Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - The Lazar Lowdown: New England Patriots 2021 Draft Strategy — 4/16/2021

Episode Date: April 16, 2021

The New England Patriots are considering any and all options when it comes to the manner in which they will be investing their 2021 NFL Draft capital. Joining host Mike D’Abate talk Pats’ Draft strategy is Evan Lazar of CLNS Media. The duo discuss Bill Belichick’s approach to this year’s evaluations, Evan’s predictions on the ‘smart moves’ to be made, their 2021 ‘Draft Crushes’ and some final thoughts on Julian Edelman’s retirement.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 “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% 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 into the Locked On Patriots podcast. It is finally Friday, April 16th, 2021. And to help close out the week in style here on the pod, we've got a little Lazar lowdown 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. Thank Football and Foxborough. It is Friday, Patriots Nation, and thank you once again for helping me close out the week here on Locked On Patriots. 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, your comments, and your feedback are always welcomed and very much appreciated.

So 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 giving the weekend nods and saying, how you doing, to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at L-O underscore Patriots. Pats fans, you heard me correctly. You know we like to close out the week in style here on the pod.

And today we've definitely done that. My guest today here on Locked On Patriots is Evan Lazar of CLNS Media. And Evan, again, is among the brightest and best at what he does, whether it be film breakdown, game analysis, draft scouting, or just comprehensive coverage of the Patriots in general, Evan is at the top of the list. He's a great friend of mine, and I always enjoy the opportunity to talk ball with him, especially here on a Friday.

And today we have an action-packed agenda. We'll talk about Bill Belichick's Thursday press conference and how, even though we found out that he didn't want to hear any of Dan Roach's complaints, Bill actually said a lot more than you think he did yesterday, especially when it comes to revealing what he might be thinking when it comes to the 2021 NFL draft. I'll also be asking Evan to stare into his very own Belichickian crystal ball and reveal what he would do as GM of the New England Patriots. Last and certainly not least, Evan will let us know his favorite 2021 prospects when it comes to the draft for your New England

Patriots. Last year, Evan and I were enamored with the same player. You can call it a draft crush if you want. Wide receiver Justin Jefferson, formerly of LSU, now of the Minnesota Vikings. Just one pick away, and he might have been a New England Patriot, folks. But I digress. That's water under the bridge. Who's caught Evan's sharp eye this year? Well, I'll ask him that question, and as a special added bonus treat, I'll ask Evan to share his favorite memories of Julian Edelman as we cap the first full work week of the post-JE11 era here in Foxborough. But before I welcome Evan's expertise to the show today, I wanted to share with you some of the news of the day as we head into the weekend.

As was reported on Friday afternoon, restricted free agent cornerback JC Jackson has apparently signed his one-year tender with the New England Patriots, and multiple reports confirm this after J.C. himself shared the news in a photo posted on his Instagram account. Now, Jackson had been designated at the second-round level leading up to the opening of the new NFL year in March. That led to some speculation that teams out there may try to lure J.C. Jackson away by offering him a lucrative contract. Those other teams had until April 23rd to extend an offer sheet to JC, with New England reserving the right to either match that offer sheet or receive the second round draft compensation. Well, with JC now signing this tender, he is scheduled to earn $3.384 million in 2021 before coming an unrestricted free agent next season. And of course,

JC Jackson now under contract means that theoretically he will be back. Of course, the sides could also work out a deal on a trade, but my understanding is that's a remote possibility at best. Again, folks, I'm not saying it won't happen. I'm just saying it's not likely to happen. Right now, J.C. Jackson appears to be headed back to New England at least for one more season, and what this deal tells me is that the Pats now are going to try to work out a long-term deal with J.C. Of course, that's the plan. No one knows for sure exactly what will happen, but of course, Patriots media will continue to monitor that situation and will continue to bring you the very latest on J.C. Jackson

or any New England Patriots player on this roster right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. And with the logistics now in the books, it's time to welcome the expertise of one Evan Lazar of CLNS Media as we discuss Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who incidentally is turning 69 years old today on April 16th. Happy birthday, coach. But Bill, is not all we'll be discussing. We'll be discussing top draft prospects, draft crushers, and Julian Edelman memories

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or wherever you get your podcasts. Patriots fans, the NFL draft is nearly upon us, and the question remains, what will the Patriots do? When you need the next level of insight and intuition that you can't get here on Locked On, Patriots, although I do try my best to provide it, folks, some of us need to seek the wisdom and counsel of a source that is the best at answering those burning questions.

