Say it! But in any case, we can't

begin today's discussion without talking about the beginning of the legal tampering period. And I wish lockdown was a little more high tech. I went over this with Miguel on Friday when he joined me here. I wish I had a laugh track every time that someone said the legal tampering period. Because, Murph, as you know, all these teams right now are just sitting by the phone waiting for 11.59 to tick away to noontime because there hasn't been any contact with any external free agent. None. Absolutely not. Not at all.

But the legal tampering period will begin. And until Wednesday at 4 p.m., these deals cannot become official. They can be agreed upon. And the New England Patriots are expected to be active in this market, maybe not as active as they were last year, but they will be active. We've already seen them make a few moves, starting really with the release of Kyle Van Noy. But yesterday on Sunday was really the day where things started up.

Devin McCourty back on a one-year deal, $9 million. The New England Patriots also tendering Jacobyacoby myers wide receiver if he does indeed sign the tender it looks like that's the direction this is going in jacoby back on a one-year deal it gives them an opportunity to work out a long-term deal with them he's going to be paid about four million dollars under the tender uh fullback jacob johnson this surprised me a little bit uh new england choosing not to tender jacob. Looking at the fact that $2.4 million would have been the tender cost. I guess you can definitely make the argument that that may be a little bit too rich for their blood at this point after he only made $150,000 last year.

Murph, a flurry of moves right now. I didn't even mention Brian Hoyer coming back, James Ferentz and the lineup as well. What were some of the moves that caught your eye? What do you think of what the Patriots have done so far? Well, it was great that we decided when the Patriots decided to bring back McCourty, it definitely lessens his cap hit. It kicks a few dollars down

the road, but more often, but most of all, I picked the wrong day to quit coffee. But most of all, I picked the wrong day to quit coffee. But most of all, they keep some leadership in the fold. There are a lot of captains that are set to hit free agency on the Patriots roster this year. And bringing back this one was paramount in my humble opinion or unhumble opinion if you want to ask claire um it's always it's always good to have some continuity back there

and right now the patriots have kept together what i think is the best safety set in um in the nfl yeah i agree with that i think they have kept together the greatest safety set, which is the three-man rotation, which we saw last year, Murph, really, I think, come alive when it came to what the New England Patriots can do with Kyle Duggar, Adrian Phillips, and of course, Devin McCourty being the quarterback of that defense. And you mentioned some of the names that may not be back on that defense this year. And there's a great possibility of that. Look, Dante Hightower may end up re-signing with the Patriots Juwan Bentley may end up coming back to New England there's a lot of opportunity for these guys to be able to do what they do and come back and play at a high level however at this point if Dante Hightower does indeed leave if you start to see some of this exodus such as a JC Jackson

leaving that backfield keeping that quarterback and that's what David McCourty is. He is the quarterback of that defense. Keeping him in the fold is definitely a smart move. Speaking of quarterbacks, don't worry, we're getting to it. Don't worry, we're getting to this, folks. Brian Hoyer coming back on a two-year deal. Brian, to me, is always a pariah when it comes to the fan base. You see that.

You see the eye roll emojis. You know, you see, you you see the vomit emojis, which I think is terrible. I mean, considering the type of guy that Brian is and the contributions he makes to this team. Good move for the Patriots. I think this is great in terms of developing Mac Jones, but a lot of people seem to be a little sour on this one.

Yeah, fantastic move. No, nobody is more against this move than Tommy Curran, who our good friend, who thinks it would be better off making him a quarterback's coach as opposed to keeping him on the roster. But keeping Hoyer on the roster allows him a lot more access to his teammates than being a coach. That's really the bottom line. It's a very team-friendly contract that Hoyer signed. I thought this was a great move. Mack needs stability right now.

He lost his offensive coordinator. He lost his bench buddy. Do you have your bench buddy? You don't want to jump off that exit in the EAC and not have a bench buddy. And he has somebody now that he's familiar with, that he's worked with before that knows the Patriot way like nobody else on this offense does after the shakeup in the coaching ranks.

