Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Sit with Sap: New England Patriots 2021 Roster Building Strategy — 3/4/2021

Episode Date: March 5, 2021

While most believe that the quarterback position should be and will be the first roster-building domino to fall for the New England Patriots in 2021, it is far from their only need. New England’s problems run a lot deeper than just the quarterback position. Joining host Mike D’Abate is John Sapochetti, as the duo discuss the areas of need on the Patriots roster. They also run down a few of names of players that recently became available and determine if they would be a fit in the Patriots system for 2021.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON20” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. You are now locked in to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. It is Thursday, March 4th, 2021, and it is time for a chat with Sap here on your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. And greetings and salutations, Patriots Nation.

Thank you so much for joining me here today on this Thursday episode of the pod. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcomed and very much appreciated. Share that feedback, send it to the internet by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And while you're out there doing some Thursday traveling through the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Patriots fans, as we live and breathe, the start of the 2021 NFL League year is less

than two weeks away. Free agency is undoubtedly the hot topic of conversation, as are potential trades, and we're even dabbling into players that are getting a head start on free agency. Recent cap casualties are starting to pile up throughout the league. And, oh yeah, there's also the draft coming up at the tail end of next month. Whoever said the NFL takes an offseason doesn't understand football. It's all NFL, all the time. And here on Locked On Patriots, we're going to continue to delve into the hot topics of

the day. But every once in a while here on the pod, we need a dose of realism. And luckily for us, my guest today will provide that. John Sapochnetti, current columnist for Full Press Coverage and formerly of the Boston Herald, will join me here today on the hot seat. And in addition to being an amazing columnist and hosting a number of podcasts on his own, John is also a regular contributor to FPC Radio Live, which I host every Monday through Friday with my good buddy Ian Glendon from 9 to 10 AM.

Well, recently, John and I struck up a conversation that I thought we could expound upon here on Locked On Patriots, and it involves the Patriots' strategy for building a roster in 2021. I know everyone out there wants to see the Patriots make the big splash in free agency. Use some of that $63 million plus that they have available in cap space, go out and sign a big-time free agent. Namely, at the quarterback position. But I know a lot of you would settle for a high-priced tight end or a high-priced wide receiver.

Any one of you that feels that way, I don't blame you one bit. You want to see the Patriots return to prominence. It's part of being a fan, and it's part of having a love for your team. I respect it. But at the same time, it's also nice to have a dose of reason to go along with it. And that dose of reason is that the Patriots are more than simply one quarterback or one wide receiver or one tight end away from being a Super Bowl contender. They have a lot of holes to fill on this roster on both sides of the ball. And today here on the pod, John and I will discuss the strategy that the Patriots might employ to help rebuild a winning team in Foxborough, not just for 2021, but also beyond. That includes a realistic look at the

quarterback options. It also includes the likelihood, although it's not something that sits well with me folks, but nonetheless the likelihood that Stephon Gilmore gets traded in the offseason. We also take a look at some of the recent cap casualties that were let go by respective teams, or at least the intention to let them go was announced in the last couple of days. Players like Jared Cook at the tight end position, Golden Tate at the wide receiver position, Duke Johnson at the running back position, and a guy that certainly raised my eyebrow, defensive lineman Henry Anderson, formerly, or at least we expect to be formerly, of the New York Jets.

So as you can imagine, Pat's Nation, John and I have a lot to talk about and a relatively limited time to do it. So in just a moment, my friend John Sapochnetti will join me here on the hot seat as we talk quarterbacks, cornerbacks, and would-be free agents when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, Locked On listeners, NFL action on the field might be over, but the NBA, college basketball, and the NHL are in full swing. And even though we might not be seeing on-field action,

that NFL equivalent of the hot stove keeps getting hotter and hotter by the day. If testing your prognostication skills in that department is something you're interested in, then there's only one place that has you covered and one place we trust. BetOnline.ag. BetOnline is the fastest and the easiest way to bet on all of your sports action. But BetOnline even covers awards, TV shows, and reality TV. They give you real-time updated odds and props on almost anything you can imagine. Simply put, BetOnline has you covered for all the news, all the scores, and all the odds. It's the best way to place your bets,

and what makes it even better is it's free to sign up. Head over to their website, BetOnline.ag, or use your mobile device, sign up today, and receive your 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit. Don't forget to use the promo code LOCKEDON. Don't sit on the sidelines any longer. Get in on the action. Visit betonline.ag today, sign up, and receive your 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit.

Don't forget, use the promo code LOCKEDON. BetOnline, your online sportsbook experts. LockedOn listeners, February is Black History Month, and the Locked On Podcast Network is honoring the challenges and success of black men and women in sports with a new series called Locked On Presents More Than the Game. This week, we have two conversations for you to wrap up the month. First, a discussion on protest in sports across leagues.

