Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Throwback Thursday: Revisiting the Patriots 2019 NFL Draft - 2/6/2020

Episode Date: February 6, 2020

On this Throwback Thursday, host Mike D’Abate activates the ‘Belichickian Time Machine’ to revisit and evaluate the New England Patriots’ performance in the 2019 NFL Draft. He also offers his take on the latest surrounding Tom Brady’s ‘preferred status’ in New England.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. It's Throwback Thursday here on Locked On Patriots, your daily home for news, notes, and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. I'm Mike DeBate. I am your host of Locked On Patriots. Of course, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Please be sure to follow me on Twitter at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-F-P-C. And while you're in the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow Locked On Patriots on Twitter at L-O underscore Patriots. You heard correctly, Pats fans.

It's Throwback Thursday. And you know what that means. That's right. A little travel back in time. And don't worry, folks. I'm not going to litter this episode with a whole bunch of lame Back to the Future references. I got that out of my system the last time we did a throwback Thursday here on Locked on Patriots. But because the 2019 season is now in the rearview mirror,

we've been looking ahead to 2020. And of course, the big question on everybody's plate is, where will Tom Brady be playing next year? Is he coming back to New England? And we've done more than our fair share of address that subject right here on Locked On Patriots. And either fortunately or unfortunately, folks, depending on your point of view, we're going to continue to talk about it. It's big news.

I love some of these highbrow opinions of people that love to come out and say, there's nothing that can be done until March. Why do you keep talking about Tom Brady? Well, folks, in short, I'll tell you why we keep talking about Tom Brady. Six Super Bowl championships. Four Super Bowl MVPs. Three regular season MVPs. Records, awards, accolades, you name it, he's either at or near the top of the list.

When it comes to Boston sports, he's undeniably the GOAT, the greatest of all time. I know some of you love the Mount Rushmore analogy. Who is a Mount Rushmore of Boston sports? Well, if you put that together, I doubt anyone can argue that Tom Brady belongs at the Washington spot, the figurehead. He's the most important Boston sports athlete of my generation, I believe of any generation. So when there's even a shred of a chance that this guy might actually take his snaps in another uniform next year, in a different city? In a different region and not New England?

Yeah, it's big news. And we're going to cover it. We're going to talk about it. And we have talked about it quite often here on Locked On Patriots. I've been very vocal about the fact that I believe Tom will return to New England. That even though we're reaching the epilogue sooner than we might want to believe, Tom's legacy in New England is still not done yet. But there are some that believe that this might be the end of Tom in New England.

And look, at the end of the day, folks, whether I want to admit it or whether you want to admit it, it's a possibility. So if you wonder why we talk about Tom Brady so much, that's the reason why. The impact he's had on Boston, the New England region, and really the whole landscape of professional sports is indelible. And on this Thursday morning, there were a few tidbits that were offered that might shed even more light on this subject, and I will get to those in just a moment. But the focal point today, actually, folks, is not going to be Tom Brady.

Again, it's Throwback Thursday here on Locked On Patriots, and that means that we will be hopping into our Belichickian time machine once again, and instead of settling on one date this time, we're going to take an overview of the 2019 season overall, but a very specific focus. And before you start thinking that sounds like a contradiction, let me explain. If Tom Brady's status is what we've been talking about most here on Locked On Patriots since the end of the season, then the second most popular topic has been the NFL Draft. Now folks, every Monday, we dedicate an entire segment to it on our podcast, partnered with our friends at the Draft Network.

Nearly each and every one of my guests since the end of the season has prognosticated on what the Patriots might do upcoming in the 2020 NFL Draft. But Santayana once said, those that do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. So do you want the Patriots to repeat what they did in last year's draft? And there it is, folks. That's why what I said earlier is not a contradiction. We're going to take a look at the 2019 season as a whole, but we're going to evaluate the Patriots draft choices. Who were the positive standouts? Who underwhelmed in 2019? Was injury

to blame or are they just a poor fit in this system? We'll get into all of that. And I'll close out today's episode by giving my opinion on whether or not the Patriots 2019 draft class will affect how they draft in 2020. Again, folks, it's just my opinion. whether or not the Patriots' 2019 draft class will affect how they draft in 2020. Again, folks, it's just my opinion. The only ones that really know that for sure are Bill Belichick and the Patriots' brain trust. But here on Throwback Thursday, it'll be a fun trip through time, and pretty relevant considering the draft coverage will start to amp up over the course of the next few weeks as we head toward April 23rd and the beginning of the NFL draft.

