Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Rise: Patriots Passing Offense Primed to Explode | Critical 2025 Draft Class

Episode Date: July 21, 2026

New England Patriots’ passing offense eyes elite status as A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs headline a revamped receiver corps. With Drake Maye stepping into a leadership role, improved offensive line protection, and a sharpened screen game, can Josh McDaniels’ unit become one of the NFL’s most dangerous? Nick Cattles breaks down how roster upgrades and coaching continuity set the stage for a breakout season. Spotlight shifts to the highly anticipated sophomore class—Will Campbell, Jared Wilson, TreVeyon Henderson, Kyle Williams, Craig Woodson, and more—whose growth could make or break New England’s 2026 campaign. On defense, the Patriots’ secondary—featuring Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones—could be the NFL’s best. Will this defensive backfield stonewall top offenses? Training camp battles promise fireworks as strengths collide. Don’t miss this deep dive on New England’s quest for dominance. Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-patriots/ Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nfl/ #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. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COM to play Daily Dingers and make your free pick on who’s hitting a homer this MLB season. Square Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at https://square.com/go/lockedonnfl! #squarepod Betterhelp This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON. Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Ultra Pouches Don’t sleep on Ultra Pouches. New customers get 15% Off with code LOCKEDONNFL at https://takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad Warby Parker Our listeners can buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at https://WarbyParker.com/LOCKEDONNFL — and using our link helps support the show. #WarbyParker #ad Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. 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.

The passing offense has all the ingredients to find that next level in 2026, starting this weekend at training camp. This is Locked-on 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, Nick Cattels. On today's show, the secondary that could end up being second to none. In the second segment, the sophomore class has a chance to make a significant mark early in camp this summer. But first, this passing offense aims to be one of the very best in the NFL.

Today's episode is brought to by Fandul. Join all the action at Fandul.com to play daily dingers and make your free pick on who's hitting a homer this MLB season. My number one, Numero uno, most anticipated topic of this upcoming camp. the passing offense, taking a step towards being truly elite. Now, we can look back at 2025 and say, Drake May was an elite quarterback, was an elite player, runner up to the MVP. We can look back at 2025 and say Stefan Diggs was really freaking good, especially considering the expectations surrounding his age and his recovery from that ACL.

So you can look at those two players and say, Drake May was terrific. He was elite. Fond Diggs was really good. But the offense last year, I think you and I would agree with this, was mostly carried by the quarterback. And I think this season, there's just a different vibe. And it starts with A.J. Brown. We have talked a lot about A.J. Brown. We will continue to talk a lot about A.J. Brown is a top 10-ish wide receiver in this league. We've talked about the fact that he was ranked by people within the NFL as a top 10 guy, pro football football, Focus had him ranked just outside the top five at wide receiver.

An alpha, a bona fide wide receiver won, whichever terminology you want to use. AJ Brown is really, really good at what he does. And then you look at Romeo Dobbs. Romeo Dobbs is a legitimate number two receiver. Most of last season, you toggled between K. Sean Booty and Matt Collins as your number two guy. This year, I think with Romeo Dobbs, a clear upgrade over both of those gentlemen. While I appreciate what Matt Hollins and Kishon Booty did for the offense last year, helping this team get to the Super Bowl, Romeo Dobbs is at another level. And when you compare

him to Matt Collins, he's obviously much younger and I think much more versatile. So you just start there. You start with the top two receivers on the depth chart just at different level. and then you move forward with that depth chart, and you realize that this team is not just top too heavy at receiver. They've got talented depth. Mack Hollins would be considered you're a prototypical third or fourth receiver. You would hope that Kyle Williams, as we talked about on yesterday's episode, you know, Kyle Williams will have a chance to kick down the door

and be the third receiver on this team when you break camp. I don't think that's going to happen, but he has the opportunity to do that. But even if he's a number four guy, I think you are perfectly fine with Matt Collins and Kyle Williams or Kyle Williams and Matt Collins. One of those two as your three and four just makes a lot of sense, right? One of those guys will be three. One of those guys will be four. Then you can mix in Pop Douglas, nice little gadget player and somebody that can be explosive

of down the field from time to time. I think he's a fascinating piece to this offense in 2026. And as of right now, as we're looking at this roster, as I record this episode, Kishan Booty is still on the team. Now, I don't think he's going to be there by the end of camp. But look at that depth. Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, Pop Douglas, Kishon Booty, sitting behind A.J. Brown and Romeo Dobbs.

