Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Receiver Revolution: Patriots Wide Receiver Answer at #31? | Mailbag Episode!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Pats could unlock the future at wide receiver 1 in this year's draft at number 31. That and more in our first mailbag edition of the show. This is 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? I am your host, Nick Cattels. I've been covering the Pats for the past 16 years. Welcome to Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown.

Starting point is 00:00:35 Locked-on Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. On today's show, the Pats have assumed some risk on the offensive line with the start of their offseason. In the second segment, some fans can't get enough of A.J. Brown while others want to move on without him. But first, a certain wide receiver could be the answer to all the Pats' problems at number 31 and some more draft questions. you. That's right. This is our first mailbag edition of the show since I joined lockdown Patriots going all the way back to last April. I appreciate every single one of you. Let's start off with a casual Pat's fan. Thoughts on Chris Brosell at 31, younger, cheaper, and if developed right, can play the same role as A.J. Brown. Chris Brousel is an intriguing guy. I talked about him a couple of weeks back

Starting point is 00:01:32 after the NFL combine. He's 6 foot 4, 198 pounds, 437 speed with that body. 6 4, let's say 200, a couple pounds, 6, 4, 200 pounds, 43740 with a crazy, an absolutely crazy wingspan. And Chris Brazel had a really good combine, went through some of the drills, people fell in love if they were already in love, they fell deeper in love. And now Chris Brosell, who was somebody who was initially projected to be early to mid-second round, mostly mid-second round, some would argue mid-to-late second round. Well, after the combine, after the 437, after some of the productivity on the football field at Tennessee, now you could look at Brosell and say he's likely going to fall in between

Starting point is 00:02:29 that 25 to 35 range in the draft. Of course, this is the middle of March. We still have five weeks or so. Things can change. But right now, Brasel, if you want him, you have to take him at 31. Now, of course, there is the option of moving back and taking him a few spots later than 31. But right now, as it stands, if you want to draft Chris Brosell from Tennessee,

Starting point is 00:02:53 you've got to use that 31st pick. Now, the key, the key to all of this is, what the casual Pats fan wrote. If developed right, if developed right, is the biggest question. How many times have we seen wide receivers get drafted in the first round, not only by the Patriots, but by many other teams in the NFL, get drafted in the first round, but they never fulfill the potential we thought they had in college. Now, I love the coaching staff. And I think if a young player is going to develop, Todd Downing, Josh McKeown. Daniels, Thomas Brown, not too shabby to help that guy develop.

Starting point is 00:03:34 But Kyle Williams, now he wasn't a first round pick, obviously. Kyle Williams did not quite develop as much as I think we all hoped he would by the end of the year. Doesn't mean he can't. Again, I don't give up on any rookies. Maybe year two, it's blast off for Kyle Williams. But this really comes down to how you develop the player. And within that development plan, are you okay putting a lot on the shoulders of Chris

Starting point is 00:03:59 Brazell. If you bring him in and your plan at the X boundary is going to be Brazell, that that's putting a lot on him. And drafting him at number 31 is putting a lot on him. And you look at the other guys on this team, Kishan Booty, Mack Hollins, the aforementioned Kyle Williams, is Brousel going to do enough, early enough to leapfrog one, two, or all three of those guys for snaps? So those are the questions. I like Chris Brosell. I think he's a really good prospect. There is the question about Tennessee wide receivers. The history has not been great.

Starting point is 00:04:36 But I do like him. All right, let's jump to the next one. Mason Storm. I think a position of need for the Pats is also running back, even though it's hardly mentioned. Ramandre Stevenson won't be here forever. And a big body running back like Adam Randall from Clemson in the later rounds would be Chef's Kiss.

