Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - SCOOP: Patriots' Pop Douglas Dazzles Coaches | Who's Job is in Jeopardy?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Pop Douglas has impressed his new boss. 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 Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I am your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, your New England Patriots expert, host of the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles, and also a Sports Talk Show host veteran. On today's episode, three players

Starting point is 00:00:38 that wish they could have a redo of early camp and three players that opened up a lot of eyes. But first, Pop Douglas showed out. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listen. And for being an everydayer, the Lockdown Patriots podcast is a proud partner of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And as a reminder, we're going three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until we get back to five shows a week. That begins again on Monday, July 14th. And another quick note for Patriots fans, just in case you missed this, Tom Brady statue

Starting point is 00:01:10 will be unveiled on August 8th prior to the Patriots commanders preseason game at Gillette Stadium. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account and use code LOCKDOWN NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Let's talk Pop Douglas. Pop Douglas had a fantastic early camp and he has made a case for being this team's most impactful wide receiver in 2025. Mike Vrabel was asked about Pop Douglas recently and here's what Vrabel told the media about Douglas, quote, I love the person. I love his attitude. I love his spirit.

Starting point is 00:01:49 He loves to practice. He loves to play this game. Love, love, love, love, love. Five loves. I think he's gotten better. So I'm excited to see where he continues to be and continue to grow. That's some praise from your head coach.

Starting point is 00:02:04 And what we've learned about Vrabel early on, he has no problem telling you exactly how he feels about a player. He has no problem telling you how he feels about the team and what they're doing and not doing. If they're progressing, if they're not progressing, Mike Vrabel did not have to sit there and use the word love five times when discussing Pop Douglas to the media. That is a choice by your head coach and it's a choice because he obviously is impressed by Douglas.

Starting point is 00:02:34 And I'm excited for Pop Douglas after reading what's going on here the past few weeks. I'm excited for his 2025. Let's just start with this idea. He has better support this season. He has a second year quarterback. Drake May developing, getting better. The chemistry should be better between he and Pop because this is year two. So not only do you have Drake May's expected individual development, but you also have his relationship, his chemistry with Pop Douglas, I would have to imagine developing and improving.

Starting point is 00:03:08 And then Pop has his best offensive coordinator he's had in his NFL career. Josh McDaniels is obviously much better than Alex van Pelt. I would choose McDaniels over Bill O'Brien as well. And the thing about McDaniels is that he is going to scheme some targets for pop. He is going to scheme pop open. Mike Giardi recently wrote this about McDaniels offense and Douglas. Under Alex van Pelt, the Pats were far too reliant on isolation routes. Generally, McDaniels will use motion or bunch formations to create easier releases for his pass catchers.

Starting point is 00:03:47 Think back to how often Jacobi Myers, not a burner or a jackrabbit, had windows open for him because of that and the optionality in his routes. This is a massive opportunity for Douglas. Taylor Kyle's CLNS posted this, Douglas says the Patriots wide receiver cutups He studies feature a lot of McDaniel's Z slash slot prototypes and especially Julian Edelman Douglas according to Kyle's is a big fan of option routes Douglas as we've seen throughout this early camp OTAs and then mandatory mini camp Douglas has received more targets as time has gone on, which tells me that Drake May's confidence is building within Pop as one of his top guys. It also tells me that Douglas is understanding both

Starting point is 00:04:40 his role and the scheme of Josh McDaniels because if he was not understanding the scheme, if he wasn't picking up what they were putting down, he wouldn't be out there as much. He wouldn't be getting more and more targets as time goes on. Josh McDaniels system, his ability to scheme receivers open is only going to help Pop Douglas. Then you've got Todd Downing. I know that Todd Downing never played wide receiver in the NFL. I know he's been an offensive coordinator, but I would venture to

Starting point is 00:05:12 guess that Downing is the best wide receivers coach that Pop has had in the NFL. When you go back to Troy Brown, who didn't do a great job according to many, and then you go to last year, and that disaster, Downing is an upgrade as a positional coach. And then the players alongside Pop Douglas, Stefan Diggs looks like he has a great chance of being there week one to start this season. A healthy Kendrick Bourne compared to a Kendrick Bourne coming back from an ACL tear, which took him more time to return from than it looks like Diggs is going to take. But now you've got a healthy Bourne, you've got Stefan Diggs, you've got Trevion Henderson

Starting point is 00:05:54 to help you out in the backfield. So this offensive talent overall, the skill positions is better. It's not great, but it's better. And then we talk about things that pop can control, individual development. You look at a statistical progression from year one to year two. In 2023, as a rookie, he played 14 games,

Starting point is 00:06:16 had 79 targets, 49 catches, 561 yards, 0.0 touchdowns. Last year, 17 games games he had 87 targets 66 receptions 621 yards in three touchdowns There's untapped potential here I mean it's kind of crazy that you look at pops numbers last season and he had only eight more targets last year Than he had in his rookie season.