Then, tune in for a discussion on the importance of black history in sports, what's been achieved, and the important work left to be done, all in the discussion on the Locked On Presents podcast feed. Subscribe on the Radio.com app or wherever you get your podcasts. Patriots fans, my guest today is rapidly becoming a regular here on Locked On Patriots, and with good reason. He is one of the most highly respected journalists and columnists in our industry. Patriots fans, my guest today is rapidly becoming a regular here on Locked On Patriots, and with good reason. He is one of the most highly respected journalists and columnists in our industry.

You know his great work from publications such as The Lowell Sun, The Sentinel and Enterprise, and formerly of The Boston Herald. He is currently a fellow columnist and colleague of mine at FullPressCoverage.com, as well as being the host of numerous podcasts on Full Press Radio, such as the Get Off My Lawn podcast with Keegan and Sap, the Pick and Roll MBA podcast, and that's just to name a few. It is my honor to welcome John Sapichetti to the podcast today. John, welcome to the Locked On Patriots podcast, and thank you again for joining me. I don't even want to speak anymore.

I just feel so good about myself after talking with you for the last 30 seconds. You have a way of making me feel more important than I am. The pleasure is all mine as always. You know that all of that introduction was more than well deserved. I didn't say anything that wasn't untrue, my friend. You definitely earn every bit of it, and it's my honor for you to

join me here today. And you know that it's always my honor, always my privilege to join you on the microphone. We always have great discussions when you're here on Locked on Patriots. But you being here today is extra special because we started a pretty good discussion this morning on FPC Radio Live. And again, folks, John is a regular contributor to the morning show I host with Ian Glendon every day.

And we were discussing the Patriots strategy for roster building in 2021. And John, most believe that the quarterback position should be, and some believe it will be, the first domino to fall. I don't necessarily disagree with that, but our discussion did get more in-depth when we saw eye-to-eye on the fact that simply filling the quarterback void is not going to be enough. That's just one void that needs to be filled. The Patriots' problems run a lot deeper than just quarterback,

but it does seem to be the primary topic of conversation. So for the sake of argument, bud, let's begin there. And for the past few weeks, we've been hearing the names Fitzpatrick, Mariota, Minshew, Brissett, Garoppolo. I'm just getting warmed up, bud. It's really, I mean, some are still beating the Deshaun Watson drum, the Russell Wilson drum. We're hearing Dak Prescott's name mentioned a lot lately. I just don't see any one of those happening. Definitely not Watson, definitely not Wilson.

I guess Prescott might be a chance if the Cowboys end up cutting him loose, but I think he's going to be a little too expensive for the Patriots this time around. We're also hearing a lot about Cam Newton, and he's continued to remain an option as well. And as recently as yesterday, Evan Lazar of CLNS Media, who we know and respect a tremendous amount, reported that the Patriots seem more interested in bringing back Cam than to dip into the free agent or trade market. That is, of course, folks, unless an obvious upgrade were to become available and become

a viable option for the Patriots. But this was sort of implying, and folks, I mean the team is implying, not Evan is implying, but this seems to be that the team would be implying that a Fitzpatrick-type signing wouldn't really be better than what they currently have. John, the Patriots should be looking to get a clear heading on this sooner rather than later. I think we can all agree on that, especially because the league year is set to start on March 17th. In your opinion, my friend, are we heading closer to a Cam reunion as that date nears and the Patriots haven't officially

announced any plans yet? Or does the fact that rumors still surround players like Mariota or even a Jimmy Garoppolo mean that the Patriots are still on the fence how do you see them sorting all this out position sooner rather than later because a lot of other dominoes will fall into place right so you get Jared Cook and Kyle Rudolph are now free agents they were released by New Orleans and Minnesota so if you're interested in one of those players or if you want to look at Golden Tate, who was recently released, it'd be better to have a quarterback in place that you can sell to those players

because those players can go anywhere now. They're free agents. So if Kyle Rudolph wants to play for Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers, that's his choice at that point. We saw this with J.J. Watt, who still, you know, was a bigger free agent than those three names I just mentioned. But he could go pick where he wants to play. If Golden Tate wants to ring Chase, I don't know if he's coming here,

especially if Cam Newton's the quarterback. Now, Cam Newton does have some cachet. He's shown a lot as a leader, someone who's gone along with the program. I don't think he can play the position anymore. I think he's a a lot as a leader someone who's gone along with the program i don't think he can play the position anymore i think he's a shot fighter he was never a really fine-tuned passer in his prime i think he's less so now after suffering all these injuries he was wildly popular we've heard him on podcasts with multiple wide receivers like Brandon Marshall, Chad Ochocinco, or with Victor Cruz. The only problem is those three wide receivers aren't playing anymore. So he has a connection with guys that played five,

10 years ago when he was an elite quarterback. I wonder if the elite wide receivers now really are going to say, you know what, I got to go to New England to play with Cam Newton. So I don't think that he helps you bring offensive talent into the organization. That's why I would shoot a little bit higher quarterback. Forget Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott. Far too expensive

for the Patriots. They didn't want to pay Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback ever. More than 12% of the salary cap. I don't think they're going to extend themselves more than that for any quarterback. So I think you've got to extend themselves more than that for any quarterback. So I think you've got to set your sights a little bit lower. I kind of like Marcus Mariota.