Luckily for us, my guest today has those answers. He is one of the very best in the business when it comes to film breakdown, play-by-play analysis, and just comprehensive team coverage overall. He's second to none. He is the Patriots beat writer for CLNS Media and, of course, the host of Patriots Beat alongside of 98.5 The Sports Subs, Alex Barth, another great friend of the program. Evan Lazar is here today.

Evan, thank you so much for joining me. Welcome back to the Lockdown Patriots podcast. Thanks for having me, Mike. And every time I come on, I say this, but I truly mean it. I just want you to just record a tagline for me, like you just did. And I'm just going to play that before everything that I do, because you always hype me up so well. And I really, really appreciate it. And let's not give Alex too much credit. All right. You know, he's no, I'm just kidding. Definitely go ahead and listen to both

of us on the Patriots beat podcast after you listen to this podcast, of course. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. Now, that meant a lot to me. I assure you, every time I go through that introduction, it always is from the heart. I mean every word of what I say. Yeah, I have a great knack for being able to hype, but nothing I say is untrue. And believe me, you deserve all of the credit you get and then somebody. Thank you. You're very, very welcome. And Evan, we're less than two weeks away from the 2021 NFL draft. The anticipation is always high when it comes to the Patriots, when it comes to the NFL draft, all 32 NFL teams. This is one of the best times of year to be a football fan.

And every year there's a bit of buzz, but there's a little bit of an extra buzz this year, especially in New England. As we speak, the Patriots are poised to select at number 15. That's an interesting spot because it creates a ton of different scenarios. And pretty much all of them have been discussed by either by us or anyone else in sports media, Patriots media. We've pretty much run down every scenario you can think of. And I think that's going to continue to be the case right up until the evening hours on thursday the 29th yesterday bill belichick

addressed the media for his pre-draft conference you and i had the privilege of uh you know sitting in on that and uh other than telling dan roach that no one wanted to hear his complaints uh not a lot of memorable sound bites uh from bill But I was a little taken back by the fact that I thought a lot of people felt he didn't offer a whole lot of insight. First of all, Bill is not going to open up his draft portfolio and show everybody what he's thinking. I go back to the Godfather quote, you know, never tell anyone outside the family what you're thinking again.

You know, Bill Belichick definitely adheres to that. But I think he did offer some insight. If you look below the surface, and you know as well as anyone, you kind of have to look below the surface when it comes to Bill, especially when it comes to how they might invest their draft capital this year. He did acknowledge that the Patriots are going through all different scenarios in their pre-draft prep, whether it's moving up, whether it's moving back, staying put. All potential cases are being played out in order to get a feel for what might happen

Evan you're as dialed into the Patriots strategy as anyone you know the inner workings of this team you have sources very close to the team and what they're able to do do you get the sense that Bill is working up something interesting here with the draft in the next couple of weeks or even on draft night? Or is this just being kept too close to the vest right now? Well, I think we can certainly, you can never look too much into anything with Bill Belichick because they obviously do play everything close to the vest. But I think the one thing that you do see just piecing everything together that we've seen over the last couple of months and some of the things that he did say yesterday, I thought his answer to Ben Volan was really interesting about the 2019 tape

maybe having a heavier emphasis than the 2020 tape for some prospects just because of the weird circumstances of the 2020 season. And the way that I took that was prospects that made a big leap forward or took a big step back in 2020, the Patriots kind of looked at their 2019 tape and said, okay, Mack Jones, you were projected as a third round pick this time last year. Now you're projected as a top five pick. Maybe 2019 is a little bit more of a reasonable expectation of mac jones's ceiling as a prospect right similarly i felt if you piece that together the emphasis on 2019 tape then he did give credit right off the top in his opening statement to dave ziegler elliot wolf and

matt grow who are the top three scouting executives in the Patriots front office for basically carrying the ball, as he said, in the draft process. You put that together within the conversation that he had about trading around the draft board and how they have had conversations of, let's say a guy in the top six or seven picks ends up sliding a little bit. How would we feel trading up? Now, he mentioned 12 or 13 from 15, so he's not necessarily talking about a massive trade-up, right, from 15 to 6 or 15 to 4 or something like that.