Starting point is 00:06:45 But yet he had 17 more receptions than his rookie season, 60 more yards and three touchdowns compared to zero. That's a season that pop can build on. So his individual growth should be there. We talk about players having that year three leap This season is year three for Douglas and I expect him to have a bump from year two to year three And by all accounts, he's healthy We know he went through some stuff in his rookie season some concussion stuff And then of course he was benched for fumbling which I thought was ridiculous at the time still feel like that was a ridiculous

Starting point is 00:07:24 Decision by the coaching staff, but he seems like he's healthy. Now the last box I wanna check here for you, talking about Pop Douglas is his usage, because Pop Douglas, from what the media has seen through OTAs and mandatory minicamp, he is diversifying his portfolio as a receiver in the NFL. What do I mean by that? He's being asked to do

Starting point is 00:07:46 more and he is doing more. Vrabel, part of the same quote I gave you earlier. He also said about POP's versatility that they're moving him around, putting him in different places. He's picked up everything that we've asked him to do. The more he understands, the more we give him unquote. Andrew Call Callahan wrote about Pop. The coaching staff seems intent on moving Douglas around the formation, an effort to weaponize his long speed as an outside receiver as much as his quickness from the slot. Callahan adds, so far so good. Evan Lazar. If the spring is any indication, Pop is in for a featured role. Douglas looked at home working the slot routes.

Starting point is 00:08:29 Quickness inside to feast on matchups, out leverage defenders. He was May's favorite receiver in the final two practices, according to Lazar. While the May to Douglas connection also had shades of the Pats quarterback working with current Colts wide receiver, Josh Downs at North Carolina. A lot of Patriots fans wished the Patriots would have drafted Josh Downs, wanted them to draft Downs coming out of UNC. So this is all great stuff. And I get excited when I read that Douglas is moving around the formation. He's not just being stuck in the slot. They're putting them from time to time on the outside. They're trying to utilize his explosiveness.

Starting point is 00:09:13 We know that Josh McDaniels will get slot receivers open. We know that Josh McDaniels, as long as you know what you're doing out there, you're going to have production if you're playing the slot. But now you're telling me they're gonna put put him outside at least every once in a while? I think Pop has more potential when it comes to that explosiveness. Last year, he only averaged 9.4 yards per catch. That's not enough.

Starting point is 00:09:38 So Pop Douglas has had a fantastic early camp. He's been moving around, he's been producing, he's jelling what Drake may, seemingly picking up Josh McDaniels' offense as McDaniels puts more down to learn. And I think as we get ready for training camp, we all better keep an eye on Pop because he just might end up being one of,

Starting point is 00:10:01 if not the best wide receiver on this team for 2025 if this progression continues. Him or Diggs. being one of, if not the best wide receiver on this team for 2025. If this progression continues him or digs great start for pop Douglas. All right. Not everyone had a successful early camp season. However, that's coming up next. As we continue with today's episode of lockdown Patriots, part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day, there is nothing like the NBA playoffs.

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Starting point is 00:11:35 Locke D o n n fl for $20 off download the game time app today last-minute tickets lowest price guarantee app today, last minute tickets lowest price guarantee. There's a lot of new with the Patriots, and I know I've said that before, but when there's so much new with the coaching staff and the players schemes, you add that fact to back to back for when seasons and we knew we knew going into OTAs we knew that going into mandatory mini camp not every single player on that field is going to thrive that going into mandatory mini camp, not every single player on that field is going to thrive. As a matter of fact, not every single player on that field is going

Starting point is 00:12:11 to end up surviving. Just the nature of the game, just the nature of regime change. And so what I'm going to do now is I'm going to give you three downs, three downs from this early camp. We just talked about Pop Douglas showing out being fantastic. I want to look at three downs in this segment. And then the next segment, we're going to end on a high note. We're going to give you the three ups, but let's start with the three downs. And I've got to talk about Jaheem Bell. Now I know Jaheem Bell was not, you know, a second day pick. I know he wasn't a second round pick, a first round. I understand. But when the Patriots drafted Jaheem Bell last year, I thought they might have found