So sit tight, folks. I really hope you enjoyed today's podcast and our brief trip through time aboard the Belichickian time machine. However, before we turn the time circuits on here, I did allude to a couple of Tom Brady tidbits that were dropped on Thursday morning. And actually, the seedlings on these started on Wednesday when NBC Sports Boston's insider Tommy Curran, whose opinion, and I've gone on record

saying this several times, folks, I respect it, and I know it always comes from an informed place. From personal experience, I can tell you, Tom Curran tells it like it is. Sometimes it's met with a lot of cheers in Patriots Nation, but there are other times where it raises the ire a little bit. But the bottom line is, he's going to give it to you straight. And on Wednesday, Tom was a guest on WEI's Dale and Keith, which is their midday radio show. And they asked Tom Curran whether or not the Patriots, specifically Bill Belichick, wanted Tom Brady back for another season at age 43. Now keep in mind, folks, earlier in the week, Curran had reported that team owner Robert Kraft, quote,

prefers to bring back Tom Brady, but that he would not stand in Bill Belichick's way if Bill believed that it was best for the football team to move on from Tom, Brady that is, not Curran, at the start of the 2020 season. And Curran's response had both positive and negative aspects to it. And I'll quote it to you right now. He said, quote, at a price, yeah. Curran went on to expound upon his thoughts and said that from the information that he's gathered, meaning Tom Curran, Bill would prefer to have Tom Brady playing quarterback in 2020

because it's a known quantity and it removes the doubt. They aren't ready to have him leave. But if he's going to leave and it is going to hamstring other portions, if it comes to a crossroads, I think Bill can easily get his mind around saying goodbye as well, as he has so many other players to deal with over the course of time. Curran concluded his statement by saying that, I believe his first preference would be to have it work out for another season with Tom."

So for those of you, like me folks, that want to believe that Tom Brady is absolutely going to come back to New England, you hear this statement and it sounds like the stars are starting to align. All of a sudden, Tom Brady is telling a nationwide audience during a commercial in the most watched television event of the year, quote, I'm not going anywhere. Robert Kraft is telling the media that he prefers to have Tom back and that, quote, it's his hope and prayer that Tom comes back to New England.

And now you're hearing that Bill Belichick, quote-unquote, prefers to have Tom back for at least one more season. So you add all those together, and that seals the deal, right, folks? Brady's coming back, ready to go. Cue up the duck boats, let's have another parade. Not so fast, folks. It still isn't a given that Tom Brady is actually going to find his way back to Foxborough for the start of 2020. There's still a lot of logistics that have to be worked out.

Brady's contract has to be beneficial for both sides. And don't forget, there's also the widespread thought, which I happen to put a lot of stock in, that Tom Brady is more worried about the supporting cast around him than he is about the bottom line and the facts and figures. But tidbits like this are encouraging, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't be optimistic about it. I just caution you not to set yourself up for a big letdown if, in fact, some of these negotiations go sour. Now, not to be outdone, but today, on Thursday, Dalen Keefe welcomed in another NFL insider,

Ian Rappaport, the rap sheet himself joined them on the line. And Ian offered a bit more insight from the Patriots' front office perspective, and I quote, From my understanding, and remember folks, these are Ian's words, not mine, ownership, who writes the checks, meaning the Patriots, is willing to pay Brady more than $30 million. The Patriots want him and would be willing to go where they haven't gone before to keep him. Unquote. Rappaport also went on to say that he has no reason to believe that either Bill Belichick or Robert Kraft are on opposite sides of the page when it comes to Tom Brady, meaning that they're in agreement. So this

one is a bit more encouraging at this point because it shows that they've actually at least talked facts and figures. And that $30 million isn't just a random figure that was pulled out of thin air. Ian is referencing the report on Super Bowl Sunday that indicated that the Patriots were willing to go as high as $30 million to sign Tom Brady. Now, as my good friend Miguel Benzon, a.k.a. the Pats cap, who's been on this show several times, you love him as much as I do, folks, he has outlined a scenario where signing Brady to a $30 million contract could work within the cap. Keep in mind, Miguel is basing that on incentives, being able to defer money, and also the given that the Patriots would have to clear cap space in other areas in order to be able to field a competitive team in 2020.