But I felt that the emphasis on the 2019 tape, the acknowledgement that they are talking through some trade-up scenarios, and the fact that he mentioned those three guys who, plus Josh McDaniels, the only quarterback that those three guys and McDaniels have seen throw in person in this process is Justin Fields. He's the only one that they've all gone out to to see. So to me, it does suggest that if Justin Fields were to make a little bit of a slide, as some people

are predicting, you know, Mel Kiper had the Patriots, I think trading up to 10 or 11 in his latest mock draft to land Justin Fields. I think that it's at least on the table for the Patriots. Now, are they going to make a trade up like the Niners did? I still think no. And I've been saying no for that for a while, but if Justin Fields ends up sliding and they can get him at 8, 9, 10, 11 I think that they are having those conversations internally and I don't think it's a mistake that those three scouting executives and Josh McDaniels have made trip to Columbus and Ohio State this offseason. Excellent insight especially when it comes to Fields and I agree with you I think the contingent that the Patriots sent to Columbus to watch Justin Fields second pro day earlier this week says a lot about the

respect that they have for Justin Fields the player and I know some have suggested that sending the contingent might be a way of the Patriots trying to throw other teams off or maybe hype up Justin a little bit for other teams when maybe the interest isn't as strong from New England I agree with you you don't send guys like Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler, Matt Groh, Elliot Wolfe watched his first pro day. You don't send that type of delegation to watch someone work out unless the interest is real. Now, will they make the move and trade up? Evan, your guess is as good as mine. Nobody really knows at this point. We may not know until draft night, but at the same time, I think there's significant interest there. So in my opinion, at least something worth keeping a sharp eye on.

Staying on that subject for just a moment, Bud, seeing as you've given us insight as to what you think Bill Belichick might be thinking himself, let's flip that a little bit. Suppose you're Bill Belichick. You're assessing this year's class. You're looking at the needs of this roster as we see it today on April 16th, 2021. Evan, do you believe there is a move that the Patriots have to make if given the chance when it comes to this draft class? Or is the talent in this draft more conducive to maybe letting the chips fall where they may, meaning that we might see some minor trades for some of the picks? That could be possible, but no major waves being made. Evan, if you're Bill Belichick, what do you do?

Well, I personally feel like the Patriots are set up in the perfect position right now because of their free agency spending spree to just drop a quarterback in here and have this thing really start to hit the ground running. So to me, when you look at this quarterback class, and I think that if they want to go defense in the first round, and they certainly could sit there at 15, maybe even trade back and get a guy that can contribute immediately for their football team. But looking at the landscape of this quarterback class, I do feel like that there's a pretty precipitous drop off from the top five guys that we all talk about to the Kellen Mons and Kyle Traffs of the world on day two. Normally, there's

a guy on day two that everybody kind of likes, right, that you can really sink your teeth into, and everybody's a little bit excited about either his upside or just his ability right now that you see in terms of his floor. Kellen Mond is the closest thing that we have to an exciting prospect on day two, and he still comes with a lot of caveats based off of what you saw on his tape at Texas A&M. Just never really wowed you with anything at Texas A&M. Yeah, he's mobile. Yeah, he showed a really good arm at his pro day. But on the tape at A&M, there was not a whole lot of wow factor. Just not a lot of big time throws, not a lot of downfield throws.

He's one of the more conservative college passers in FBS last year. So that's a tough one to kind of sink your teeth into and get super excited about. So to me, the drop-off is definitely significant in there from Mack Jones, Trey Lance, Justin Fields, to Kellen Mond, Kyle Trask, Davis Mills, Jamie Newman, and the list goes on. So if they're thinking quarterback and they want to add a QB, yeah, you could add a guy like Mills maybe in the third round. You could add a guy like Mond at 46, and that would be somebody that you could work with, and that would be somebody that you could work with. And it would certainly be someone that has some starter upside. But if you really want to solve that position, like Robert Kraft said a few weeks ago, with something that they

