Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Scoop: Patriots' Aggressive Trade Stance | Wolf Admitting Past Mistakes?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Elliot Wolf lets the football world know. The Pats are not afraid to swing big for talent even in the middle of August. That's where we start on this episode of Locked on 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 up, Patriots fans? I am your host, Nick Cattels, born and raised in New England. host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattels and a sports talk show host veteran. On today's episode, Elliot Wolf weighs in on the differences between the 2024 and 2025 draft classes. Also, I'm concerned that the Pats are doing wrong by one of their rookies by not picking a clear path and sticking to it. But first, the Pats front office remains ready to strike. We appreciate you to join the show, making us your first listen for being in every. day or the Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud part of the Lockdown Podcast Network,

Starting point is 00:01:04 your team every day. And today's episode is brought to by Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Lockdown NFL for $20 off your first purchase. The Patriots will not, will not hesitate to make a big move. They're not shy and they're not shy about using draft capital. Elliot Wolf met with the media on Monday. And he said, that they are absolutely interested in trading for available veterans. He added there in contact with 31 teams. According to Taylor Kyle's, Wolf said that the Patriots would be open and making a big trade at this point in the season. Mark Daniels posted, Wolf said the Patriots would be interested in trading a first or second round pick for a player worthy of that price tag.

Starting point is 00:01:52 Interestingly enough, Ian Rappaport saw these tweets. He quote tweeted, worth noting. The first goal here for Elliott Wolf is to get the message out to the players. Your current players in the locker room right now, let those guys know. Yeah, we're trying to get better. We're always looking to improve. The roster, we can change it. We're open to changing it.

Starting point is 00:02:17 We're open to adding talent. If somebody is out there and we think that somebody will help the football team and bring a significant impact, we are even willing to give up draft capital to make that happen, to help you guys win football games. The message is out there. The message is out there to the current players on this roster. The message is out there to the fans, letting them know, yeah, we'll swing big. We're not worried about it.

Starting point is 00:02:43 We're open to the idea of swinging big. And to also let the players that could be available know and understand that the Patriots are willing to swing big and that the Pats want to win. So the public relations, the optics of this message from Elliot Wolf makes just a ton of sense if you think about the short term and the long term, the big picture of what they're trying to establish here with Mike Vrable as the head coach. And I 100% believe Wolf when he says this. And you might think that I'm being naive. But let's just think about what happened in reality. In reality, last off season, the Patriots went hard after Brennan Ayuk.

Starting point is 00:03:23 They had a deal done with San Francisco. That deal would have been completed. Iyuk would have been a patriot if Iyuk wanted to be a patriot. They were in on the conversations about D.K. Metcalf reportedly, the Patriots would have gone even harder after Metcalf if they felt like he was more open to the idea of coming to New England. There's a theme there. We'll get to it a little bit later. But for now, let's just focus. Let's just focus on the fact that the Patriots, they've chased big talent the last couple of off seasons.

Starting point is 00:03:53 They have not been bashful. They went into free agency last year looking to spend money. They went into free agency this year and spent plenty of money. They're not afraid. They're not afraid of adding talent to this football team. Robert Kraft, we all have to understand this. And I know that some say, oh, Robert Kraft doesn't spend. He's cheap and this and that.

Starting point is 00:04:15 Robert Kraft spent before Belichick. Robert Kraft spent after Belichick. That's what the resume tells me. And Kraft has certainly okayed plenty of moves, the last two off seasons, and okayed plenty of money being spent, whether it was to retain players or go get players from the outside. Craft is 84 years old. Now, I certainly hope that Kraft lives until 120. Let him live for as long as he can live, right? But he's 84.

Starting point is 00:04:45 And he knows, he knows you don't get younger as days pass by. And I believe Kraft is desperate to see his football team win, win at least one more if they can. And he knows that the clock is ticking, so to speak. He's looking at it saying, well, how many years do I have left on this earth? I want to see my team win again. I want to enjoy winning football. I want to experience that as an owner, at least one more time. time. So that desperation, craft being 84 years old, I do believe that plays a role because I think

Starting point is 00:05:27 the owner would be okay with making a big move, would be okay looking at the short term versus the long term. I also think Mike Vrable wants to win. He wants to prove to people in Tennessee that they made a mistake. He wants to prove to the football world that he is as good of a head coach as some say he is. Vrable did not walk into this program to win five or six games in 2025. So you have a head coach who wants to win badly. I think Wolf wants to win badly after what happened last season and how criticized he was and rightfully so in many cases. I think he has a point to prove.