If there's still one area that makes you feel a little bit squeamish, Pats fans, that's it. Just because it can be done doesn't mean it will be done. Again, it's going to take give and take from both sides to be able to get a deal done. When these little news tidbits are fed to us each and every day, we tend to gravitate toward it. We read between the tea leaves. We want to know exactly what it means.

And like I said before, it's a story. So each of these tidbits are newsworthy, and we're going to cover each and every one of them. But at the end of the day, the crowd that says nothing is going to happen until March, much as I hate to admit it, folks, they're right. But it still doesn't mean what happens in between is not newsworthy. So as always, keep a sharp eye, folks. I'll be doing that. As the information becomes available to me, I'll be sharing any and all information with

you regarding Tom's future in New England. Because, folks, it's what we live for as New England Patriots fans. But don't forget that it is Throwback Thursday here on Locked On, Patriots folks, and in just a moment, we'll evaluate the 2019 NFL Draft for your New England Patriots. Was Nakheel Harry the right pick? Did they draft Jawan Williams too early? What can we expect from some of the rookies that didn't get a chance to play this year? And who was the rookie of the year for the New England Patriots?

Was it Chase Winovich or was it Jake Bailey? We'll cover all that in just one moment. Once again, folks, throwback Thursday here on Locked On Patriots. And for today's trip through the space-time continuum, we revisit the 2019 NFL Draft. I had the privilege of covering the draft last year from Gillette Stadium, and I can tell you that the immediate reaction by fans and media alike was pretty positive when it came to what the Patriots did. Most were pretty impressed by the job Bill Belichick did with filling the Patriots' needs.

However, if there was one immediate head-scratcher, it was the fact that the Patriots chose to ignore the tight end position despite there being a lot of options on the board in this draft. The University of Iowa alone had two top-notch prospects, T.J. Hawkinson and Noah Fant. Alabama's Irv Smith Jr. and Texas A&M's J.C. Sternberger were about the top four. Sternberger was the name that made the most sense to me. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't also have my eye on Ole Miss' Dawson Knox. Dawson ended up getting drafted by the Buffalo Bills and had a very productive season for them.

And I'll acknowledge that both Hawkinson and Fant were off the board by the time the Patriots picked at the end of the draft. However, Sternberger was there, Knox was there, quite a few capable tight ends that were available, but the Patriots chose not to address the tight end position in the draft. And I know it's a common argument that the Patriots were holding out hope that Rob Gronkowski was still going to come back. The problem with that argument is the draft took place between April 25th and 27th. On the other hand, Rob announced

his retirement on March 24th. So even if you buy into the argument that the Patriots were holding out hope that Rob was going to come back, from a business standpoint, you have to approach it as if he's going to be gone. And instead of going the draft route, they relied on a lot of veteran options. They brought in Austin Safarian Jenkins, who ended up being released at his own request. Benjamin Watson gave them everything he could. However, he was suspended for the first few games of the season after a violation of the league's substance abuse policy, which was something that the Patriots also knew beforehand. Matt Lacoste, Ryan Izzo never really panned out the way they had hoped.

So hindsight being 20-20, pun intended, lack of the Patriots' decision to address the tight end position, at least in some way in this draft, does count as a negative in my book, and that will factor into my overall decision when I grade the Patriots on the 2019 NFL Draft almost one year later. But enough about who they didn't pick up. Let's talk about who they did draft. And what better place to start than with their first pick, the number 32 overall pick, Nikhil Harry, wide receiver out of Arizona State University. Now, Harry is definitely the most polarizing rookie that the Patriots had on their roster in 2019.

Just one glance around a Patriots social media, primarily on Twitter, and you'll see there's a lot of mixed feelings on Nikhil. Before we get into the opinions on him, we'll talk facts and figures. Keep in mind, Nikhil spent the entire first half of the season on injured reserve. He actually didn't catch an NFL pass until November 24th against the Dallas Cowboys. So again, just keep that in mind as I read these statistics to you. He had 12 receptions, 105 yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, and 49 rushing yards. It's true, folks.