really needed to do, then that's not going to solve it to me. That's more of a Jared Stidham type situation where you're kind of taking a flyer on somebody and hoping that in two to three years with your coaching and your system that you can coach that guy up to being a starter in the league i think that if you really want a foregone conclusion that a guy is going to work out then you have to take that guy in the first round this year and in most years you know that's really what the science of the draft has looked at yes there are their busts you know there are the Mitchell Trubisky's of the world but the more times than not in the last I would say five to ten years there's fewer and far between of those day two day three guys that end up being the best quarterbacks now there's a Dak Prescott

there's a Kirk Cousins conversation but other than those two guys it really doesn't happen as often anymore as it used to now we have so much information on all these prospects teams kind of know where guys are and know where guys ceilings are a lot better than they did let's say 20 years ago when somebody like Tom Brady slips all the way to the sixth round so that doesn't happen as much anymore in today's NFL and today's draft landscape. So most of the time, the guys that end up being franchise quarterbacks are going in the first

round. And I think that that's where the Patriots should be looking. But again, if they want to go defense, they don't like this quarterback class and they just decide that it's, it's not for them. There are some tackle prospects on the offensive side of the ball. There's certainly the wide receivers and there are some defensive guys that we can talk about that that would make an impact i think would be really good patriots but ultimately you don't go out and sign what was

it 13 14 guys in free agency you have 78 guys rostered already you have a lot of veteran players that are already you know sharpied in basically to big time roles on both sides of the football. The need is that quarterback and the Patriots should be looking there in my estimation. Yeah, without question. And I think in a lot of ways, their free agency approach may have tipped their hand a little bit as to what their draft approach may be. Yes, they have absolutely enough slots right now to be able to sign every player if they keep every pick. But at the same time, you know the Patriots are going to look to maximize that value. And I agree, if there is a move on the table to be made at quarterback,

and the Patriots feel this draft houses that very given player that can take them to the next level or at least sustain this team for the next few years and be the next franchise guy, then they'll do it. If not, then they'll do it. If not, then they'll probably stand pat or maybe even move back. And Bill Belichick hinted at that a couple of times yesterday. So, Evan, you always break the needle off of the wisdom and counsel gauge when you join me here on the pod. Today is no different. This has been excellent. And folks, we are not done yet. Evan Lazar is one of the best at scouting potential Patriots talent anywhere in sports media.

I'm not just talking New England folks. I'm talking on a national landscape. And last year, he made me look a little smarter because we actually shared the same draft crush. He knows who I'm talking about, and we'll share that in a minute. But who's Evan Sharp Eye this year? Find out when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Locked On listeners, we've all heard the phrase, often imitated but never duplicated.

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listen to the ultimate Mock Draft 2021, featuring analysis from NFL experts Michael Irvin, Jason LaConfora, and Brian Baldinger. And of course, our local experts for every team, making trades and picking the next stars of their team. Subscribe to the Ultimate Mock Draft 2021 presented by Locked On and Odyssey on the new Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Odyssey is your audio home for all the sports, podcasts, music, and news that matter to you. That's A-U-D-A-C-Y. music and news that matter to you that's a u d a c y that's fans evan lazaro clns media joins me

here today to close out the week in style on the pod and evan in the previous segment we spoke about bill belichick's approach to the draft you even looked into your belichickian crystal ball and told us how you would approach the draft if you're the new england patriots but you're always as spot on as anyone when it comes to spotting talent in the draft especially you're the New England Patriots, but you're always as spot on as anyone when it comes to spotting talent in the draft, especially that talent that would look well in Patriots blue. Last season, I alluded to this getting into the break that you made me feel a bit smarter when I discovered that the player that I kept fawning over while doing my draft evaluations, Justin Jefferson, folks, wide receiver out of LSU, was also a draft crush of yours.

And Justin was one of the best route runners. Still hurt. It does. It really does hurt. One pick-a-way. It does really hurt. I know. I know.

I remember seeing him come off the board. Of course, I thought of myself first, not to be selfish, folks, but I thought of you immediately after that because I said, oh, this is really going to be really going to be taking this hard. But, you know, Jefferson just he was one of the best route runners that I had ever evaluated. That quick burst, short hands just really just looked like a prototypical New England Patriot. And he ended up in Minnesota off to a great start. He's looking like a potential star, maybe already, but he's definitely looking like a potential star receiver in the NFL for many years to come.