And I thought it was a great move. I really did. Bottom line, I thought it was a good move. Yeah, I think, again, very much like McCourty, maybe not to the level of impact that he has on the field. Nobody's comparing the two of these guys in terms of what they contribute each and every Sunday. But you want continuity in the patriots locker room right now

and let's face it josh mcdaniels bohar degree off to las vegas that's definitely a loss for mac jones in terms of his development because as much as matt gets credit for being a smart quarterback being able to develop well uh things of that nature he's still a rookie and i think in a lot of i mean well he's going into his second year, but he's still developing himself as a quarterback, learning his skills, learning his strengths, learning the offense. And Brian Hoyer, I think with the exception of Josh McDaniels, Bill Belichick, and the gentleman's whose name we're going to mention in just a moment, he may know the Patriots offense better than anybody.

So at this point, I think the Patriots making that move, bringing back Brian, smart move. And it is going to be interesting to see what this means for Jarrett Stidham as well. Murph, it's almost time to muse the draft, but we could not go all episode here today. We could. We could. I guess we could. But you know what? We're going to give the people, by people I mean me, what they want. And your thoughts on the return after a long 40-day retirement of one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.

What was your reaction when you saw this yesterday? Well, you know, my initial reaction was that it was shorter than the MLB lockout. You're all right about that. I'm not sure what changed. It could be one of two things, something internally down there in Tampa, giving Tom more control. We all read the stories last year

about how Tom was in there with his offensive coordinator setting up the game plan while Bruce was out drinking. I mean, getting therapy done on his leg or whatever was ailing him that week. And so that's basically – that changed. Or Giselle is just sick of his face already. And wants him out of the house, get out of the house. This is ridiculous. It's not like Tom can go up on the roof and say, I'm fixing the shingles the way our dads did when they wanted to get away.

He's sitting there. He can still play. Something changed internally in Tampa, whether it's bringing back certain players or anything else. And Tom can still play. Let's look at the facts here. This is a man who, at 45 years old, is still one of the three best quarterbacks on any given Sunday in the NFL.

And he, I don't know, only person that side uh side any relief yesterday was uh bathroom ben roethlisberger who can now go into the hall of fame uh not with tom brady yeah that now gets a chance to headline that class uh but uh you know bottom line i think you know tom's definitely got number eight in his sights. There's no question about it. I wrote about this a little bit for Sports Illustrated last night, and channeling is in a rocky Balboa, and there's still some stuff left in the basement. And look, I think there is. I think Tom has unfinished business on the field.

Now, unfinished business in Tampa, it surprised me a little bit that Tampa was going to be the lock-in. But Murph, we both know nothing is golden in this league. Nothing is gilded. There is always a chance for things to work out. I don't think Tom would have put himself out there like that and saying he was coming back to the Bucs, but at this point he doesn't really have a choice either. We have to remember that.

So bottom line, another season of Tom Brady under center, and you know what? At the very least, it's always going to be fun to watch. So welcome back, Tom, and we'll do the farewell tour again maybe this time maybe he'll mention the new england patriots in his uh retirement here here we go here we go i had to do it that's it you know what the heel turn was eventual murph i had to do it eventually and you know what it just uh it uh it came down but folks fear not this is not going to be a tom brady centric uh pod today we are going to muse the draft that's what we're here

for that's what we love to do and our good friend andrew carraway gave us a beauty and you can see murph readying himself you can see him getting primed for it and we're going to come at you with that draft in just a moment but first folks just wanted to take a moment to mention our good friends at built bar you know as well as i do we're moving into the lenten season murph and of course you know we're trying to get ready for easter and that means chocolate bunnies you know peanut butter eggs things of that nature those little mini eggs that you love to snack on but that can be costly to your waistline there's no question about it and costly to your pocket as. There's no question about it. And costly to your pocket as well.

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but they do it all the time. The peanut butter brownie, my personal favorite. Murph is loving them. They've got mint brownie, coconut almond, pretty much any type of flavor you can think of. Built Bar has thought of it, and they're working on it. So today, visit Built.com and use the promo code LOCK15 to get 15%

off your next order. Remember, Built.com and use the promo code LOCK15 to get 15% off your next order. Remember, Bilt.com today. LOCK15 for 15% off your next order at Bilt.com. Team Butchie lives on these things. Oh, my God. I have to hide them. I have to hide them, man. They're excellent.