Starting point is 00:04:54 Well, interestingly enough, Mason Storm actually sent this question or this thought before we found out on Tuesday that Adam Randall from Clemson actually visiting the Patriots. Now, here's Adam Randall in a nutshell. He's 6-3-2-32. He's a converted wide receiver. So there's some untapped potential there at the running back position for him. His relative athletic score unofficially was a 9.49. So plenty of athleticism. Again, this is a big guy, 6-3-232. That's a big dude. And so if you're asking me, would I be okay with drafting a running back? Sure. If we go into it with the right expectation, which is you're drafting somebody, I think, to compete for that third running back spot.

Starting point is 00:05:42 Because right now, Ramandre Stevenson, you know, we just saw the best football, arguably of his career, the last two months of 2025. He looked great as the season wore on. So I'm in no rush of getting rid of Ramandre Stevenson. he's 28 years old, so I think he's got probably a year or two left at his best potential. He didn't run a ton in college at Oklahoma. He didn't run as much as some of these other guys that get drafted,

Starting point is 00:06:11 run at the college level. So again, I think you can get a year or two, hopefully two really good years from Ramandre Stevenson. And then you drafted Trayvion Henderson last year with the 38th pick. With a top 40 pick, Trayvion Henderson has to play. I mean, he needs to be your number two guy. Now, of course, if he falls on his face and he doesn't fulfill that potential, then it is what it is a la Jalen Polk.

Starting point is 00:06:36 But right now, after his rookie season, even though there were some things where he fell short, which we talked about, right, the vision and all that, the lack of cutbacks at times, the past protection was spotty. You still go into 2026 for me saying he's your number two guy. And I think Reggie Gilliam and Elijah Verit Tucker will help Travionn Henderson because they will create holes for him to go along with Julian Hill. But the, you know, if you're telling me you drafted Adam Randall to compete against Terrell Jennings, Elijah Mitchell, Land Larison, that's fine.

Starting point is 00:07:09 You have four sixth round picks. You got a fifth. You got two fourths. I don't think you want to spend too much on a running back. If he's there in the fifth, if he's there with one of the sixths, I'm perfectly fine. But you have a lot of other pressing needs to me to invest a pick in the top three. rounds than that position. So if the late dart hits, I'm good with it.

Starting point is 00:07:31 All right. Next up is Toby Hawk. Would you agree with the take that the Patriots will select edge, tackle, safety, and tight end within their first four picks as long as they don't trade for A.J. Brown. It'll be fascinating to see how much the Pat's try to shoehorn positions at certain spots. You know, the old best player available versus need conference. But generally speaking, I would probably replace tight end in this question with wide receiver.

Starting point is 00:08:03 I think wide receiver to me is more of a need with the first four picks than tight end because tight end is a really deep, deep position in this draft. And it's probably something I want to get into the next week or two. But Dame Bruegler of the athletic, he posted this week saying, you know, that there are so many tight ends in this draft that he he thinks should be in the league, it's going to be tough to draft all of them. So tight end is a very deep position in this draft. Wide receiver is deep, but you look at really the top like 10 to 15 and then you start getting thin.

Starting point is 00:08:41 And I don't think you want to bank on a fifth round wide receiver. I would bank on a fifth round tight end before I banked on a fifth round wide receiver. Most of the ex-boundary receivers in this draft are likely going to be gone on the top 100, the ones that you feel really good about, like the Chris Brousel's of the world, are going to be gone. So I would put wide receiver, as far as the first four picks,

Starting point is 00:09:04 I'd put wide receiver ahead of tight end. But yes, Edge will definitely be one pick. I'd be shocked. I'd be surprised if Edge isn't the pick at 31. And then you've got to look at right tackle, swing offensive tackle. I think one of those top four picks

Starting point is 00:09:21 will likely be used at that position. You've got five, picks with the two in the fourth round. So you've got five picks in the first four rounds. I think at least one of those is used at the tackle spot. And safety, I think, does move up because, of course, you know, you're talking about the fact that you signed Kevin Byard, who's going to be 33 in August to now draft that kind of younger developmental guy at that position is more important than if you brought in a Jalen

Starting point is 00:09:49 Hawkins or brought him back on a two-year deal. You would have had that extra year of cushion. All right, the Pats waiting for A.J. Brown could backfire. We'll have that more next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. College basketball is nonstop, big games, tight spreads, momentum swings every single night. From early tip-offs to late night, West Coast shootouts, there's always action on the board. And now Fandul is giving you away to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a college.