Starting point is 00:12:54 a lottery ticket. When you watch Bell play in college, there were a lot of different things that he can do on the field. He was, you know, a running back at times. He was an H back at times. He was your traditional tight end. He made some plays yards after the catch. And I looked at that and I had some excitement

Starting point is 00:13:18 about what Jaheem Bell could do during his rookie season. Now, I'm not saying catch 50 footballs, but I thought by the end of the year, by the final month, six weeks of the season, Jaheem Bell could come up with a couple of big plays based off of his fit with Alex van Pelt's offense. That obviously never happened. And now we get ready for year two

Starting point is 00:13:39 with Josh McDaniels, the new OC, and my lottery ticket take, it looks like so far you're going to throw this lottery ticket out. After you're done scratching it, you're going to end up with big fat zeros because Jaheem Bell has not been good through OTAs and minicamp. He is right now at least at best the fourth tight end on this roster. Jack Westover has actually gotten more snaps than him.

Starting point is 00:14:06 Looks like he has leapfrogged Jaheem Bell. Bell has been hurt by multiple drops. So when he's been given opportunities, he's been given a chance to catch the football, he has dropped the football. Not what you're looking for. And so my hope that Bell would bring some H back versatility to not only last year's offense, but also this year's offense, because we all know that Josh McDaniels

Starting point is 00:14:31 loves having a fullback type. And I thought, Hey, look, Bell did not do the job last year, didn't do enough, didn't make enough impact. Maybe his second season, he would take a step forward. Maybe the McDaniels offense would be best for him because it would better utilize that versatility. But so far, it's not going well. And so far, it looks like Jaheim Bell is on the outside looking in to make this roster. Now, of course, things can change. We're only in the middle of June. We get the training camp. If Jaheim Bell ends up making some plays in training camp and has a couple of good joint practices, then we revisit this. But right now in the

Starting point is 00:15:11 middle of June, we're doing three down and Bell is on that list. Here's somebody else from last year's draft and you will catch the theme that we're going to work with here. Not only Bell, but Leaden Robinson. Leaden Robinson showed some flashes last year. People that know a lot more about offensive line play than I do, such as Greg Bedard and Evan Lazar, those guys had said, look, there's some potential here with Robinson. And Robinson could end up being a starting guard at some point. But the early camp this year under Mike Vrabel and his coaching staff, Robinson and Robinson could end up being a starting guard at some point.

Starting point is 00:15:45 But the early camp this year under Mike Vrabel and his coaching staff, Robinson has done nothing but tumble to the bottom of the depth chart. And when you're looking at left guard, you've got Caden Wallace out there taking some snaps. I don't think that was part of the plan. So Robinson, who I thought had a decent chance of making some headway at left guard during this left guard competition He has been totally ineffective according to all reports and he is now towards the bottom He's towards the bottom of the barrel right now Again a lot of time to figure it out a lot of time to make up for those mistakes.

Starting point is 00:16:26 But the pre-snap penalties have continued during these practices reportedly. Some false starts from Leighton Robinson. Not what you want to see. Where is the focus? Where is the focus? Where is the drive? He has no momentum right now to help out this offensive line. And you could look at it and say that the West Schweitzer retirement could end up being

Starting point is 00:16:50 Robinson's last shot to make somebody notice him. Doesn't sound like the coaching staff is thrilled with what he's doing. Doesn't look like he's gotten much better, if better at all, according to those who have watched him. And it is absolutely and I didn't think I would be saying this. I thought not that he was a lock, but I thought he had a really good shot at making this roster. But I've got to tell you where he's at right now. And these other offensive linemen that are leapfrogging him and Jared Wilson's not even out there yet

Starting point is 00:17:25 And we know Jared Wilson's making the team So late in Robinson is in danger of not making this roster And that would hurt That would hurt because you were hoping he was going to be a young interior Offensive lineman that you could maybe lean on over the next five or six years. But so far, not so good. He's got to pick it up. If he doesn't pick it up, he could be gonzo. All right, let's wrap up our three down with another pick from last year's draft.

Starting point is 00:17:57 And there's your theme. All three downs from last year's draft. Not what I was hoping for. Jayvon Baker, I'm not gonna go too much into this because I've talked about Baker extensively before and what he has done or not done during this early camp period, but he's been completely MIA. I think he made like one catch, the first OTA practice.