He's been up and down throughout his career, played very little last year with the Raiders. I think he got into one game and looked to be impressive. Garoppolo is the sexy, literally the sexy alternative because, of course, he was drafted here in 2014. And we know that he and Bill Belichick have this love affair. But I mentioned to you earlier today that that's a risky move for Belichick's legacy if he brings Garoppolo back, because if it doesn't work, then people will say, well, thankfully, Robert Kraft forced Garoppolo out of the picture. And the Patriots won that sixth Super Bowl when, by the 2018 season, Belichick wanted Garoppolo as the we saw what happened this year with Brady winning a Super Bowl and the Patriots going 7-9.

So I think Mariota could be a nice compromise pick. And then along with that, you draft a quarterback, say, in the second round. Maybe Kellen Mond is available there, who's moving up some of the draft boards. I know Chris Sims, who I am one of the outliers in this area, really likes his opinion on quarterbacks. He has them ranked higher than most others. But that's the thing you do. You get the veteran quarterback who could be a placeholder.

And then maybe in the second round, you draft someone that you can develop over the next couple of years because it won't be as expensive as drafting someone in the first round. Good points. We've taken some time here on Locked On Patriots to kind of go through a little bit with Kellen Mond and his fit in New England, being that dual threat type quarterback, someone that is a little raw when it comes to his natural ability. He would need a quarterback to be able to learn from, someone that he could maybe watch for the first year. I don't see Kellen being able to come in, start right away in this league.

He would be a developmental project, but someone that could end up in that type of a vein. A guy like Marcus Mariota could be a good learning experience for him because they play the position very similar, that dual threat type of quarterback, someone that can come in, throw the ball a little bit, very good with being able to move the ball with his legs, that RPO zone read type threat that you have every time the guy takes under center,

that could be a good type of learning relationship if you bring in someone like Kellen Mond to someone like Marcus Mariota. You made a couple of interesting points on Cam Newton. And again, folks, I know he continues to be a polarizing subject for a lot of the Patriots fan base. Some would agree with you, John, saying he simply can't play the position anymore. Some would look at it as a full arsenal of mini camps with preseason games that Cam could come in

and be a little bit better. Maybe with a couple of more weapons around him, he might be a little bit better. Some would argue about the cachet that he brings in when you talk about attracting free agents, that some of these players, even though the connection that he has is with players that are no longer in the agents, that some of these players, even though the connection that he has is with players that are no longer in the league, that there are younger players that

in essence grew up watching Cam Newton, that grew up idolizing Cam Newton, maybe emulating him. The opportunity to play alongside him might be a bigger draw than someone like a Marcus Mariota or even a Jimmy Garoppolo or someone of that ilk, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Do you think there's anything to that argument? And if not, are the Patriots better off maybe shelling out for someone that might need to come in and stabilize the franchise, knowing that at some point they're going to have to pay market value for a quarterback if they want to be competitive in this league? They're going to have to pay market value at some point, right? I i mean the going rate for top tier quarterbacks is in excess of 30 million dollars right i mean we know what patrick mahomes signed for to sean watson dac prescott who i think

is maybe the 10th or 12th best quarterback in football is looking for nearly 40 million dollars a year i i wouldn't pay him because i don't think he's anywhere near the level of mahomes and watson but his agent believes he's worth that and someone will pay him that. We've seen what Kirk Cousins has made over the last six years, a guy who's kind of like Dak Prescott, right? Top 10, top 12, top 14 quarterback. You kind of need that to compete. Last year, you could make a case that Cam Newton was the worst quarterback in football. So how much better is he going to get at 32 years of age and i can see that a full year in the system offseason otas more familiarity with you know the offensive line and also his wide receivers but i just think he's a shot fighter but yeah the perfect way to handle this is to

draft someone in the second round who you're going to have cost control over for four years and you can get in to play maybe in his second year. So you have that placeholder in 2021 and maybe you turn it over to that young quarterback in 2022. I think Mariota makes sense. He could get pricey as well unless the Raiders release him and you redo the deal with him because if he plays a significant amount of time, he's going to earn about $21 million in 2021, which is expensive for the Patriots case.

They didn't want to give Brady that type of money or close to it. Why would they give it to Mariota? So they're really in a tough spot. And again, I think we both agree with this, Mike. They're not just a quarterback away from contending. They've got to fill out that roster on both sides of the ball. This isn't like 2014 when you went into the offseason and said, boy, if they can just shore up the cornerbacks, they're going to be a Super Bowl favorite.