They're good. They are good. And you know what? I mean, I've become hooked on them. I become, you know, a big fan and thankful to the folks over at, you know, Built Bar for always, you know, being right on the cusp of developing these flavors and developing such a healthy, delicious treat that we all love. Built Bar, you know, America runs on that coffee company, folks. Well, Locked On runs on Built Bar, and we can definitely assure you that any of the great products that they put out, whether it be Built Boost, whether it be the broth, definitely check out

the great line of products that they have available each and every day at Built.com. And of course, use that promo code LOCK15. Let them know that we sent you, but it also allows you to help save a little bit in your wallet, and that's really important for a lot of folks right now, and I mean that sincerely. What's also important to a lot of folks here, Murph, is musing the draft.

Like I said, we always respectfully treat the draft here on Locked On Patriots. We do not mock it. We come to it in friendship. We ask with respect. We even think to call it God. All right, that's a little too much, folks. But you see where we're coming from. It's about time to get going in terms of amusing the draft today here on Locked On Patriots. And to begin, our good friend Andrew Carraway at Carraway6 has provided another stellar draft here for us at Locked On Patriots.

And he's got a trade mixed in and has the Patriots expanding their horizons. Uses the PFF simulator, and PFF gave him a B- on this. So let's see if Murph and I agree with that. Starting right off, round number two, 35. Obviously, Patriots have traded down for that. They received the 35th pick pick along with the number 67 pick according to uh to andrew's notes here and uh they have come away with the 20 of the uh houston texans obviously their trading partner for that so patriots trade out of the first round in round

two at pick number 35 they go with george pickens out of georgia satisfying their requirement for a wide receiver and of course satisfying andrew's requirement for georgia exactly um at number 53 the patriots stand pat at that no pun intended well maybe a little pun intended uh chad puma uh comes to uh new england from wyoming muma continues to be a player that a lot of people are talking about as a potential member of the patriots uh my colleague kevin tame wrote about him in a draft profile for sports illustrated last week this one seems to be coming through a little bit of a groundswell um rounding out the first three rounds for the new england patriots tackle kellen dyche coming out of arizona state sun devil

coming to the new england patriots when you look at these first three picks, Murph, as well as the trade, how's Andrew doing so far in your estimation? I thought Pinkins was a reach there at 35. Yeah, Andrew's not going to talk to me for a week, but I like Pinkins. I really do. I would like him more at 55 or 65 than I do at 35. But, you know, I've got to defer. If there's anybody that knows Georgia football players

and how they will fit into this Patriots system, he is the man. And so, you know, I give it a C plus, B minus on that pick. Muma I love at 53. Um, that's, that's a solid a pick. He's a guy that can come in here and, and fix what ails you. And if you're getting that in the second round at 53, that's, that's really cool. Uh, Keelan Dyche, that's, that's a serious reach, uh, in, in my estimation, it really is. That's somebody that I have graded out as a day three guy, but still a solid first three picks in this draft. I thought he did well in trading, and you can't drag the man at all.

I just, you know, Dyche, I'm just not sure about Dice. There's, there had to be somebody on the offensive line that, that could come in here and fit in better than, than somebody that I would consider a swing tackle. Yeah. I think Dice in round three to spend that type of capital, especially when new England is expected to invest in really beefing up that offensive line this year, you know know they want at least ted caris or trent brown back in free agency ideally i'd love to think they'd have them both i would love to see them both come back whether that's realistic or not uh our good friend miguel said it definitely is the patriots can do it if they prioritize it the right way and i think they

can but if they're going to invest third round capital in an offensive tackle i would think that they would probably be able to get someone a little higher up on the board, maybe a little bit more starting potential than Dyche. So, yeah, that was the one that kind of raised my eyebrow a little bit. They had better bring back Ted Karras. That's all I'm saying. Absolutely. If that's the case and they're going to use that type of high-level capital, and let's face it, third round is pretty high-level in the draft,

yeah, they're going to absolutely need Karras back in the fold at guard. And at tackle as well, I think you look at someone like a Trent Brown, they're going to have to make a big decision there as well, literally and figuratively. I'd love to see Trent back. I just want to see it on a friendly contract that pays him more bonuses for time on the field than guaranteed money. That's a good point. That's a very, very good point. And over the course of the next couple of days, Murph, I think that we're going to see

what the Patriots are looking at and how they're going to proceed when it comes to trying to build their roster for 2022. Pickens as well was a little bit of a surprise to me, too, a little bit of a stretch. I love his fit on the outside, and look, there's no question about it. Patriots really need some help on the outside, but I think they like their receivers a little more versatile. This kid doesn't tend to fit the skill set of what they might be looking for to have to align in the slot on occasion. That, to me, is the only drawback in him, but I like Pickens' game, and I understand where Andrew's coming from in terms of addressing a need on the outside.