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Starting point is 00:11:03 Head to fandul.com to get started. That's fandul. Find the everydayer club now with code March and get your first month free. If you sign up before the NCAA tournament tips off, you can compete against me. And our men's and women's bracket pools on Discord, the winner in each will get $100 in lockdown merch head to lock. Tompatriots.supercast.com or check the link in the show notes to learn even more. Also, don't forget if you're watching us on YouTube to like, comment, and subscribe when you like, you press that thumbs up.

Starting point is 00:11:41 It helps us with the algorithm when you throw a comment in. That also helps us with the algorithm on YouTube. And don't forget to subscribe. The goal is 10,000 subscribers by the time we hit the draft. Appreciate every single one of you. Appreciate those who on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. if you follow me, decided to throw in some questions here as part of the mailbag. So again, first mailbag edition of this show happening right now for all of you.

Starting point is 00:12:09 Let's get back to it. Russell Brie, 7809. Hey, Nick, love your work. Thank you, Russell. Am I crazy for not wanting A.J. Brown? Draft a young receiver for once, Pat's. Come on, sooner or later, you got a hit. Now, I think people will say, Russell, draft a receiver.

Starting point is 00:12:26 Patriots have drafted a lot of receivers in the last few years. You know, the Kyle Williams, Jalen Polks, Pop Douglases, Kishon Bootys, Nikiel Harries, they have spent picks on wide receivers. Now, they haven't always, you know, spent the best picks or the highest picks on that position. But they have spent some draft capital, a decent amount of draft capital on that position. Now, it's, again, a different thing if you're going to go up and, and you, use the first round pick on a receiver than using a third round pick like last year or a sixth round pick or two six round picks like you did on Kishon Booty and Pop Douglas.

Starting point is 00:13:07 As far as the A.J. Brown stuff, look, it's not crazy. It's not crazy for not wanting A.J. Brown. There's an argument. I mean, you could certainly look at Brown and say he's going to be 29 years old in June, not a spring chicken. There are legitimate and have been legitimate questions. about his knee or knees since going back to the Tennessee Titans days. Albert Breer's been all over that in his reporting. It's part of the reason why Tennessee decided to trade A.J. Brown, there's going to be less opportunity for the young receivers. I mean, if you are somebody who loves the idea of trying to get the most out of Kishan

Starting point is 00:13:47 Booty, try to get the most out of Kyle Williams, give them as many reps as humanly possible, so they can possibly take that next step, then it's not crazy to say, I don't want A.J. Brown. And you could also look, as I mentioned, in the first segment, there are a lot of boundary X wide receivers in this draft. There are a number of guys.

Starting point is 00:14:10 You know, Denzel Boston, Chris Brasel, Malachi Fields, and many more. I don't have to list all of them. But there are a number of X boundary guys in this particular draft. So I don't think it's crazy or even unreasonable to say, why don't you just, you know, pass on A.J. Brown and draft a guy in the first round and and work with that young player.

Starting point is 00:14:34 And you got to hit at some point. But here's the counter, Russell. What if Kishan Bouti doesn't progress? What if what we saw from Kishan Bouti last year was the best Kishan Bouti you're going to get? Let's not forget. He fell off in the second half of the season. Hot start wasn't necessarily. the same guy as the season went on.

Starting point is 00:14:55 What happens if Kyle Williams ends up being a swing and a miss? I don't think he'll be, but what happens if he's a swing and a miss? What's your wide receiver room look like then? You got Romeo Dobbs, fine, love him. Matt Collins, who is well into his 30s, all of a sudden is now your number two receiver. And then you're left with what we just mentioned with Kashan Booty and Kyle Williams. And so now again, as we mentioned in the first segment about Chris Brousel, how much do you want to put on that rookie wide receiver that you draft in this hypothetical scenario?