This season, the draft pot is pretty sweet at a lot of positions, and I'm developing some of my favorites, but some of those sweeteners now are at positions that are either positions of need for the Patriots or positions where they like to stockpile talent, whether it be the front seven, the linebackers, the defensive backs. If you're talking about the defensive side of the ball, wide receiver, all line, we talked a little quarterback, all on offense. That's just to name a few. Evan, you've done numerous draft evaluations over the past few months. And again,

yours is an opinion that i hold in the highest regard is there a particular player or players that have caught your sharp eye and is there one that you would say could be worthy of being your 2021 draft crush yeah so i'll give you two and i think both of them i i've talked about extensively being players that i just peg as great patriot type players in terms of the boxes that they check and also guys that I just really enjoyed watching the first one is Tulsa linebacker Zayvon Collins who I've probably talked about on every show that I've been on so I think I would label Zayvon Collins as this year's Justin Jefferson for me He is somebody that you watch him move at 6'4", 260 pounds,

and he moves like a guy that's more like 6'4", 245, right? He's really somebody that has terrific athleticism. And in that sense, from the build standpoint and the athleticism standpoint, he reminds me a lot of Jamie Collins coming out of college, and it's easy with the two last names being the same too to make that connection. And he's somebody that you turn on the tape at one play,

he's playing off the line, the scrimmage and Tulsa's defense going sideline to sideline, chasing down running backs and option quarterbacks and things like that in the open field. And then on the next play, he's dropping into zone coverage over the middle. And I compared him to another pod to like a soccer goalie because he's so long you know he's got such a great wingspan that you try to throw around him in zone coverage when he drops into the deep hole or he drops into a short zone and it becomes very difficult to do

and the one thing the Patriots have really struggled with in recent years is finding linebackers that can play the run and can play the pass and coverage and being able to stop play action passes in particular last year they were dead last 32nd in the league and yards allowed on play action pass attempts so that was something that they really have struggled with is finding that mix of linebacker that can drop into coverage over the middle of the field and hold up in the run game and I think Zayvon Collins can do both of those things. And then if you want to keep them on the field on third down, let's say they go dime and they want to get their linebackers off the field

for the most part, unless they're pass rushing. Well, he can do that too. He can stand up over the tackle and rush off the edge, or he can blitz up the middle as an inside linebacker or just on the line of scrimmage over the guard or over the center. Like they have used Dante Hightower in the past. So he checks all of those boxes. There's not a whole lot of linebackers in today's NFL

or in today's college game that still play at 255, 260, right? A lot of these guys are much lighter than that nowadays. But Zayvon Collins is that big prototype that the Patriots like, but he can still move like somebody that's a little bit smaller than his size. I love the versatility of on and off the line of scrimmage, and he did both of those in college already. Three-year starter, team captain, former high school quarterback, so he's got that background, a little bit of being sort of on the other side of the ball

and understanding things from that perspective too. So he's somebody that I've just been super high on. Maybe we talked about the Patriots potentially staying pat or trading back to land a defensive player. Maybe that's what they end up doing if they like Zayvon Collins as much as I do. I do really like this wide receiver class too, like everybody else as well. And just to give you somebody that I feel like could be Justin Jefferson, like Amari Rogers from Clemson is someone that I have definitely been all over since I've watched his tape of about a month ago as maybe not as good

of a downfield route runner as somebody like Justin Jefferson was, but with the ball in his hands, there's nobody better than Amari Rogers. And he reminds me a little bit more of Debo Samuel on the 49ers, who I loved in the 2019 draft class as just someone that if you can scheme them open, if you can find them behind the line of scrimmage on a screen or an end around or jet sweep or something like that, he is a running back build with wide receiver skills.

And that's, I think, something that is really intriguing for the Patriots. And at his pro day in Clemson, he actually ran some routes from out of the backfield from a running back alignment. So we're thinking about successors to James White, things like that. Maybe that's sort of the new age successor to the third down back is somebody like an Amari Rogers or a Debo Samuel, who you move around the formation, get the ball in his hands in space and watch him run with it. He's got returner-like skills. He can contribute on special teams as a returner as well.