Those statistics were never going to put him in contention for Rookie of the Year. And you can't deny that Nikhil came into New England with a lot of expectations put on his shoulders. For starters, he was the first wide receiver ever taken in the first round by Bill Belichick since he's been head coach of the Patriots. Because of that, he was expected to come in and make an immediate impact on this offense. Again, the ankle injury was a big part of that, but when Nakheel came back, he was expected to be an exciting target for Tom Brady. Throughout my coverage of the 2019 season here on Locked On Patriots,

I added to the Nakheel-Harry hype train as well, I'll admit that. But if we're being honest, Nakheel seemed to struggle more than he seemed to succeed. Throughout the past few days, I've gone back and watched a lot of film on Nakheel, especially in the latter half of the season, including the Patriots' playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans. And regardless of how you feel about the Patriots' pick of Nikhil Harry,

I have to be honest, there were some signs of potential. Yesterday here on Locked On Patriots, Jay Soderbergh and I talked about Nikhil's touchdown that wasn't called a touchdown, but should have been called a touchdown, against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 8th. He ran a smart route, made a nice reception, and really showed off his athleticism as he ran down the line. He kept his feet in bounds, and that was a touchdown, folks.

I don't care what Jerome Bulger's referee crew says or how salty Chiefs fans think we are for believing that. That one should have counted. But again, in an honest assessment, for every one of those brilliant plays, there were several that left you scratching your head. There were a lot of drops. There were a lot of stutter steps. I noticed on more than one occasion that when Harry would run, he'd pick his head up a little bit to see where he was, as opposed to running to where he should be. Those are all impediments in a young wide receiver's development. They don't necessarily prevent them from reaching their full

potential, but they do make the path to that goal that much longer. And if those weren't enough obstacles for him to deal with, then he looks at his peers having productive seasons. Guys like A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, Debo Samuel, McColl Hardman. These receivers had very good seasons for their new teams. And as a result, fans and media alike started on the Harry hate train. Oh, if we got Brown, or if we got Metcalf, or if we got Hardman, we would have been in much better shape. See, this proves it. Belichick can't draft wide receivers. Nikhil Harry is a first-round bust. Look, I don't think there's anyone, and this includes Nikhil

himself, that doesn't wish his rookie season went better than it did. But to call him a first-round bust when this guy played only eight games, had a very steep learning curve in a very complex offense, and had the expectations of being the savior of an offense that struggled mightily at times this year, is more than just a little harsh. Let's not forget that he missed a significant amount of training camp with that ankle injury this year. That was a big key as well.

Hopefully 2020 will be a healthy season for Nikhil Harry. With a full training camp and playing a relatively full schedule, I'm not saying it has to be all 16 games, but at least more than just the 80 played full schedule, I'm not saying it has to be all 16 games, but at least more than just the 80 played this year, I still believe you're going to see exactly what Bill Belichick and the Patriots' brain trust saw in Nikhil when they chose him 32 overall. This is a kid with a great deal of size, speed, and toughness. He's not afraid to get hit, and he's not afraid to go up

and take the ball away from a defensive back. To be honest, I think that's one of the reasons why the Patriots chose Harry over some of those other receivers. His size and his ability to go up and make contested catches makes him almost tight end-like. And that could be where they hope to replicate some of the production left behind by Rob Gronkowski.

Again, you have to come back to the injuries, and I think that's what really prevented us from seeing Nikhil's full potential this year. My assessment is that we give him the full 2020 slate to prove what he can be, and if that all happens, then at this time next year in 2021, we'll be much better able to evaluate whether or not he is indeed a first-round bust, or if the Patriots did indeed make a

solid pick with their first-rounder in the 2019 NFL Draft. Call me crazy, but I'm still holding out hope for Nikhil Harry. Next up in the 2019 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots at number 45 selected cornerback Juwan Williams out of Vanderbilt University. This one wasn't really a shock to too many people. The Patriots had long been very high on Williams' game. He's that type of tough, physical corner that the Patriots have always loved to employ, especially under Bill Belichick. So it really came as little surprise to most of us in the know when the Patriots traded up to get him. In fact, leading