Just a much better passing attack. just a much better wide receiver room than we have seen in quite a long time. How about the guys up front? Better offensive line. I would anticipate the past protection to be better this year than it was last year with the growth of Will Campbell and Jared Wilson. Jared Wilson going back to his natural position. Elijah Verit Tucker, a clear upgrade over Jared Wilson at left guard.

Michael Wenu coming off of his best football. and Morgan Moses, the steady veteran presence, with some depth at tackle, especially behind those guys. So when you look at this passing offense, this is why I'm excited, and I truly think they could get to that next level and that they could be elite, not just the quarterback, but the passing offense in totality, the pieces that are around the quarterback. That offensive line, the press protection, the wide receiver room,

talent, and because of your offensive line being better, and because of your offensive line being pretty darn athletic, I would absolutely expect this screen game to be so much better than it was last year. Josh McDaniels enjoys calling himself some screens, right? We all know that. We've seen plenty of Josh McDaniels screens. But last year, man, the screen game just wasn't it. It wasn't working. That should be better in 2026. That should open up your attack. Other aspects of the passing offense. There will be more on Drake May's plate. The quarterback will be doing more at the line of scrimmage, which should set you up better than you got set up last year just based on the experience factor. So I'm looking forward to the line of scrimmage work by Drake May and

company. I think because Drake May is entering into a second season with this all, offense, it is certainly not out of line to believe that there will be more motion included with this offense in 2026. Guys moving around pre-snap, some motion at the snap. That should be improved. And because I would anticipate this run game being better, that should lend itself to the play action passing game being better. Upgrade in protection. Upgrade in the screen game. upgrade at the line of scrimmage. Upgrade to your motion usage. Upgrade to your play action.

You pick it up what I'm putting down? Super excited about this passing offense. Let's also give some love to Todd Downing, because when we talk about this offense, we obviously start with Drake May, then we move on to Josh McDaniels. But don't overlook Todd Downing. And Todd Downing is walking into his second season

as the wide receivers coach after proving himself to be a pretty good wide receivers coach. You look back at last year, Warren Sharp, Sharp analysis recently posted, the highest percentage of receiver error causing incompletions. 32nd on the list, your New England Patriots. So when you look at the highest percentage of receiver error, the Patriots were dead last.

and that is an analytic that you want to finish dead last in. That's where you want to be. It means that Patriots-wide receivers didn't mess up a lot. As a matter of fact, they messed up at the lowest rate compared to every other team in the NFL. And Warren Sharp notes that that's the 2025 percentage of attempts incomplete due to receiver errors. So passes that were thrown, that were incomplete, but weren't on the quarterback, rather were on the wide receiver. Patriots lowest rate in the NFL when it comes to that analytic. And that means that the wide receivers knew where there was supposed to be.

It meant that the wide receivers were fundamentally solid. It meant that the wide receivers, yes, as part of being fundamentally solid, caught the ball. And it meant that your wide receiver spacing was correct. Remember going back to 2023 and 2024? I mean, those offenses, you can even go back to 2022 with the Matt Patricia debacle. Do you remember how spacing with the wide receivers was seemingly always off? How much did we talk about that last year? How much did we discuss the spacing not being right on the field during Sundays and primetime games?

I don't remember talking about it at all, maybe once. And that was a theme for like three years running. Todd Downing deserves credit. And when you look at Todd Downing and Josh McDaniels and Thomas Brown and Doug Marone, this offensive staff, they have had an entire offseason to self-scout the weaknesses of this passing offense. I cannot wait. I cannot wait to see this passing offense in action. Should be a lot of fun.

The 2025 draft class could make big time noise over the next month. That's coming up next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. Support for today's episode comes from ultra pouches. If you've ever found yourself reaching for a nicotine pouch, another cup of coffee or an energy drink,

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We were all excited about the 2025 draft class. Mostly they were good and productive last year. but they also left us with some questions. And over the next month, all eyes will be on these guys to see if they're ready to take that next step in 2026. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. What are you looking forward to the most about this upcoming camp starting on Saturday?

Man, I can't wait. It is getting closer and closer and closer. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. Next goal, 11,000 subscribers trying to get to that goal by week one in Seattle. The rookie class, this rookie class, I really think it's a class of patience. Caleb Lomu is likely your sixth offensive lineman. Gabe Accus's situation, we have discussed that multiple times during this summer. I do think that's going to impact his year one.

And if I was bullish on Gabe Accus before all of this played out, I'm less bullish now, not for year two, but for his rookie season, the way things have gone here, I think now the impact you were hoping he would make, at least in my opinion, has lessened. Eli Rairden was always a year two guy. I love the pick. I love Eli Raarden, but even myself, when I talk about Eli Raiden, I try to prepare everybody that year two is when we should really see him take some steps.