Starting point is 00:06:03 Kraft has a point to prove both Belichick and at 84 years old. So I believe Wolf when he says this. However, the devil is in the details. Wolf is willing and the Patriots are willing to give up a first round pick or a second round pick, maybe a first and second round pick, depending on the talent, depending on who is part of this conversation. Wolf is not interested. Vrable is not interested because let's not get it twisted. Vrable has more power than wolf. That's obvious. We've talked about it from the very beginning of his hiring in New England. Vrable's not into just giving

Starting point is 00:06:43 assets away for nothing. Wolf isn't, craft isn't. So the devil is in the details. Yes. Yes, we are willing to part with significant draft capital if dot, dot, dot, the right player becomes available. And we decide what makes that player the right player. It could be age, it could be fit on the field, it could be fit off the field, character, culture, leadership, maturity. We've used those words a lot in this off season. So if there is a guy that fits that mold, then, yeah, the conversation would happen. But I'm not so sure if, you know, Trey Hendrickson is available right now. And Cincinnati is saying, give us a first round pick and a young player and pay Hendrickson the extension that he wants.

Starting point is 00:07:34 I'm not sold that the Pats would be in on that. So this isn't just let's make a move to make a move. This is we're going to make a move. We're willing to make a move. we're willing to pay for players we're willing to give up draft capital we're willing to make those trades if it makes sense for us and that's the way it should be you don't want to just you know give up capital to just give up capital and then you got to get to the other side of this which is what i mentioned a few moments ago is anyone actually willing to come to new

Starting point is 00:08:13 England. We could throw the names out there. We all know the names. The McCloren's and the Hendricksons and the Parsons, do they really want to come to New England? McLaurin, does he really want to leave the team that he's spent his entire NFL career with? Went to the NFC championship game last year.

Starting point is 00:08:33 Does Parsons want to leave being a cowboy? Does Hendrickson really want to uproot and leave Cincinnati? daddy. It's been there for a lot of years. Does you want to stand by Joe Burrow? Does he think that, you know, they can win a championship with Burrow? So I don't know if these players would want to come to New England. And as we found out with Ayuk and to a lesser extent, Metcalfe, that's what really matters. Because no matter how much the Patriots are willing to spend, they have to have a yes on the other end. but I believe, I believe they're willing to do it.

Starting point is 00:09:15 I'm not so sure I believe that those players would be interested in opening that door. Could be wrong. Speaking of Wolf, he gave an interesting answer as to the differences between the last two draft classes. That answer, my thoughts next, as we continue with this episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. August 26th is officially Fandul Futures Day, a brand new holiday for football fans who live for bold predictions and pre-season hunches.

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Starting point is 00:10:56 We can go up and down, we can look at the names, but nothing that we've seen, nothing that we've read, nothing that we've heard tells us that the Patriots swung and a few months ago in the draft and we all felt pretty good or at least most of us felt pretty good about the draft in real time and as it ages a few months I'm feeling even better but what about 2024 well we know doesn't look nearly as good does it and what was interesting is that Elliott wolf was asked about the two drafts and what was the difference between 24 and 2025. And according to Taylor

Starting point is 00:11:38 Kyle's who posted this, Wolf says the Patriots vision for what they wanted in players was the biggest difference in their success with this year's rookie class compared to last year. Just a little bit of a note here before I move forward with this.

Starting point is 00:11:55 As I said, I'm super excited about this draft class and I feel like they're going to have multiple impact players from this class. If they can stay healthy. I feel like we'll look back at the 2025 draft class and feel very good about it. However, it would be disingenuous for me not to bring up the idea that it's still really early. It's the middle of August. Less than four months ago is when this draft happened.