So Amari Rodgers on day two would be somebody that I would target if I was the Patriots to sort of replace Julian Edelman, if you will, in that sort of role of playing off the line of scrimmage, moving around the formation, creating after the catch of the ball in their hands, and also scheming them into situations where they can run with the football. Yeah, excellent insight, especially when it comes to Rodgers. Our good friend Thomas Murphy listens all the time, a frequent guest here, a weekly

guest here on Locked On Patriots. He has a grin from ear to ear. He's been beating the Rodgers drum quite often lately. And I know he's very, very high on him as well. Saving Collins. I love the, the information that you provided on him as well. And look, folks,

when you, when you mentioned, you know, a possible, a team that is multiple in its alignments, like the Patriots are, that's why he's been linked to new England so often. And just the versatility that he brings to the table,

being able to drop into coverage rush the uh rush the passer be a run defender this guy can do it all so again two guys that i definitely have my sharp eye on i've also been keeping a sharp eye on richard baitman of minnesota as being a potential uh wide receiver that could fit very well into this offense good impressive blend route running ball. I like that he has that competitive toughness that the Patriots like to employ in a wide receiver. I know Minnesota often used him a lot on those in-breaking patterns. He found a lot of first and second throwing windows via the RPO concepts that they like to run, but he's not just a zone beater. He's not just a slot

target. This kid can track the ball. He can win at the catch point. And I like the way he might be fitting in here as well. He would definitely be a day one. I don't think he's definitely, he's not going to drop anything below that. Maybe the Patriots might have a shot at him at 15, but he's rising up from some draft boards that I've seen lately.

So who knows? Maybe he might end up being my crush, but I don't think you can go wrong with Zayvon Collins or with Amari Rogers, folks. Rashad Bateman, if I had to compare anybody to Justin Jefferson in this class, it would definitely be Rashad Bateman. So I'm 100% on board with that one as well.

I don't know if they go wide receiver in the first round, but you broke him down perfectly. Somebody that could definitely fit their bill and and certainly is another explosive receiver as well i think he's a little bit underrated in that aspect of his game he can really create with the ball in his hands too especially on those slants and things like that over the middle so yeah if you wanted to look for a justin jefferson copy i think rashad Bateman is that guy in this draft. Last but certainly not least, but not to end on a sour note, but hopefully ending on a positive note, earlier this week, we all witnessed the end of an era in Foxborough.

Julian Edelman retiring after 12 years in New England, he's behind a ton of memories and a great legacy in New England. And as someone that covered Julian, you've been on the Pats beat for quite some time, been on the beat for some of his greatest memories. What are your lasting memories of Julian Edelman in a New England Patriots uniform? Well, I would say just as somebody that's covered the team with Julian for the last three years,

Super Bowl 53 is a tape that if you're a young wide receiver, you're in high school, middle school, whatever, and you want to be in the NFL someday and you want to study a guy at the top of his game, turning on the tape from Super Bowl 53 of Julian Edelman's route running in that game is an absolute clinic from start to finish on how to run routes in the NFL. I mean, we're talking about releases at the line of scrimmage, setups in his route stems, break point things, techniques, you know, to get out of his breaks quickly and create separation, just an absolute clinic from start to finish. So that game to me, if you want to make Julian Edelman's Hall of Fame

case, as I think we will get to that point whether you agree that he's a hall of famer or not whoever presents his hall of fame case should just turn on the 10 catches that he had in that game and just play that and just watch marcus peters and akib talib and nickel robot coleman trying to cover him in that game and watch how shifty he is and how elusive he is at the top of the route and how perfect he sets up all of his routes and how he disguises all of them at the line of scrimmage just an absolute you know tour de force in that game so to me that was the first season that I covered the team I was lucky enough to cover the team for the first time in a year that

they won the Super Bowl so that was pretty darn. And just as a person that really appreciates the little details of route running and wide receiver play, it doesn't get any better than what Julian Edelman did in that game. So that will always be the one that stands out the most to me. But certainly the touchdown pass to Danny Amendola against Baltimore in the playoffs was a big one as well. And there were just countless others that were just huge examples. I also think a really underrated play of his was the game-winning touchdown against Seattle.