Well, they went out and got Darrell Rivas, Brandon Browner, yada, yada, yada. They win the Super Bowl. Or seven years before that, when you knew that Brady needed weapons, so they get Randy Moss, Wes Walker, they go undefeated, fall a little short in the Super Bowl. This is not that type of roster where you say, you know what, if we can add a wide receiver and one guy in the front seven, you know, we're going to compete with the Buffalo Bills. They need more than just the quarterback.

They need help in many, many areas. And, you know, they're going to have to nail it on the draft, something that Belichick has not done for the last five or six drafts. And they're going to have to spend wisely in free agency they have money to spend but how do you attract these wide receivers without a top tier quarterback i'm just going to use a player like alan robinson who's probably the best wide receiver that's going to be available as a free agent or even golden tate you can get for a lot cheaper are any of those guys going to come here to play unless the patriots overpay them

or are they going to go somewhere else are they going to look to go to green bay with aaron rogers where they have a chance to win a super bowl or are they going to look to pittsburgh with ben roethlisberger maybe he's a bad example because he's not an elite quarterback anymore but you get my my drift that they're going to look and say geez for the same money i can go play with an elite quarterback maybe get a ring, show my brand more than I could in New England, where I'm going to be trying to get open and have a quarterback that's really not at the level it used to be. Spot on. Spot on, especially when it comes to your analysis

and our discussion from earlier in that this team is more than just a simple quarterback away. They need a lot more to be able to contend in order to be able to compete with a lot of the elite teams in this conference, not just in the NFL, but just this conference and this division. You've got two teams right now in the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins that are building significant teams, especially if Miami dips their toe into the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes.

Again, folks, right now, just rumors, nothing's concrete. But if he somehow ends up in South Beach, then all of a sudden you're looking at two very formidable teams. And I think that's the argument that really lends itself into why the Patriots may not want to cap strap themselves and shell out the big money right now. Because at this point, just adding a Dak Prescott or even someone of that ilk some elite type quarterback is not going to be enough to put you over the edge and I know a lot of fans are looking for that but you have to build from the ground up it's a marathon it's not a

sprint when it comes to building teams and Bill Belichick is going to have to be very good in the draft this year and also filling the holes around that. And folks, we're going to get back to that one in just a minute. But I wanted to switch gears for a moment here, John. And the Patriots trade rumors are not only surrounding a quarterback, but lately there are some that are surrounding a cornerback. And some will make the argument that this is the most talented player on the roster. I'm talking about Stefan Gilmore, former 2019 NFL defensive player of the year. Earlier this week, our mutual friend Steve Balistrieri joined me here on the pod, and we talked about the likelihood of Gilmore being traded, and it would help to clear some cap space. It would be a decision that would prevent the two sides from having some potentially contentious negotiations and settling on a salary, especially

one that benefits both sides. But we're starting to hear rumblings that Gilmore's trade value may actually be pretty good, that established NFL talent could be accompanying draft picks in any type of a potential deal. John, I've gone on record several times in saying that I believe that it's in the Patriots' best interest to hold on to Stephon for at least one more year. I love JC Jackson. I'm not sure he's ready to be that number one shutdown corner. If you want to teach him elite-level play, I think he'd benefit from another year in learning from Stephon and seeing what he's able to do. But I understand the need or maybe the desire to get something in return for him while you still can where do you lie on the gilmore situation should he be on the block and do you think he's going to be moved

within the coming weeks i think he's going to be moved he's now on the north side of 30 which is kind of that age which becomes difficult for cornerbacks not many of them age well um you know daryl re, once he hit about 31, 32, you saw his play go down a little bit. Richard Sherman's now in the same vein of early 30s. Then there's the injury concerns and Gilmore got hurt last year. So I think they're going to move on from him because you can save on the cap and you have to see what you're going to get back for draft capital. Could you get a second-round pick for Stephon Gilmore? That's likely.

More likely maybe a third and a fifth. I mean, you have to weigh in exactly what you're going to get for draft capital for Stephon Gilmore. And the thing is, by the time this team is ready to contend again, which I'm going to think is 2023, he's two years older. So at that point, he's not going to be the same player he was certainly in 2019 or 2020 so i think you're better off getting rid of him a year early which is something zelichek has always done right did with logan mankins um back in 2014 he did it with richard

seymour in 2009 i don't think you're going to get as much as they got for seymour back in 2009 which they flipped two years later to Nate Solder, who had a really solid career at left tackle. But if you can get a second-round pick for Stephon Gilmore, you do it. You try to reach out to a contending team and see which of those teams need a cornerback and try to get as much draft capital as possible. I'm with you, though.