up to the draft and even after the draft, people were comparing him to Brandon Browner, and I think that's a pretty good comparison in terms of the style of play both these cornerbacks have. But Williams found himself being a healthy scratch more often than not this season. He played in only nine games, had five total tackles, and one pass deflection. Again, those are pretty lackluster statistics for a second-round draft pick. Word out of Patriots camp is that they always continue to be high on Williams' game. Unfortunately, the headlines that Williams would make in the 2019 season were more about off the field problems than on the field. We all recall that a couple of weeks ago in Tennessee, Williams was arrested and charged

with drug possession. That could and likely will mean a suspension at some point in 2020 for Jawan Williams. But there are a lot of people that see that arrest and just assume the Patriots will cut ties with him and release him. I wouldn't be so quick to say that. The Patriots still remain very high on Williams' game. If they believe that Williams can be a productive member of this secondary, I believe they'll keep him on the roster, even if it means a possible suspension. Keep in mind that right at the very beginning of the 2019 season, safety Patrick Chung was arrested and charged with drug possession. The Patriots didn't discipline him. They didn't release him. He was a productive member of drug possession. The Patriots didn't discipline him. They didn't release him.

He was a productive member of this team. The charges against Chung were subsequently dropped. I'm not saying that's going to happen here with Williams, but they spent the second round pick on him for a reason, and they're not going to be willing to just throw that away unless they have no other alternative. So Williams is another pick where the jury's still out. There really isn't enough of a sample size to determine whether or not he was a solid second round pick, or if maybe by choosing him with the number 45 pick, they left another

player on the board that could have made a bigger impact, not just in 2019, but beyond. So Patriots fans, I know, you're probably listening to this and saying, this is not looking so good right now. Well, don't worry. It's about to get better. And better in a big way. The third round in this draft saw the Patriots pick up two players who I believe are going to be productive Patriots for quite some time. One of them you saw a lot of on the field, and he did not disappoint. The other one, not so

much, but there's a lot of upside, and I'll get into that in just a second. The player you did see a lot of in 2019 was the 77th pick overall, Chase Winovich, defensive end out of the University of Michigan. The minute that the Patriots snagged Winovich in the third round, everyone kind of looked at one another and said, this is going to be a steal for this team. And Winovich played exactly like that. He totaled five and a half sacks and 10 quarterback hits and just 293 defensive snaps. That's really impressive for a rookie.

In fact, it was so impressive, the pro football focus ranked Chase Winovich the 14th best rookie overall in the 2019 draft class. Not only did he play with a high octane energy all season long, but he also fit right in when it came to the Patriots' system and defensive schemes. He was great for morale in the locker room and really showed that this kid has a very bright future ahead of him. The jury's definitely not still out on Chase Winovich. This was a solid pick and he'll continue to be a very big part of this defense, either at the defensive end position or the linebacker position. He can certainly play them both, and the Pats know that they have a keeper here. The other player they picked up in the second round did not see that much action.

He played in two games, zero starts, and his statistics, again, are not going to exactly leap off the page. And that's running back Damian Harris out of Alabama. Fans all over Patriots Nation kept clamoring to see more of Damian Harris, especially when a running back like Sonny Michel was having struggles throughout the season. The fact that Harris was almost always a healthy scratch in no way reflects a Patriots dissatisfaction with the pick or with Harris as a player. I've pointed out here several times on Locked On Patriots, and this has been reported by

a lot of different beat writers, that Bill Belichick develops his running backs a little different than a lot of other coaches or a lot of other organizations. He's going to take his time with them. He's going to give them time to observe and time to fit into the system. Sonny Michel was a first-round pick, so the Patriots needed to see what they had in him, and he delivered quite nicely in 2018. But some of the other players that they've drafted at running back, like James White and Shane Vereen, have been brought along in the similar fashion as what you saw with Harris this year.

If he has a productive spring practice and a productive training camp, and I believe he will because the talent is definitely there, folks, he'll be a part of this offense in 2020. And he could be a significant one. But the evaluation on Harris has to be purely on potential because even though guys like Williams and Harry had small sample sizes, Harris has almost no sample size. So 2020 is likely to be Harris's quote-unquote rookie year on the field. Only then will we really be able to determine his potential.