That play doesn't get played enough in the Julian Edelman legacy. The fact that he was actually the one that caught the touchdown that made it 28-24 before Malcolm Butler's interception. That was something that I think that a lot of people, you watch that route, that's his patent and whip route, right? The break inside, cut outside, back to the pylon, and dust the corner. That was a route that he lived off of for many years in New England. So that was certainly the one play that I think encapsulates what

exactly he was along with you know the camp chancellor hit and also the uh the catching against Atlanta but Super Bowl 53 again if you're a young receiver and you want to learn how to run routes the right way just watch that game on repeat and take notes absolutely and I'm so glad that you mentioned his game tape in Super Bowl 53 and breaking down the routes and the assignment that he played, getting the essentially what was the game winning touchdown in Super Bowl 49 against the Seahawks for all the era of good feelings that we remember about Julian Edelman and all the great memories and the fun, fun loving memories of him at parades and being a fan favorite.

I don't know if he necessarily gets enough credit nationally or maybe even from the fan base at how meticulous he was in playing his assignments. That's something that endeared him to Bill Belichick all of his career, definitely endeared him to Tom Brady, why he was one of his favorite targets, and really is something that I think speaks so highly of Julian, because he wasn't just the guy that played his assignments. If he wasn't capable or he thought that he needed a lot more work, he put the work in each and every day to make sure that when he was called upon to play a role, that he would do it to the best of his ability.

And nine times out of 10, he did that every single time he took the field. So Evan, great insight, tremendous draft insight. And I thank you for taking the time out of your, he did that every single time he took the field. So, Evan, great insight. Tremendous draft insight, and I thank you for taking the time out of your schedule today to join me here on Locked On Patriots. Again, the true definition of closing

out the week in style here, folks. When EZ Lazar is on the show, you know it's going to be informative, and you know it's going to be a lot of fun. Before I let you go today, my friend, please just give our listeners a quick uh shout out about where they can find you on social media and the great work that you have coming in the next few days and weeks as we approach draft day at the end of the month thanks yeah certainly

easy lazar on twitter lazar that's where you can find all of my work make sure you subscribe to the patriots press pass YouTube channel we do daily Patriots videos Patriots beat podcast Greg Bedard's podcast is on there as well so that's a Patriots Press Pass on YouTube and next week Mike I got the top 50 Patriots big board rolling out Monday through Friday of next week so I'll count down from 50 to one, the top Patriots fits in the 2021 NFL draft. I always like doing that. It's the third year that I've done it. Last couple of years, 2019 was definitely a better year for me than last year.

I hit on their first four picks last year. I hit on Josh UJ. So hopefully we continue to hit on a few and I educate the people about some guys that the Patriots are going to end up taking in a few weeks. Well, educating the masses when it comes to football knowledge is what you do best, my friend. And I can definitely tell you, folks, Evan's Top 50 board is must-absorb material. Definitely consume it however you can, but it'll make you a smarter football fan, and it'll make you much better prepared for the NFL draft coming up on April 29th.

Bud, we always look forward to talking ball with you here. It's one of my favorite things about being host of this show is getting a chance to talk ball with you. We'd love to do it again, probably post-draft, as we take a look at what Bill had in store for all of us and break it all down. But in the meantime, stay safe and well, and enjoy the next couple of weeks and best of luck to you on the draft coverage bud you as well mike thanks for having me on thank you and so patriots nation we put a bow on the week that was here on the locked on patriots podcast as always i am honored and humbled by the input of my great guest this week starting with the kind of murphy fisto himself on Monday,

a little hashtag LockedOnMockDraftMonday, my good friend Thomas Murphy. Of course, Tuesday, sharing our memories of Julian Edelman with Steve Balistrieri. A very informative Wellness Check Wednesday with Dr. Jessica Flynn, stellar SEC insight from Andrew Carraway, and of course, the expertise of Evan Lazar of CLNS Media

today. And next week here on the pod is shaping up to be just as exciting, and who knows, maybe even a little bit more. So to ensure that you do not miss a single second of the action, follow the Locked On Patriots podcast on platforms such as Spotify, the Odyssey app, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Just make sure that you are staying locked into Locked On Patriots. Once again, my name is Mike DeBate.

I thank Evan Lazar of CLNS Media for his time, his insight, and his appearance on today's pod. But most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for continuing to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Until Monday, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great weekend, everyone.