I would love to see him return because J.C. Jackson, to me, is still a number-two corner. He's young. He's raw. number two corner. He's young. He's raw. He's aggressive. He's learning. But we saw what happened when Gilmore was out of the lineup and the Buffalo Bills came to town,

and Stephon Diggs just ran circles around J.C. Jackson. You know, Gilmore is an elite corner. J.C. Jackson is an ascending corner. That's two totally different things. But I think in the end they're going to move on from him again to free up some salary cap room because they have other decisions they have to make, especially around the offensive line where they're going to have to spend some money

to keep the interior of that offensive line together. Yeah, absolutely. And again, I think in a lot of ways, what we're seeing is maybe a necessary move. I like to call these necessary evils uh you know getting rid of a player that you definitely don't want to see go and stefan has been everything is advertised if not more since coming here from buffalo i know he struggled early very early in his tenure here leading some people to believe that he was a complete bust and a terrible signing

for bill belichick but he's actually you, paid dividends and done a tremendous job for the Patriots. If he has played his last game in Foxborough, I'll always have fond memories of covering him. He was always affable, always very easy, approachable, and a very good player to watch on the field, just seeing what he was able to bring. But in a lot of ways, I think I can agree with you, even though I don't agree with him being moved.

I think he probably will be for a lot of the reasons that you've outlined. So those are a couple of ways that the Patriots are going to continue to build the roster, folks. And we've talked some high-profile positions. Quarterback and cornerback is about as high-profile as it gets on either side of the ball. But, John, I thought in our second segment today, we'd continue our conversation from this morning.

And we've touched on this a little bit. Patriots roster building and how the quarterback is not the only domino to fall this year. Not even the cornerback is. Patriots have questions at a lot of key positions. And in just a moment, John Sappaccetti and I will talk about the holes on the Patriots roster. And we'll even run down a few names of players that recently became available. and determine if they might be a fit in the Patriots system for 2021. We've mentioned a couple of them so far, but we're going to go a little bit deeper into that.

More with John Sappaccetti when the Lockdown Patriots podcast. The Lockdown Listeners Thursdays on Lockdown NFL are a must-listen as Ryan Tracy and Jake Lisko break down teams across the NFL from an analytics and team building perspective. Get the expert analysis on your favorite teams from Ryan and Jake every Thursday, subscribe to locked on NFL, wherever you get your podcast. He joins me here today on locked on Patriots and John,

always a blast when we get a chance to talk quarterbacks and cornerbacks, they have a hot topics. The fans love it. There's always intrigue. There's always a lot of material out there on either side of the coin. And we talked a little Cam Newton. We talked a little Stefan Gilmore,

maybe some outside quarterbacks that might find their way to Foxborough. But there are a number of holes on this team that exist. Just off the top of my head, you can think of positions of need, wide receiver, tight end, absolutely must-haves when you talk about the offense this year. Patriots got very little production from their wide receivers, almost no production from their tight ends.

I'm sorry, Claire, I know you like your Ryan Izzo, but just wasn't enough this year. You flip over and the Patriots had difficulty in the middle part of that interior of the defensive line. There were linebacker deficiencies. And even as good as the secondary was and even as good as the running back core was, you still have key players that have either played their last game in New England or are coming up for renewal and may not be back. And of course, we haven't even talked about the offensive line, which is always the number one key to contending.

You need a strong offensive line. John, when you look around this roster, what are your areas of need? What are the most important areas of need for you? And how do you think the Patriots are going to go about trying to build this roster in 2021? I'm really looking at the front seven on defense, right? Because that's something that Belichick's always been able to build. Well, last year they couldn't stop the run or they couldn't stop a nosebleed, as Bart Scott said famously in the playoffs 10 years ago after the Jets came in here and won 28-21 in the divisional round. That's a concern. Now, the rumor is Dante Hightower is

going to off back in. That would be a great guy to bring back. They're going to have to obviously work out whatever the contractual situation would be. You're also looking at Patrick Chung potentially returning. That will help the entire defense. But they've got to concentrate on that front seven, be better in the pass rush, be better at stopping the run. They have an elite secondary, especially if they keep Gilmore, although it's getting older. You know, Gilmore is past 30.

The McCourty's are into their 30s. I mean, it's not exactly a young secondary when three high-profile players are past 30. But I still think if you lock up that front seven, are able to contain the run, are able to put pressure on the opposing quarterback, that's going to help your defense so much. And so I think that's an area that they're going to have to really look at. And Belichick is generally drafted pretty well when he drafts inside the front seven. There's always been this feeling with Belichick, the closer to the football, the better he is at drafting.

That's why he's had problems with wide receivers. Occasionally has had trouble with cornerbacks. I mean, there was just one cornerback after another that he drafted that just never worked out. Case in point, really the last decade, the two best cornerbacks he had, he signed his free agents, Terrell Revis, Stephon Gilmore. He got lucky with Malcolm Butler, an undrafted free agent.