Starting point is 00:15:32 How much do you want to put on his shoulders? Now, maybe you don't care. Maybe you throw him out there. You go, I have confidence in this guy. He's going to be the dude. But what if, what if that rookie wide receiver ends up taking a year or two years to become an impact player for you? you. It is not easy to find a wide receiver one. Elliot Wolf said, you know, last week he thinks there's, you know, 16 or so of those guys in the league.

Starting point is 00:16:03 And that might even be too many saying 16. So it's the known versus the unknown. You trade for A.J. Brown. You know what you're mostly getting. You saw the film last year. You evaluate the film last year. Is he the same guy he was two or three years ago? Probably not. Some will say that he lacked the... motivation or whatever. But you know, you look at the film and you know what he can bring to the table. He's going to be a very, very motivated guy playing with one of the best quarterbacks he's ever played with. If you think Drake May is better than Jalen Hertz, which I think as far as a quarterback goes, talent-wise, he is,

Starting point is 00:16:36 then you go with what you know and you say, well, we now have A.J. Brown for the next couple of years. And that'll give us a little bit more time to develop Kyle Williams and maybe Kishan Booty, but also get back into the draft, maybe next year, the year after. So, but I don't think you're crazy. A dank Pop-Tart. Do you think the Patriots waiting until June 1st for Brown opens the door wide open for more competition for Brown services? And I should mention, of course, on Tuesday we found out Jalen Waddle was traded to Denver. Interesting move by the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:17:11 They are absolutely a better football team with Waddle out there helping Bo Nix. I would say, you know, first of all, anything is possible. the idea of waiting until June 1st could backfire on the pads. It could result in the Eagles asking for even more. It could open the door, as you mentioned, to another team getting involved. Injuries can happen. You know, if somebody goes down for another team and they weren't planning on going after Brown, then they'd change their mind.

Starting point is 00:17:43 But I wouldn't be too anxious or worried about it. You know, I think it's actually more. more likely that you would have even less competition as you get to June 1st because of what we just saw at Denver and Miami, because teams are addressing their needs and they want to address those needs before you get to the draft, and then you want to address the needs that you didn't address before the draft during the draft. So teams will likely look to the draft as the last option to address that wide receiver need. because I don't know if they want to go in and play the Russian roulette. I think the Patriots are willing to play Russian roulette because they know that

Starting point is 00:18:22 AJ Brown wants to be a patriot. I think they have information that tells them that AJ Brown would love to be in New England and that has been reported. So, you know, teams likely are going to address this before you get to June. You also have your budget and the cap space that you have to figure out. And the Patriots have plenty of cap space to fit Brown's content. contract into that. Not everybody does.

Starting point is 00:18:48 And then the initial interest, I would say, has also been pretty mild. It's not like teams are banging down the door of Philly to trade for A.J. Brown. Now, of course, yes, that might change by June 1st. But because of everything I just mentioned, I don't think it'll change that dramatically. The other part of this that's not known is, you know, how strong does A.J. Brown push for a landing spot. On Tuesday, Adam Schaftero came out and said that he believes Brown prefers to not play in Philly. Now, that's the first step towards a demand slash request. All right, let's get to the next one here.

Starting point is 00:19:22 Nick Buzzy, linebacker's thin. How long does Robert Spillane play for? Is Christian Ellis a quality starter in this league or just a role player? Linebacker is thin, even thinner after Jolani Tavai was released, even thinner after we found out on Monday that Jack Gibbons, Dr. Gibby, is officially not coming back. He went to Arizona to play for the Cardinals on a two-year deal. The Patriots did add KJ Britt, more of a special teams guy. Maybe they see more out of

Starting point is 00:19:50 him than anybody else does. Maybe he replaces Jack Gibbons. But Roberts Blaine, I think likely has one to two years left. The Patriots have a potential out in his contract after this upcoming season. Would not be surprised that they used it. Christian Ellis, I think he's a solid number two guy. I thought he improved throughout the year last season. He's going to be 20 seven next season. So he's still younger. He's still kind of getting into his prime. It is interestingly enough, though, the final year of Christian Ellis's deal.