He is more raw than maybe some other guys that come out. And when you look at that tight end position, it usually takes a couple of years for guys to fully get entrenched at the NFL level at that position. And then you get to because the Patriots had no fourth round picks due to trading up twice, you get to the fifth round, six round, seventh round, UDFAs. And as I've continued to say for years now, those are lottery tickets. Sure, you can hit on them. And we'll talk about at least a couple of them coming up here. But there are lottery tickets.

You don't draft guys in the fifth, sixth, seventh rounds, or sign somebody as a UDFA, expecting them to help you week one. It's just not the expectation. So the draft class of this past April to me is a class of patience. You hope that it helps you in 27, 28, 29. Of course, if it helps you in 26, even better. But you get the point. That's why the second thing that I am anticipating most in this camp is the sophomore

class, the second year guys. I mean, just think about almost every single solitary guy that got drafted last year and a couple of guys who signed as UDFAs. Let's start with Will Campbell, your top pick in 2025. How does he respond? How does he respond to what happened to him in, you know, that Super Bowl against Seattle? Now, I have said, I expect Will Campbell to respond. I can't guarantee it.

So from day one of this camp, I think a lot of us, if not all of us, will be paying special attention and close attention to Will Campbell and how he's dealing with the one-on-ones. Then you get to the joint practices. You know, you put those pads on. Does Will Campbell respond the way that I think he will? But Will Campbell isn't the only guy in that offensive line from last year's draft that we need to watch carefully because Jared Wilson

is returning for his second season, and he has been moved, right? From left guard to center. I think Jared Wilson is going to look better at center. Can't guarantee it. So will he is the question? We'll see how it unfolds. Jared Wilson, you know, yes, it's his natural position,

but it ain't the easiest position in the world. So will he quickly adapt back to that natural feel and natural instinct at the NFL level, facing bigger and more faster athletes on the interior of defensive lines, something to keep in mind, something that I am interested in watching. Trayvion Henderson.

Does Trayvon Henderson improve when it comes to pass protection? Can you actually trust Trayvion Henderson to play on third down this year when you're breaking camp? Does he do enough? Or is the speed of, a little bit too much for him again. So will Trayvion Henderson improve in past protection? Do we see improvements from Trayvion Henderson with his vision running inside the tackles?

Kyle Williams, we talked a lot about Kyle Williams. I don't feel like we need to talk much more about Kyle Williams in this episode. But obviously, if Kyle Williams takes a big step during this camp and he looks like a true number three receiver, and you don't tell much difference between he and Romeo Dobbs, and it's not because Romeo Dobbs is struggling. It's because Kyle Williams is pushing. Man, how good would we feel about that? Walking into the season saying, oh, yeah, A.J. Brown, Romeo Dobbs,

Kyle Williams, giddy up. Let's go. Craig Woodson. I mean, I just talked about Craig Woodson on a recent podcast, The Hype Train. and I have huge expectations for Craig Woodson in 2026. Some might say they're unreasonable expectations. I don't believe that. I think Craig Woodson is going to take a leap.

I think he's going to justify that hype. Can I guarantee it? No. How about Joshua Farmer? Can Joshua Farmer find his way to consistently playing snaps week in and week out. The interior defensive line is pretty, pretty deep. Joshua Farmer, you know, he showed flashes last year.

Can he turn those flashes into being a consistent impact player when asked to go out there? Braden Swinson. Can Brayden Swinson make the team or is he going to be gone? You know, we heard about Brayden Swenson before the draft in 2025. A lot of people thought he was a top 100 player or so, and he fell down draft boards. What's he look like in 2026? Does he make the 53 man when you break camp?

I can even go to Marcus Bryant. Does Marcus Bryant stiff arm James Hudson, the veteran? Does he stiff arm Demetrius crown over this year's sixth round pick? does Marcus Bryant prove himself to be worthy as the fourth tackle. With a good camp, he could certainly do that. I mean, shoot, even Andy Borigales, can he keep him straight this year? He had a pretty darn good rookie season, right? Can Andy Borigalas follow that up and prove to be a consistent NFL kicker?

I'll go even deeper. How about UDFAs? Elijah Ponder could be one of the most important players on this team this year, given what you have at edge. Can Elijah Ponder continue that trajectory? And can he prove that what his coaches have said is actually the way he's going to look. Ffton Chisholm, UDFA. Can he find his way on this roster?