So, and J.C. Jackson was a seventh-round pick, if I'm not mistaken. So, you know, any high-profile cornerbacks that he's drafted have been less than inspiring. But I think you've got to concentrate on that front seven because then that solidifies the defense, makes your secondary better, can be able to put pressure on the quarterback, stop the run. I mean, teams were just coming in and just running all over the Patriots last year. That San Francisco game, it appeared that the 49ers were gaining a first down on every carry.

And that's not being hyperbolic. So that's the area I would concentrate on quickly. Obviously, tight end and wide receiver, that goes without saying. They really have no weapons there. But, you know, you have to kind of finesse that with what you do with the quarterback position. Absolutely. I'm so glad that you mentioned the interior of the defensive line in the front seven and being able to stop the run.

Two of the big reasons why they had such difficulty last year was the Patriots had trouble setting the edge because they had a lot of players that do set the edge, trying to stuff the middle, trying to be run stoppers, which is really not a part of their game. Guys like Juwan Bentley, who I think was trying to wear three hats last year and really should have only been wearing one. I do like Juwan Bentley, but I think he was asked too much last year, and anybody would have difficulty carrying that load, let alone someone who's still learning the game himself.

He's got a great number of prowess behind him, but I still think there's a lot more in him, and learning again and having Dante Hightower alongside him, hopefully will be a good thing for Juwan Bentley this year. But the middle part of that, in that defensive line, the interior is a key for me. And even if you find a way to bring back both Adam Butler and Lawrence guy,

both of whom are free agents, by the way, folks. So there's a possibility that not just one, but both could end up elsewhere and not in Foxborough next year. I would hope that's not the case. I think the Patriots need at least one. I'd love to have them both back. But even if you do, you're still a void away from having a strong interior. You saw those guys last year trying to pull their talents and play that hybrid nose tackle every now and then it was difficult for

them to do so you need a third body that can either be a rotational piece or someone that can do that two names that have become recently available that i think the patriots should at least be kicking the tires on one is jorrell casey defensive tackle from the denver broncos this guy's a five-time pro bowler in tenn We followed him for a number of years. Now, Casey did have a bicep tear last September. That ended his season with the Broncos, and that ended up ending his tenure with them. his stock may have dropped because of injury and because of not seeing the field, maybe his price is to the Patriots' liking. You can bring him in. Maybe he's a solid piece and someone you can build around. Another one became available yesterday, I believe, or at least it was reported that he would be available yesterday, and that's Henry Anderson of the New York Jets, somebody that has familiarity with the AFC East. He's been here for three years here in the afc

east meeting with the jets um six six 301 pounds you're not going to move him around very easily this guy's got size on his side there's no question about it but what i love about henry anderson john third highest run stuff rate among players with at least 500 defensive snaps this is just in the last year or so um and nfl x-gen stats credit them for that statistic uh then also was that cox of nesson for the assist on that one as well um but i think he would really help the patriots defensive line you mentioned how much they struggled against the run this past season but henderson can also get back he can also get after the quarterback he had seven sacks 16 quarterback hits just as recently as 2018 when he was more involved in the pass rush

so he could be a dual threat someone that could help set the edge but also someone that can help stop the run so I agree with you this is an area where the Patriots need to shore up if they're going to give their quarterback help this year what better way to do it than to help keep points off the board, keep yards off the board, and be able to do that by stuffing the run and be able to control what other teams do well on offense. And I think the key here is to watch Dante Hightower. If he comes back, what he looks like. I mean, it's kind of interesting to see a player who misses a year.

Is he all in? Has he already got one foot out the door? Look, I think Dante Hightower is the most overlooked, underrated player of the second half of this dynasty. He played in three Super Bowls. You won them all. Let's not forget, he missed the Super Bowl. You lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.

And, you know, we talk about Malcolm Butler not playing in that game. Well, Dante Hightower was out with injury. I love Dante Hightower, one of my favorite all-time Patriots. If you get him back engaged, you've got an outstanding player. But more importantly, you've got a leader, right, someone who can put everybody in the right place. You've got that alpha in the front seven, along with Gerard Mayo as his coach.