Starting point is 00:12:24 It's still really early. I would not be celebrating just yet. But I do think this is a fascinating quote. from Wolf. And I've got a few takeaways from the quote. Again, he said that the vision, the vision for what the Pat's wanted in players was the biggest difference in their success

Starting point is 00:12:47 with this year's rookie class compared to last year. The vision. Whose vision? His vision? Vrable's vision? The vision. It's got to be Vrable. Of course it's Vrable.

Starting point is 00:13:02 We know that Vrable met with the scouting department, the front office, sometime in February. He met with those two entities within the franchise to lay out what types of players he loved, what types of players he wanted nothing to do with, what types of players he felt were necessary to start building the program in his vision. Vrable set that forth And I think some people will say Well, this is a shot at

Starting point is 00:13:36 Gerard Mayo that Wolf is taking I'm not so sure Vrable has a clear type Right, we all have types When you were younger, maybe you're still young God bless you, you're going out on a Friday night Maybe you're looking to You know, mingle with somebody

Starting point is 00:13:56 And you're looking for a type You got a type. Vrable had a clear type, clear type of player that he wanted. And that's what he let the front office and the scouting department know. I'm not so sure Mayo had a clear idea as far as type of player that he wanted, especially on the offensive side. You know, it's interesting. You go back to last off season. And, of course, the Patriots retained a bunch of dudes, right?

Starting point is 00:14:22 Dugger and Stevenson and Owen who they handed out extensions. And maybe that was almost by default. The devil you know is better than the devil that you don't. And there's no doubt that if you compare Vrable to Mayo, there's an obvious difference here with experience level. And you start with head coaching. Mayo was never a head coach before he got the gig. Vrable spent years in Tennessee.

Starting point is 00:14:50 And he has, I think, a clearer vision as far as, what types of players work with him as a head coach what types of guys make sense scheme-wise what they want to do and so Mayo was kind of let's just run it back for the most part Brable said no we're not going to just run it back I want to bring guys in that fit my style of football in Mayo and Covington they were you know from the Belichick tree which Vrable is not. Vrable did not coach under Belichick, but Mayo and Covington

Starting point is 00:15:26 were under that Belichick tree, so they tended to stay with what they knew. And Vrable came in with a new vision, new ideas as far as what players will work in his system. And when you have a vision, you also have a unified front, and that's what came into the Patriots. Mayo and Wolf last year could talk all about

Starting point is 00:15:48 how you know they they were completing each other's sentences it was it was an adorable moment Mayo selling us on you know how great they were together and and maybe they got along swimmingly at least in the beginning maybe they maybe they worked out swimmingly together the entire time and they did enjoy working with each other but that was a forced marriage and Wolfe's job was to pick the players and of course he got info from Mayo but that was a forced marriage. Vrable is the guy and Stretch is the number two, according to Andrew Callahan, who wrote about this recently.

Starting point is 00:16:27 And we talked about it. So, you know, Vrable comes in with Stretch, with Cowden. They have a unified front. They have a shared vision. And I'm not sure that Gerard Mayo, Elliot Wolf, Alonzo Highsmith, and the others in that front office, I'm not sure if all of them shared a vision. But the guys who were making the final call, you know, Vrable who made the final call and Stretch, who is his consigliary, so to speak, they're on the same page.

Starting point is 00:16:57 They think alike. They look at the game in a very similar way. And you had a unified front between Vrable, Stretch, and Cowden coming into this organization. And they shared that vision, that unified vision with the Patriot staff that was already in-house. You can also look at the grading system. Elliot Wolfe's grading system was not implemented last year. They used Belichick's system because it was too much. You can't turn over everything in like a month or two.

Starting point is 00:17:31 So now Wolf had his fully implemented grading system instilled in all the scouts, everybody that's part of the front office and Vrable has experience with the same grading system from his time in Tennessee because of the interwoven, you know, piece of football. And so you had a fully implemented grading system. Your scouts, your front office, your staff, you're all on the same page, you're stacking the board together. You've got that unified vision. I think that's what Wolf is getting to. And I also would not overlooked the fact that Wolf had more time. He had more time this off season to work with Vrable, to work with the staff.