Starting point is 00:18:23 Outside of that, he has made no impact. He's not running with the ones. He's not even really running with the twos. He has been non-existent. And the opportunity for Baker is only going to get tougher. You've got guys coming back at that position. So while Pop Douglas is doing some damage, so to speak, during the early camp, and Efton Chisholm is making some plays, and Kendrick Bourne is making some

Starting point is 00:18:52 plays, and Diggs looks like he's ahead of schedule, Baker just continues to fall back, and back, and back. And when you get to training camp, it's going to be even harder to try to find an opportunity to play alongside Drake May. It's going to be even harder to find an opening to make any plays. I mean, it feels like Jayvon Baker's only hope to make this roster right now is if there are injuries, and we certainly don't want those. So it is disappointing that we have not one, not two, but three second year players who are on the down list. Not what you're looking for at all. Hopefully Jalen Polk, when he's healthy enough, gets out there and shows some life.

Starting point is 00:19:43 He's only running drills right now and he's on the sideline with Stefan Diggs. Hopefully he shows a little bit of potential because Javon Baker, it ain't looking good. So far, it ain't looking good. All right. Let's end on a high note. That's enough of the garbage. That's enough of the downs. Three players not named Pop or Drake so three players not named pop or Drake that showed out early for the coaching staff that's coming up next as we continue with today's episode of lockdown Patriots part of the lockdown podcast network your team every day. Inevitably, some people will leave comments during these June time episodes and they'll say, Nick, what are we doing? It's only OTAs. It's only mini camp. We can only talk about what's in front of us, folks.

Starting point is 00:20:38 So I will agree with you. It's early. We are in the pre-training camp, the legitimate training camp. We are a month and a half or so away from actually getting to training camp on July 23rd. But we can still talk about what these players are doing. And it's still important during this phase, especially when you have a new coaching staff with a new head coach. And Pop Douglas and Drake May are not the only showoffs even though it's early. You have other guys that are impressing this coaching staff and making plays and I've got

Starting point is 00:21:13 to tell you as disappointed as I was talking last segment about three guys from last year's draft being on the downs list. There is some hope for the future here with the Patriots. Let's start with the stud, with the absolute bonafide stud, unequivocally the best player on the field according to everybody that I have read, everybody that I have watched and listened to, and that's Christian Gonzalez. Christian Gonzalez has had a simply tremendous early camp. He looks like he's ready for week one. He looked like he was ready for week one. According to multiple reporters, he looked like he was ready for week one during the

Starting point is 00:21:55 first OTA practice. This is somebody who's played only 20-ish NFL games. He's nowhere near through two full seasons as an NFL cornerback, already a second-team All-Pro, and he's been making impact plays throughout OTAs and throughout the minicamp this week. Here is Andrew Callahan writing about Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez, as to be expected, was the best player on the field Tuesday. In addition to his interception, which was one handed, Gonzalez throttled some of the receivers early in their routes

Starting point is 00:22:29 during 11 on 11s and bottled up Pop Douglas on a couple of reps. And Greg Bedard, my friend at the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with yours truly, he said this week during the pod that Gonzalez looks more physically imposing to him. Gonzalez has added some muscle. So when you combine Gonzalez's athleticism, his ability to make plays on the football, and now you're adding some muscle, you're adding some physicality so he can jam guys

Starting point is 00:23:00 the line of scrimmage, so he can bottle up receivers even more in different ways. I mean, you want to talk about somebody who has a ridiculous ceiling. You got to talk about Christian Gonzalez and he's working with a better front seven. That's going to get more pressure on the quarterback, which is going to force the quarterback to get rid of the football quicker and make more mistakes. And that's when Gonzalez and Carlton Davis and others in that secondary can take advantage of those mistakes. When you look at Davis on the opposite side,

Starting point is 00:23:39 and you've got Mike Vrabel and this coaching staff and his history with And you've got Mike Vrabel and this coaching staff and his history with safeties and getting good production out of that position. That's all good news for Gonzalez. It's going to allow him to do what he does best. Lock cats up. All right. Let's get to the second guy. Let's talk about Keon white.

Starting point is 00:24:03 Keon white. I keep seeing his name over and over and over again from the beginning of OTAs through this week. He's been mentioned all over the place. And a few things that have jumped out to me when reading about Keon White and looking towards his role in 2025. The first thing is the utilization. How are they using him? And I talked about pop Douglas in the first segment being moved around.