So not too bad right off the bat. But Andrew continues here with a trade, obviously trading with the Carolina Panthers at the 85 spot in round three. That's why we said rounding out round three earlier, folks. He has the Patriots going to number 105 in the fourth round and then picking up number 147 in round five. With that 105 pick, Josh Jobe out of Alabama, cornerback. Patriots are definitely going to need a corner. There's no question about it.

Not sure they wait this long to select a corner. I think if JC Jackson is indeed gone, and according to the reports, it looks like he's most likely headed out of New England, almost certainly headed out of New England. I think they, I think they use the draft to try to draft his replacement and maybe use free agency to bring in some stopgap options, either to mentor or to just keep the spot warm essentially until the rookie, whoever he may be, rounds into form. Neil Farrell Jr. comes over as a defensive player out of LSU. He goes to the Patriots in round four, pick number 123, and then sandwiched in between a pair of Boldens. Josh Rivas as a guard comes over in round six number 198 but uh bubba bolden coming over as a safety at round uh five number 147 and slade bolden rounding out the mix of alabama wide receiver 209

round six um murph by my count that would be three boldens on the roster you're the expert here is that above the quota is that like is that right up where we should be three boldens on the on the roster more bold and more better at one point in time the uh the patriots actually had i think seven guys from rutgers on the on the rock the active roster so no we are four under under the the you know the high water mark right there um i love the the both the Bolden picks. They're fantastic. Josh Rivas is another tiny head scratcher right here. I'm not quite sure. It's a good spot for him, but I do believe he's a developmental guy. The man that I really want to talk about here at the bottom end is Josh Jobe, the Alabama senior.

I really like Jobe. He's aggressive, a physical outside guy. He plays at a high level. He was a four-star recruit, an aggressive, high-motor individual. He's strictly a press man corner. And he struggles in zone schemes an awful lot, which would make things a little bit difficult for him here at times. But I like what I see from him in Pressman.

His timing is a bit off. That's something that can be fixed. And this goes back to what Mike said earlier, that he thought somebody might have been there earlier that would have caught Bill's eye, but we all know what happens with defensive backs in the second round who get drafted here. We'll see.

If Bill agrees with this pick and actually makes it, then I'll eat a little crow. But right now, I'm not sure. But let's get back to the good stuff many many boldins many many boldins and let's hope it's going to be three uh we would definitely love i know this man would definitely love to see brandon back in the fold i for one would love it as well but uh you know between slade and bubba both on you know offense and on defense um it could be interesting i know slade bolden is kind of the feel-good story,

and everybody's thinking of him as like little Edelman. You know, folks, pump the tires just a little bit, but I think the kid does have, yeah, I think the kid does have the ability to be more of a Danny Amendola type. That's a good point, and I'm glad that you made that, Murph, and, you know, I also... He's the guy that you sneak in there for eight plays a game, and he makes four of them. He makes four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. That's what I see out of him. Absolutely. Absolutely.

It really is. It's really something, you know, to keep an eye on. And I'm so glad that you mentioned, like I said earlier, about catching your sharp eye in the early rounds. Folks, yeah, the ghost of razai dowling continues to hover over foxborough and uh you know so uh maybe maybe bill will go a little bit later and i think joe at that point if that's where he's going to uh to target i mean who better than uh somebody that knows a nick savin system alabama defenders tend to do very well here in new england as well

we always make a big deal out of the Alabama offensive products, but the Alabama defenders tend to do pretty well here as well. So, you know, it's going to be interesting to see what Bill Belichick does in the coming days and weeks. I think free agency is really going to set the tone for how they approach the draft. Bottom line, Murph, how do you think Andrew did overall? Do you agree under or over the B-minus that he was given by PFF?

I'm not going to go over, but I'll go directly with what they have as a B-minus. Maybe a B. There were a couple of reaches here. And Rivera is, you know, I would have liked to have seen a better pick there. I know he's versatile. I know he can play either guard and maybe kick out to tackle. I'm just not thrilled with him. I'm just not thrilled with him.