Starting point is 00:20:24 You'll remember he signed a deal with the Raiders and the Patriots matched it and brought him back. So, you know, both of these linebackers right now, Robert Spillane and Christian Ellis could both be out the door after the 2026 season. So yes, linebacker's thin. I think the Patriots will have a heavy, heavy draft investment. in the next two years. I think they probably feel like Robert Spillane has a couple of years left,

Starting point is 00:20:50 and maybe they can rework his contract, so he stays one or two more years beyond that out coming up after next season. But I do think they will draft a linebacker in this draft. I would not be surprised if they drafted a linebacker in 2027's draft. I would not be surprised if they double-dipped that linebacker in this year's draft because linebackers pretty deep. I would be surprised if they don't use one of their top four picks at linebacker. And I would not be surprised, again, if they drafted a guy day three who they think is a developmental option.

Starting point is 00:21:24 But I am confident that, you know, Mike Vrable in the front office, I am confident they understand they need to infuse youth, speed athleticism in the room at linebacker. And I think they will do that come draft weekend. Some are concerned with the current offensive line. I address those concerns next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to by Indeed. You know that feeling when you're overwhelmed at work and you just need one more reliable person on the team to get things back on track? If you're currently in the middle of workplace chaos, you don't have time to waste on bad fits.

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Starting point is 00:22:56 Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. Appreciate all of you. All right, let's get to our next question from Lindsay May photo. Let's say our new left guard, Elijah Verit Tucker, gets hurt again. Heaven forbid, in parentheses with the exclamation. Are we relying on Ben Brown? or will we look to the draft? Question mark.

Starting point is 00:23:17 How about this, Lindsay May? How about both? Why not both? Right now, yes, Ben Brown is your backup left guard. You could still sign another veteran, depending on the money, right? As more time passes in free agency, a lot of these vets that are going to be out there

Starting point is 00:23:35 will be signing for much, much less money. So you could always pluck one late in the process. I would look at Ben Brown. and say he's been okay at both center and left guard when he's been asked to fill in. I thought he was okay to pretty good when he replaced Jared Wilson this past season when Wilson was out of the lineup for a couple games. So I think he's been okay. I think he's accounted himself pretty well.

Starting point is 00:24:01 But I do also think that the drop off from Elijah Vera Tucker down to Ben Brown would be more significant because Elijah Verit Tucker is just a better football player than Jared Wilson. Now, would the Patriots mess around and put Jared Wilson back at left guard and Ben Brown at center if Elijah Vera Tucker was out? Maybe, maybe. I would expect, though, I would expect the Patriots to draft at least one, if not two guards. They have 11 picks right now. And, you know, I'm looking in that area, starting with the fourth round through the sixth round where you have those four picks. I think the fourth through the sixth round is a solid area region for finding a developmental

Starting point is 00:24:48 offensive guard or two. I think you're going to add at least one. But again, would not be surprised if they draft two. Elliot Wolf said as much at the combine that they were going to likely add at that position via the draft. Not only because of Elijah Verit Tucker, but we also have to look at Michael Wenu. Michael Wenu is walking into the final year of his contract. So we have to keep an eye on Michael Wenu and whether or not the Patriots restructure him

Starting point is 00:25:17 or if they just let him be the lame duck right guard, which might be the best case scenario because if Michael Wenno wants to get paid again, he's going to play his best football. So I do think they add in the draft. But I think you're okay with Brown as the guy who could kind of fill in for AVT, if AVT gets hurt yet again. As you said, you know, heaven forbid.