Can he beat out Pop Douglas? Can he beat out Kyle Williams? C.J. Dupree. This team needs a third tight end. Does C.J. Dupree do enough in camp? Land Larison, this team needs a third running back. Does he do enough? So, I mean, you just think about how critical this sophomore class could be towards the success of this season. I mean, it's just, it's gigantic. From Campbell to Wilson to Henderson to Williams to Woodson to former, to Swinson, to Bryant, to Boregallas to ponder to Chishol to DePri to Larison. We're talking possible major impact.

Can't wait to see those sophomores. Coming up, the number three thing I'm looking forward to the most this camp. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every single day. Matt Terry here from the Lockdown Lions podcast. You know, life insurance is one of those things. You don't really think about until you have a reason to. For me, it really. hit home when my father passed away over 20 years ago. You start thinking less about yourself

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That is, ethhOS.com slash lockdown NFL. Applications may vary. Rates may vary. What most people will remember from the run to the Super Bowl last year was the defensive aggression and the pass rush that resulted in. But don't overlook this team's bread and butter on that side of the football. And the bread and butter is the secondary. Thanks for checking out the lockdown podcast network.

Now the number one sports podcast network, don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. Help a brother out. We appreciate every single one of you getting you ready for camp, which of course starts this Saturday at Gillette. The third most anticipated topic of this camp for me is the defensive backfield. That's what I am looking forward to. Are they the best in the NFL? I would make that argument.

I would make the argument that from pillar to post, man to man, this defensive backfield is the best in the league. Now, some might push back. Some might look at Seattle. But I think the Patriots, if they're not the best secondary in the NFL, they are unequivocally in the conversation. I mean, just witnessing and reading about the pure talent of the top three cornerbacks this summer. It's going to be awesome. Christian Gonzalez considered elite if he's out there,

which I do think eventually he'll get out there. But he has considered elite, according to people from within the NFL. We talked about that recently. Carlton Davis, one of the best second corners in football. Marcus Jones, one of the best nickel cornerbacks in football. They're top three corners. I would put them against any top three corners in the league. Then you added Kevin Byard. You've got the growth of Craig Woodson. And that hype train I talked about just last segment, your safety position is in really, really good and capable hands. And if the pass rush is better, and I certainly hope the pass rush will be better, that's only going to help your secondary. It's only going to help that defensive backfield.

If your pass rush is getting to the quarterback, the quarterback makes mistakes, opens the door to turnovers. If you have a better four-man rush, you can play more coverage. You can mess around with the quarterback's head. And if you're playing more coverage, you're getting more four-man pass rush, you should be better in zone coverage. And you'll play more zone coverage. You know, I was reading Mike Giardy of Boston Sports Journal over the weekend. And Mike Giardy had a note that the Patriots were 23rd in the NFL in zone rate. So they were somewhat apprehensive to play zone last year.

And it was because they couldn't trust their four-man pass rush. If their four-man pass rush is better this season, they can play more zone. If you play more zone, that means you can mix it up more if you're Zach Corp. We talk about year two for the players last segment. How about year two for the coaching staff? As we mentioned in the first segment, you know, Todd Downing and Josh McDaniels and Doug Morone and Thomas Brown and those guys all coming back and having, you know, to prepare for a second season with their scheme, knowing each other. Same could be said for the defense. Same could be said for

the secondary. This is year two for Scott Booker. It's year two for Justin Hamilton. They know their players better now than they knew them last year. And Christian Gonzalez, as much we talk about him being an elite cornerback, it's pretty crazy that he just turned 24 years old. And I wonder, This might be asking too much, but I think he is so good with so much potential. I do wonder if there's an even next gear in Christian Gonzalez's game. Can he find another gear? If Christian Gonzalez found another gear, imagine how good he would be. Does anyone from the others stand out?

Will Mike Brown at safety stand out? How about Karan Pruncey, your fifth round pick? Will he stand out? Charles Woods, somebody that the team seemingly likes. And people might say, Nick, really the third most anticipated thing, this camp for you is the defensive backfield? Remember what number one was. Number one was the pass offense.

And what I want people to think about here is that if the Patriots stay healthy, just imagine the all-out battles. that this team will have on the practice field. Think about the passing offense and everything I said in the first segment, the talent, the quarterback, the scheme, et cetera, et cetera. And then think about what I just said regarding this secondary. You could have one of the best passing offenses in football facing arguably the best defensive backfield in football, day in day out.

It should be spectacular. Again, if everybody's healthy and everybody's out there. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe on our YouTube channel. And thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL scouting. Kyle Crabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason.

Find Lockdown NFL scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. podcast. Have a great day. We'll check you out next time.