Now you're going in the right direction in that front seven. Right. Absolutely. And I agree with you on that. And I think you are going in the right direction in that front seven. And hopefully that will be the case. Say what you want about Bill Belichick, but he has an eye for defense. And I think that that will prevail. And I think he's going to go back to that and building around his defense and helping to build the core

of the New England Patriots for at least the next few seasons. John, that does lead me quite nicely into my final question for you today, bud. And we've talked about some of the defensive names, players that have been made available, but there are a couple of offensive players that the Patriots have coveted in the past. You mentioned Kyle Rudolph earlier, our good friend, classy Claire herself, Claire Cooper joined me yesterday here. And we talked a little tight endage when it came to Kyle Rudolph earlier, our good friend, Klazzy Claire herself, Claire Cooper, joined me yesterday here. And we talked a little tight endage when it came to Kyle Rudolph, but it was, our conversation took place before we found out that Jared Cook was going to be made available. Tight end from the New Orleans Saints. Patriots, a couple of years ago, had irons in the fire when it came

to Jared. Ultimately, he chose to go to New Orleans. Golden Tate of the New York Giants, you mentioned Golden earlier. He is going to be made available. Duke Johnson, running back for the Houston Texans, is also being made available. We found that out a couple of days ago. Could he be a James White replacement? John, when you look

at offense and the names that are available, is there anybody either that I've mentioned or someone you've had your eye on that really stands out as a guy that the Patriots need to get? Or do you think they're going to look more to the draft this year to get younger players to go around some of the young core that they have at both marquee skill position players on offense? They've really had the yip drafting wide receivers right from Nikhil Harry backwards. They just can't seem to nail it in the draft when it comes to wide receivers. So you would think the best place to go is free agency.

Belichick doesn't like to spend money on wide receivers in free agency. They've never paid receivers a lot of money other than Randy Moss, and they kind of raked him through the coals to do that. You know, obviously in the perfect world, you go after Allen Robinson. He's probably the best available free agent wide receiver, but I don't think Allen Robinson would be interested in coming here. He's going to get his money wherever he goes, and he's going to want to go where there's a high profile quarterback.

He's played his entire career with Blake Bortles and with Mitchell Trubisky. I think he wants to see improvement from the quarterback play, not go to a place where right now the quarterback is actually worse than Bortles and Mitchell Trubisky. I think what you have to do is look at maybe the veteran wide receiver, maybe Golden Tate is that guy, but you're going to have to overpay him because Golden Tate's in a similar situation. He's made money, probably wants to continue to make money because that's what football

players should do, but he's also going to look to go to the best situation to win. That was always the case here. So the Patriots could get by without having to overpay for players because you know what? He had the best recruiter in the NFL and Tom Brady, he's no longer here. So you may have to overpay players. It's something that Belichick just doesn't do. I think he underpays players. So he's going to have to change his MO to attract some talent here,

unless he figures out the quarterback position. And you know what? There's no one that he's going to bring in that approaches Tom Brady. He's going to have to get as close as he can to filling that position. So that's a tough one. The wide receivers that are out there, I know Will Fuller is available. He's a speedster, but I've heard him rumored to Green Bay because they were interested in him at

the trade deadline. Then he ended up getting suspended. So that would be a tough player to bring in because he's probably being courted by teams that are closer to winning a Superbowl with better quarterback play. That's a tough one because I think Belichick, you know, free agency, the draft, and really shore up the defense. The offensive line, if you keep spending money on it with Tooney, Andrews, Cannon comes back and you've got Shaq Mason, that's a good offensive line.

But the skill position, that's really the tough thing to do. That's why I think it is pretty important to get that quarterback position resolved so that you can go into the offseason or the start of the 2021 season on the 17th of March and say, well, we've got this guy quarterback. You know, we're building something here. Come join us. That's going to be the tough part of it. Yeah, absolutely. And again, it all comes back to the quarterback domino falling first,

having at least a clear picture as to what you're going to do with that position, even if they can't sell the name at that point, sell the concept. And some players will buy into it. I know a lot won't, but some may buy into it. The Patriots don't currently have that same cachet anymore. You know, come chase a ring. Come play with Tom Brady. They don't have either one of those anymore. They're going to have to be a little bit more inventive.

They're going to have to sell their future as opposed to selling the present the way they have for the last 20 years. And sometimes that's worked to their advantage. There have been times where it hasn't worked to their advantage. Tate, Cook, these guys that are, you know, quote-unquote being made available, you know, they're on the north side of 30, like you said. He's clearly not the 90-catch-1,000-yard receiver that he used to be. Only caught 35 passes last year, 388 yards, 12 games with the Giants. There were some grumblings about his playing time.