Starting point is 00:18:24 And Vrable was doing what Vrable is supposed to do as a head coach. And as we know, Mayo did not necessarily do that. Vrable came in with ideas for a staff, had a lot of staff already figured out. Within the first week, he knew the vast majority of his staff and what it was going to look like. Mayo didn't have connections. He didn't have a network. He's running all over the place. Elliot Wolfe is really doing the job of Mayo, tracking down possible assistance and possible, you know, coaches and positional coaches.

Starting point is 00:18:55 And that took time from Wolf to devote to actually scouting and pouring through things. Wolf, I don't even think he went to the senior bowl last year, which is crazy for a guy in his position. So I think he had more time, which led to more homework. and they worked on culture fits. They went out and got leaders. They drafted captains. They looked for guys who have maturity. Remember last year's draft,

Starting point is 00:19:23 there was at least a couple guys, maybe even more than that, that had some red flags, quote unquote. I didn't really read or hear anything about red flags regarding this draft class. Now, maybe something escapes me, but it felt like they were not only drafting talented guys. they were drafting guys that didn't necessarily have baggage.

Starting point is 00:19:43 And that goes within the vision that was handed down by Vrable. The Pats might be doing a big disservice, speaking of rookies, to one of their prized rookies from the 2025 class. That's coming up as we continue with today's episode of Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Have you ever decided at the last minute to head to a ball game with friends or family? Maybe it's game day and you suddenly realize you want to be in the stands. That's exactly where game time comes in.

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Starting point is 00:21:29 I feel with every fiber of my being, that we are at a point where the Patriots have to pick a path for Jared Wilson for this season. and stick to the path. The left guard dance continues, and it continued on Monday. Doug Kide posted, Wilson back as the top left guard. He had Campbell, Wilson, Bradbury, Owenu, Moses, as you're starting five for Monday's practice. Mike Reese posted, Wilson, who had been limited in last Thursday's practice,

Starting point is 00:22:05 with Mike Vrable noting it was a result of him working through something health-wise was a full participant in the top left guard today. Now, of course, you could say, well, Nick, they changed things late last week, and they changed things in the preseason game because Wilson was dinged up. Well, he wasn't dinged up enough to keep him out of the game. So I'm not sure how you square that. Taylor Kyle's, Rable mentions finding the right center and left guard combo when asked about the left guard competition.

Starting point is 00:22:33 And I just, I'm not telling you the Patriots are making some kind of massive mistake here, but I don't love the approach how they're handling Wilson. If you're working at two positions, do you really have one position? If you're working, if you're Wilson and you're working at left guard and then you're working at center for a little bit, you dip your toe back into center, and then you go back and you work at left guard. It's back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, the shuffle. And if you're if you're working at both of those positions, you're not. mastering either one of them. And I go back to what Wolf said several months ago.

Starting point is 00:23:15 Wolf was asked about Jalen Polk and what went wrong in Polk's rookie season. And Wolf said, we put too much on his plate. We asked for too much too soon from him. We put too much on his plate. And, you know, I wonder, going back a few weeks ago towards the beginning of camp, I said, man, the staff is throwing a lot at Wilson and they obviously feel like he's capable of handling it because, you know, he's getting more reps as time goes on. And after four or five days, he gets the top left guard spot in practice. Maybe it caught up to him. It feels like it caught up to him. And maybe they put a little bit too much on Wilson's plate when he was able to go out there and actually touch the practice field.

Starting point is 00:24:07 Maybe they put a little too much on the plate. And I'm not sure that's fair to the player. The player, of course, is not going to say, no, no, no, no, I don't want to do that. Wilson's trying to please the coaching staff. He's trying to get a starting job. So he's open to everything and anything. But did the coaching staff do right by Wilson by putting him at left guard? You know, at first, kind of going back and forth, then he was left guard.

Starting point is 00:24:37 And then they start tinkering late last week and putting them back at center. They put him at center during the game. And that's mostly because they put Ben Brown at left guard. So to me, Wilson's looking at this. And there's just a lot to, you know, absorb. Rookie started one season at Georgia. And so at first he was able to handle it. But then you get to joint practice with.