Starting point is 00:25:44 Let's go to Walt Foote. Walt Foote. Any hope Caden Wallace becomes our future right tackle or swing offensive tackle. Caden Wallace is interesting, isn't he, Walt? I mean, he played right tackle at Penn State. He was drafted by the Patriots who said they thought he could play left tackle. That left tackle vision died almost immediately on arrival. never really happened.

Starting point is 00:26:08 And then this past year, with new offensive line coaches and a new head coach, the Patriots switched Wallace from tackle to guard. I have no idea what's happening. He did not see the field last season. You know,

Starting point is 00:26:25 it's hard to give up somebody like Caden Wallace who does have the measurables and played well at Penn State. It's hard to give up an offensive lineman with his resume, which is good enough after one year. Now, moving him from tackle to guard last year, that would kind of scream to me that they were desperate to find a spot to justify keeping him on the roster,

Starting point is 00:26:49 which is not the best sign. It doesn't speak highly of his future at tackle. I would imagine if they thought he could be a tackle, they would have kept him at tackle and kept working him at tackle. Maybe they thought Marcus Bryant, who they brought in with a seventh round pick out of Missouri last year, year was a better kind of potential project for them than Caden Wallace. But the most likely scenario, I think, Walt, is that Caden Wallace is a camp body who needs

Starting point is 00:27:18 a huge big time showing to earn a roster spot. I would be renting if I were Caden Wallace right now. Not to say he can't make the roster, but I think he's on the outside looking in. All right. Let's go to hopefully I pronounce this correctly. Beera underscore Pesoa. How do you view O line depth for 2026 and moving forward, considering Elijah Vera Tucker and Morgan Moses both have long histories of injuries? I would first say O line depth is really difficult to achieve, and that's not just in New England.

Starting point is 00:27:53 That is everywhere. Everywhere. Throughout the NFL, it is very difficult to have legitimate, suitable backups for all five. positions. Offensive lines a little bit of a mess in the league, if you haven't noticed. College linemen are not coming out necessarily prepared for the NFL. A lot of the passing offenses in college, most of them now are off, you know, quick action, get rid of the football quickly. So not a lot of offensive linemen can hold their water, so to speak, and pass protection consistently when they come out for the draft. So it's just a little bit of a

Starting point is 00:28:35 struggle bus. There's a lot of guys too as well because college is looking for more kind of athletic and quicker linemen and all that stuff. You see a lot of undersized guys now coming out. So it's a very difficult situation in the NFL when looking across the league, not just at New England. The tackles, meanwhile, they're very raw coming out of the draft. I mean, some tackles take two, if not three years to get to where they're going to be. So you have to to be very patient, which is why I think the Patriots and what I've said with Will Campbell, you've got to be patient with him because when you look at the history of that position, especially the recent history, if you're not Joe Alt, future Hall of Fame type guy,

Starting point is 00:29:17 it could take you two or three years. And I know Patriots fans don't want to hear that, but that's the truth. And, you know, as I answered a little bit earlier, you know, guard is okay if they find solid depth on the market or they draft one using one of those fourth round picks or the fifth or the sixth round picks. As far as Morgan Moses, he gets banged up a lot, but he's played every game in nine of his last 11 seasons. And he was banged up last year and he fought through it. That's kind of been the typical Morgan Moses season for a while now.

Starting point is 00:29:50 I would love to add a veteran swing offensive tackle. I think the right tackle of the future is a big need in this upcoming draft. All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Thank you for the questions to those who sent them. I didn't get to all of them, I know, but we'll do this now pretty much every single week moving forward, the mailbag. So be on the lookout for that. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio.

Starting point is 00:30:18 And don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. Hit that like button and subscribe. Join the Everydayer Club now with code March and get your first month free. If you sign up before the NCAA tournament tips off, you can compete against your truly. and our men's and women's bracket pools on Discord, the winner and each will get $100 in locked on merchandise. Head to lockdownpatriots.supercast.com or check the link in the show notes to learn even more. Have a tremendous day and we will see you tomorrow.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Receiver Revolution: Patriots Wide Receiver Answer at #31? | Mailbag Episode!

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