I know Golden was kind of chastised for that. I don't know the behind-the-scenes stories on that, so I'm never going to knock a player if I don't know the true story or what happened behind it. But we did hear some grumblings. You have to wonder if that may make the Patriots shy away a little bit this time, where I know in the past they have been interested in bringing Golden to New England. Jared Cook is interesting to me because it looked like the Patriots really tried to make an effort to sign him a couple of years ago. But reportedly, he wasn't sure what Gronkowski wanted to do. There were some reports about him not wanting to come here and play second fiddle to Gronk. He wanted to be the number one guy. In a lot of ways, maybe Gronk's hesitation on the decision may have cost them a chance at Jared Cook. I don't think he's going to cost as much this time around without any question. He's going to be 34 years old coming up, but the production he had last year is still more than all the Patriots tight ends combined. So maybe they kick the tires on him. Last but

certainly not least, the guy that I mentioned, Duke Johnson, coming in from Houston to me is interesting because I do think, as much as it pains me to say this, John, I do think that someone like James White has played his last game in New England. And that's very difficult for me to admit because you and I both hold James in the highest regard, one of the great guys in this business. And I wish him well no matter where he goes. He had a terrible 2020 for all reasons that had nothing to do with football but they will need a pass catching back someone that can be that third down threat and maybe maybe Duke Johnson is the guy that can do that he ranked fourth in running backs in reception since he entered the league in 2015 so who knows maybe he comes in a little bit of an injury history there, but maybe if he can come in and show that he's healthy enough, he could be a decent addition for the Pats. John, what can I say?

So much of this, Mike, not to interrupt, but so much of this is how well they do in the draft. Now, unlike the NBA, where it's draft first, free agency after that, the NFL is the other way around. So you've got to probe into free agency and then the nfl is the other way around so you gotta probe into free agency and then the draft comes if it was the other way around you could see what you think you got in the draft and then you can fill in the pieces through free agency although you really don't know what you're getting in the draft for several years right you have to play it out to see how these players develop so it's a big off season for the patriots the biggest in 20 years um and And they're going to have to nail it in free agency, nail it in the draft, resolve the quarterback position.

And now the division's better than it's ever been, right? You've got Buffalo as a real contender. Miami won 10 games last year, has a lot of draft capital. Maybe they're going to acquire Deshaun Watson, which would really make them difficult to beat. And the Jets have some interesting choices to make because they have the second pick in the draft, they have a second first-round pick,

and they have a lot of money to spend as well. So the division's more competitive than it's been in the last 20 years. Absolutely, it truly is. And it could mean some interesting things for the New England Patriots coming up in 2021. Never a dull moment in Foxborough, John, and I got a funny feeling that 2021 is going to be anything but a dull year in Foxborough for either good reasons or maybe for not so good reasons,

but we live in hope, and we're hoping that it's better than the last. We want to try to build on a 7-9 finish in 2020. Buddy, what can I say? I thank you so much for joining me here today on the pod, for the benefit of our new listeners. And we still continue to get several each day. So thank you so much if you're joining us for the first time. John, please let our listeners know where they can find you, your great work, and what you have coming in the days and weeks from the great pen and voice of John Cepicetti.

Thank you, Mike. Yeah, you can follow me at JohnSap25, J-O-H-N-S-A-P 25. I got a couple of columns that I just posted recently about the NBA. I do more NBA than just about any other sport. Three times a week, we've got the full press pick and roll NBA podcast with Jet and Sapp, with Jet Stryer and myself. So we're doing that three times a week. We're going to kind of revitalize the Get Off My Lawn podcast with Keegan and Sap Tom Keegan, who was a colleague of mine at the Boston Herald, is now in semi-retirement.

But, you know, two old guys get together and talk sports is always fun. The last two columns I posted this week, one was about the NBA logo. Now there's some talk about replacing Jerry West as the logo. So I wrote a column on that. And also Zoltan Ibrahimović, the soccer player who kind of pushed back against LeBron James because LeBron James weighs into politics and social issues. And Ibrahimović said that he shouldn't do that. And as you guys know, I'm LeBron James' biggest fan in New England, maybe even the entire East Coast. So I defended my guy. That's one of the, I'm LeBron James' biggest fan in New England, maybe even the entire East Coast. So I defended my guy.

That's one of the reasons I like LeBron so much, because he does get involved with that, but also because he puts his money where his mouth is, just the amount of money he pays in taxes and what he's done for education. So those are my last, most recent columns on full press coverage. Absolutely. And folks, I highly recommend it. Even all of you Celtics fans out there that might not be eager to read a LeBron column, I assure you, John makes a very convincing argument. And Ian and I, meaning Glendon, have a lot of fun at his expense on Tuesday mornings.

But John, I'll tell you, he always brings it. And he always, always is ready for anything that we throw at him. And again, buddy, thank you. I really appreciate you joining me today. Stay safe, stay well. We look forward to having you back here on Locked On Patriots. Talk some more ball

as we head toward the opening of the league year and we head into the bowels of the NFL draft coming up at the end of April. Anytime, Mike. Thank you, my friend. And just like that, Patriots fans, we are just one day away from finishing off your work week.

Friday is within your sights and I know you can't wait to kick off the weekend, but not before joining us to close out the week in style here on Locked on Patriots tomorrow. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, download and subscribe to the Locked on Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, Radio.com, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, just make sure that you're staying locked in to Locked on Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate.

I thank my friend and colleague, John Sappacchetti, for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank each and every one of you so much for listening and for making Locked on Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.