Yeah, I can definitely see where PFF came from. I would agree with you. I give him a solid B-, maybe with a little bit of a B rising, simply because I love the Joe pick in the middle of the draft. And I think if the Patriots do decide that they're going to wait a little bit of a B rising simply because I love the Joe pick in the middle of the draft. And I think if the Patriots do decide that they're going to wait a little bit on picking a corner, uh, this kid, uh, they could do a lot worse than this kid in the third round. I think he's right where he might go. Uh, and this could be an interesting, uh, draft for them. So Andrew, what can we say? Thank you always for submitting these, uh, you know, drafts each and every week. Uh, but we're

not completely done yet, Murph. We do have one more draft to run through, and we're going to do that in just a moment from our good buddy Jason Sullivan, who just barely missed the cut. Actually, I should say made the cut. Almost missed it, but he made it. But before we do that, I just want to go ahead and mention to you guys that you should have your sharp eye this season

on our good friends at BetOnline.net because it is that time of year again, folks. College basketball tournaments are just upon us. And for all the latest odds, contests, player props, betonline.net is your number one source for all of your sports betting needs. BetOnline remains the best spot for all of your sports scores, podcasts, and news news this season and it's not just basketball that online is your continued source for all of your sports wagering information needs including live betting and your favorite vegas casino games head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more about the trends in action that online where the game starts folks we are about to wrap things up here with our good friend account of murphy fisto himself

the legendary thomas murphy joins us to muse the draft here on hashtag locked on murph monday and bud i didn't want today to go by uh without a lot of things we talked tom brady indulge me i appreciate that we used andrew carraway's draft We talked a little bit about the Patriots initial foray into free agency, but our good friend, Jason Sullivan took the time to submit a draft right at the deadline last night, just, just before midnight, 1158 PM. Even though we lost an hour of sleep yesterday, Jason took the time to put in this draft.

So you know what, as a solid listener and as a good friend of the program, we couldn't let today's show go by without giving him his just due. So Jason, thank you so much for your submission. And I'm going to go through the draft in its entirety that he submitted right now. And we'll go through this in just a moment, Murph. At number 21, he has the Patriots standing pat in the first round. Derek Stingley Jr., the cornerback out of LSU. One of the top

prospects at the position. Going to the Patriots at number 21. At number 54, Murph, get ready to grin from ear to ear. John Mechie III, wide receiver out of Alabama. I don't know who Jason's drafting with. Well, he drafted him. I think this

was done at midnight, so most of the people are probably sleeping. On the East Coast, anyway. with well he drafted it i think this was done like at midnight so most of the people are probably sleeping uh but on the east coast anyway uh mechi coming in at number 54 love it number 85 uh he has a linebacker troy anderson out of montana state um kade mays comes in at number 26 offensive guard uh you know patriots getting some whole line help there we We love talking all-line Murph. Guard out of Tennessee comes to the Patriots there at number 126. Number 175, Josh Jobe, comes to the New England Patriots. I want to talk about really revamping that cornerback room. All of a sudden, you've got a couple of guys that could be mainstays in this cornerback room for quite some time at number 175.

And then, of course, rounding out the mix, number 209, Kyle Phillips going to the New England Patriots as well. Murph, this is the definition of Hall, but in terms of realism, in terms of what your thoughts are, we've talked about a lot of these players before. What are your thoughts on the Pro Football Network? Several of our colleagues here at Locked On work for this great organization. What do you believe in Jason's

late night submission to mock draft Monday? I think he caught everybody drunk. They were going with the pretty helmet of the pick of the week. I'm going to draft this guy because he's the same name as my cat and how Derek Stingley Jr. dropped to 21 I have absolutely no idea but I wish that

everybody that was drafting during this draft was making the picks in in the NFL for other teams other than the Patriots and that that we were just oh my, Derek Stingley Jr. At, at 21, give me it all day long. We all know how I feel about Mechie. He is the quintessential playmaker. He is the yak czar in this, in this draft. I want this. So I want this draft so much. Troy Anderson is just, you know, he's zooming up fricking draft boards everywhere.