Starting point is 00:24:32 Plays outside at times plays a lot in the slot. Well, when you look at Keon white, the defensive coaching staff is. Moving white around and now he's done some of that. But when you, when you look at what beat writers are sharing with us, seems like he's not only moving around, but he's making impact in all of those spots. Back to my guy Callahan. White moved into several defensive line spots and has tallied would be sacks from outside and interior alignments.

Starting point is 00:25:06 He's getting at the quarterback from the outside. He's getting at the quarterback from the inside. And a lot of people have been wondering over the first couple years of his career if he's a tweener, does he really have a natural position? This coaching staff might just be the coaching staff that gets the most out of White's ability. And when we're talking about just raw athletic potential, man oh man, he's got a ton of it. coaching staff might just be the coaching staff that gets the most out of White's ability. And when we're talking about just raw athletic potential, man oh man, he's got a ton of it. And that's when we bring Mike Smith into the conversation. Mike Smith just entered the

Starting point is 00:25:34 chat. Now of course, Smith, he's your outside linebackers coach. He is your pass rush specialist. And a lot of people talked him up this week. Here's what Vrabel had to say, quote, Mike's a very good pass rush teacher, excellent teacher that breaks film down, explains moves, he can cater to every play style and skill set, it's not one size fits all. I think the moves and the things that they do in individual translate to team. Here's what Keon White had to say about Mike Smith, I have a really good coach helping me. This is from Mike Reese. Coach Smith was telling me steps, alignment, things

Starting point is 00:26:11 like that I haven't traditionally heard. So just that next step of having that coach behind me is really big for me. More from Keon White. It's helpful because it slows it down a little bit and trains me. He's doing a good job of saying this is what you need to think of. This is your thought process. And then this is really the money-making quote regarding Mike Smith and his impact on White. White said, that's something I don't think I had before in what I was missing. I was training myself. I'm not going to lie. Now I feel like I have a coach."

Starting point is 00:26:51 I was training myself. I'm not going to lie. Now, Keon gave some love to Bill Belichick. So I think this is more about the coaching staff last year than the coaching staff in 2023, even though Covington, of course, was D line coach and then moved the defensive coordinator. So the main player was Covington for Keon White.

Starting point is 00:27:13 But I think this is more about last year's staff. And I think that no doubt, no doubt Keon White, you know, shot his shot across the bow towards last year's coaching staff. He obviously loves Mike Smith and the impact that Smith has had so far early in camp with him. And then we also talk about Terrell Williams, who is not at the facility just yet, but we know Williams' reputation and what he's done with defensive lineman. One of the most respected guys as a D line coach. one of the most respected guys as a D line coach. And then, Keon White has Milton Williams and Christian Barmore to help him.

Starting point is 00:27:53 Evan Lazar wrote, White is my biggest X factor for the defense. Fits well in an aggressive gaming front, we've talked about that before. White could blossom in this defense, especially playing off Barmore and Williams on the inside. You get that push on the inside from Barmore and Williams, two dudes that can eat and get after the quarterback. And then you've got White and Landry and Chaison and maybe Swinson to do damage from the edge. Kion White's been really good. Last name, quick one, Craig Woodson. Just want

Starting point is 00:28:25 to give him some love. And when you read about Craig Woodson, I've talked to Greg Bedard and others about Woodson, what they've seen at these practices. He's responsible at the right place, at the right time, which is not always the case with a rookie. He's made some plays on the football. He had two pass breakups during Tuesday's practice. He has not made a lot of mistakes, if any mistakes on the field. He's been really solid, and he's getting a lot of reps. So I've talked about Woodson a little bit over the past few weeks, but he had a really good early camp. And we all wondered, you know, were the Patriots a little bit too much in love with Craig Woodson

Starting point is 00:29:12 when they drafted him when they drafted him? So far from what we've seen through OTAs and mini camp, he's backing up. He's backing up that pick so far. Still a lot of time before we get to the season, but so far, Craig Woodson looks like he belongs according to those that have watched him and you talk to him, sounds like he's got his head on straight, very smart guy, and he's getting reps. Now some of those reps will change when Kyle Dugger comes back fully from that injury to his ankle, but Craig Woodson gives you some hope.

Starting point is 00:29:47 Gives you some hope. 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 and subscribe here on YouTube. And thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL Scouting. Kyle Crabs, Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason. Find Lockdown NFL Scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Starting point is 00:30:15 Have a great weekend, and we will see you on Monday.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - SCOOP: Patriots' Pop Douglas Dazzles Coaches | Who's Job is in Jeopardy?

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