Starting point is 00:25:03 Washington. Then you get to the Washington preseason game where he struggled a little bit. And then you get to the joint practices last week against Minnesota. And he wasn't great on Wednesday. Then he sits out on Thursday. And I remember talking about Wilson saying this is fantastic

Starting point is 00:25:19 stuff right now, but we got to see how the rest of camp goes because this is a lot. And you never, you know, you have to understand that there's ups and downs with young players. And it does feel like Wilson got overwhelmed at some point, and he took a step back.

Starting point is 00:25:38 But now he's back at left guard on Monday, and he's the top left guard. So is that where you're going to want him? Because I just want consistency for Wilson. I want consistency for Wilson, and I want consistency for this offensive line. Way too many games have been played up front in the last couple of years. And maybe it's just my frustration that's starting to wear me down. a little bit and just always seemingly having a question or a couple questions about the O line.

Starting point is 00:26:10 But I want consistency. I want Will Campbell to feel like Jared Wilson is going to be the starting left guard. I want those two rookies to feel like they can lean on each other and establish that partnership on the field. I want them to feel that. I want Campbell and Wilson to work together consistently. So by the time you get to week one. you feel confident that they can handle the job.

Starting point is 00:26:37 Right now, I don't feel confident at center or left guard. And they're flippity, floppity, floppity, flippity with Wilson, which tells me the staff isn't necessarily super comfortable, especially at guard. The offensive line moves as one. Dante Scarnacchio will say it. Doug Barone will say it. Any offensive line coach worth their assault will tell you.

Starting point is 00:26:57 A really good offensive line moves as one, a cohesive unit. They need to look like they're on the same page that they understand what the other guys are doing. And, you know, flipping guys, Ben Brown to center, then Ben Brown to left guard, Wilson to left guard, then Wilson to center. Bradbury's struggling, but they still keep Bradbury up top. And you don't want this to start impacting Drake May's confidence in the pocket and his poise in the pocket. So I just, you know, the way they've handled Will. Wilson, I don't think is the best way for the young man. And I also think it creates some other questions.

Starting point is 00:27:40 Like, what is Ben Brown? How do they look at Ben Brown? He was solid, by the way, according to people that watch the offensive line and know a lot more about Oline than I do. They will tell you he was pretty solid on Saturday against the Vikings at left guard. Is Brown a left guard? Is Brown a center? It's tough to carry a guy who's just going to be. a backup center you you want that player to be able to play you know left center right what's

Starting point is 00:28:12 brown's fit not sure because he's been kind of thrown around how about kato wallace you slid in the left guard you know he's getting less reps with the way you've you've handled this thing and so what's wallace's future it doesn't feel like it's anywhere near solidified are you fully committed to garret bradbury it doesn't feel like you should be but so far that's what you're showing now one caveat the media will not see practice these practices now moving forward are closed and so the patriots will let the media see what they want them to see and maybe that was part of the game on Monday but I just want them to pick a path with Wilson whether it's center or left guard and just stick with

Starting point is 00:29:00 it and let the young man get accustomed to that position at the NFL level and let them play there for the year. It's, you know, the Michael Wenow thing where right guard, right tackle, right guard, right tackle. Pick a position and stick with it for the season. You know, he can get some reps off to the side every once in a while at center. But if you want him to play left guard, let him devote himself to left guard. If you want him to have a competition with Bradbury, then put him at center and let him get reps at center and have an all-out competition. I don't like the back and forth stuff here. It feels like he's unsettled because of it, at least in part.

Starting point is 00:29:39 All right, that wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel. And don't forget to hit that like button, thumbs up for us as you watch the pot on YouTube and subscribe. Subs are jumping. Thanks to all of you. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen.

Starting point is 00:29:56 And for being an everyday or for your second listen, check out Lockdown Fantasy Football with hosts Vinnie Iyer and Kate Madjuk. Find Lockdown Fantasy Football on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast. Have a great day and we will see you tomorrow.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Scoop: Patriots' Aggressive Trade Stance | Wolf Admitting Past Mistakes?

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