If he's there at 85 it 85, it's like Christmas. It's like Patriots Christmas, people. It's townie Christmas. You know, Cade Mays is an excellent grab there at 126. Job, again, as we were saying, you have just revamped the entirety of the Patriots cornerback room right there in this draft. It has been done. And Kyle Phillips is just a solid pick at 209.

You can't go wrong there. You really can't. This is a fantastic draft. This is an A-plus draft, people. This is what I like to see. This is what I would want on draft day. This is amazing. Please make this happen.

Please. Yeah, absolutely. want on draft day this is amazing please make this happen please yeah absolutely i think really i think this uh you know would be uh really the only thing that could make this better is if it had a bolden in there somewhere but we'll get them in as undrafted free agents somehow all right folks you really want me to get murph to smile here i'll tell you what take this draft couple it with a brandon bolden re-signing. How we doing? Oh my God. It's like walking into, it would be like walking into the kitchen and having lasagna and stuffed shells.

You know, I feel like Nazarene who just delivered the cake of the century to the Don right now for that. Oh, you should see the cake like this. You know. It's great, great stuff we how can we possibly not end on that note um oh we should really give jason a grade here because i think yeah um this this goes down just like ralphie with his red rider bb gun dream a plus a and the the teacher just a plus all the way around the room plus plus plus that's

how much this that's how good this draft was it was just great it was like if somebody could pick murph's brain and just have it fall completely perfectly what would happen and this is it this is it absolutely well i i tend to agree with you on that as well i mean you know we're grading here probably not you could give away everything else, because that's just gravy, and oh my God, this is a great draft. Yeah, imagine. And you know what? New England Patriots went into 2021 with a lot of pipe dreams,

and nobody said they'd be able to notch a big-time quarterback and what they needed on the defensive side of the ball. They got them both from the University of Alabama folks. Mack Jones was there at number 15. The Patriots did take him and Christian Barmore was there in the second round and they were able to get him as well. So anything is possible in the NFL. Anything is possible with the Patriots.

Have faith, folks. Maybe not seem like it right now, but I'm sure the Patriots do have a plan and we will continue to discuss that plan each and every day here on Locked On Patriots. Obviously, at the time Murph and I are recording this show, no huge free agency news that we haven't already talked about has been made. But with the start of the legal tampering period, insert the lap track right here, that's exactly what we will continue to do. Our resident voice of reason.

Exactly. No contact. None at all. None at all. Our resident voice of reason steve balistrieri joins us here today this week as well as the countess of class herself classy claire cooper she will join us here to uh this week as well definitely stay tuned toward the end of the week kevin tame of sports illustrated tanya ray fox joining us ryan spagnoli of pat's pulpit a lot

going on this week, so we will continue to keep you updated each and every day here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And don't forget to check out our colleagues over at Locked On NFL. All of the news you need in less than 30 minutes. If it's a move to be made in the NFL, our guys at Locked On NFL

are on top of that. So subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, free and available. Please continue to smash the subscribe button for Locked On Patriots on YouTube. We're available wherever you get your podcasts. Murph, what can I say? Always honored, always humbled by your presence. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Before I let you go, my friend, please let everyone know where they can find you on social media and what we can look forward to in the coming days and weeks from the great Penn, the great voice of Don Murph. Now that baseball is back, bud, you're going to be a busy man. I am busy, man. I am sitting there hitting the refresh constantly. The Rolodex is in high usage

this week. You can find all of my stuff over at e2gsports.com. I just did a couple of write-ups this week on possible free agents coming in. And of course, you can find One Patriot's Place there with Steve and of course, the Countess of Class herself. We'll do that. We'll be on tomorrow with a new guest that I won't tease out right now. Nah, yeah, I will. Easy Lazar will be joining us tomorrow.

Don't miss that one. And follow me on the socials at TeamRef207, all the socials at TeamRef207. Absolutely. Folks, I tell you each and every week, if you're not following this man, please do it. All the information, all of the content that this man puts out on E2GSports.com is point,

click, learn, enrichment material. You become a better sports fan. You become more informed. You become entertained. What more can you ask for? My good friend, thank you so much. Always honored, always humbled by your presence, Don Murph, once again. And thank you, folks, for making Locked On Patriots your first listen

every day. Until tomorrow, continue to stay safe, stay well, be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone. Later.