Patriots also had one more pick in the third round, and this was one that did not see any time at all on the field. With the 101st pick in the draft, they chose offensive tackle Yodney Kajusti. And again, this was one that a lot of people looked at and said the Patriots got themselves a steal. But most people realized that Yodney was coming in with some injury history, and that injury history prevented him from ever reaching the field in 2019. When healthy, Kajusti is a very productive offensive lineman, and it's a very versatile offensive lineman. That's something the Patriots are going to need in 2020. Joe Tooney and Ted Karras are both free agents. There's

rumors that Marcus Cannon might be on the move. So they'll need young players to provide depth on the offensive line, and Kajusti is someone that can definitely do that. And with their subsequent pick, the Patriots stayed on the offensive side of the ball, especially on the offensive line, and drafted offensive guard Yelda Frohold from Denmark. For the most part, Frohold had a pretty decent camp. He's a strong kid, and straight up, he's tough to move. But his footwork and his reaction time need some work. He was routinely beat by a lot of defensive linemen in the preseason, and this is something he's going to have to work on.

Keep in mind that neither Frohold nor Kajusti are going to have the benefit of being tutored by Dante Skarnecchia. New offensive line coach, whoever he may be, is going to have some young talent to work with. These two kids are capable of being great depth pieces on the O-line. One of them may even be able to work his way into the starting lineup. But again, with both, there's no professional resume to speak of, so we're grading on potential rather than production for 2019.

And with the 133rd pick in the NFL draft, the New England Patriots selected what could end up being one of their most polarizing picks, and that was quarterback Jared Stidham out of Auburn. Now on the field, Stidham's 2019 season was less than memorable. He only saw action in three games. We all remember the pick six that he threw against the Jets in week two. Stidham has a tremendous amount of upside. Patriots media as a whole is very high on Jared Stidham. They go out of their way to sing the kids praises.

In my evaluations of Jared, I can tell you he's a very hard worker with an excellent attitude. He's got pretty good arm strength and he can move with his legs. So he is a versatile quarterback. But the one thing you don't hear too much about Jarrett, and I think you need to, is the fact that he is still developing and still becoming a quarterback in this league. Some as much may want to tout this kid as the successor to Tom Brady and the fact that he could go in this season, meaning 2020, and lead the Patriots to a playoff spot. I don't think that's anywhere near accurate. Jarrett had a great deal of difficulty leading the scout team in practice. That's one of the big reasons why Cody Kessler was brought in as a third quarterback.

Don't forget, the Patriots released Brian Hoyer because they were confident that Jarrett could be Brady's primary backup. It really wasn't a mistake, folks, because Jarrett definitely has the talent to be able to do that. But this is a complex offense, and maybe Jarrett Stidham has it in him to be a starter in this league, maybe even the successor to Tom Brady, but he's not ready to do that in 2020. And to me, that's one of the key factors in why the Patriots would want to bring Tom Brady back for at least one more season. But please don't misconstrue what I'm saying.

That in no way indicates that I don't like the pick of Jarrett Stidham. I think it's a solid pick, and I think the Patriots spent it wisely. I just think the breaks need to be pumped a little bit when it comes to his readiness of being a starter in the NFL. Still think he's a couple of years away from that. As we continue to wind our way down the 2019 draft class for your New England Patriots, we come to the fifth round, and at pick number 159, defensive tackle Byron Cowart was chosen by England Patriots, we come to the fifth round, and at pick number 159,

defensive tackle Byron Cowart was chosen by the Patriots. Now, Cowart did not start any games for the Pats, but he did play in five of them. When he did see action on the field, Cowart actually played pretty well. Solid footwork, pretty good field awareness, and a decent amount of strength, which endears him to the Patriots' defensive front. As the season wore on, Cowart started to see a little bit less action, and that really wasn't an indictment on Byron. That was more because of the prolific play of guys like Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler, and of course Danny Shelton in the middle. Keep in mind, folks,

Shelton is a free agent. If he departs, that could mean an increase in playing time for Byron Coward. With another full training camp and working with the Patriots defensive coaching staff, Coward actually could end up playing a key role in the Patriots defense in 2020, and he'd be up to the challenge. To me, Coward is one of those sneaky late-round picks that showed signs of progress in his first year, but in his second year, is going to show a lot more, and I believe pay some pretty big dividends in 2020. Keep an eye on this one, folks. And of course, the Patriots finished off the fifth round with perhaps their most shocking pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, and at number 163, they picked punter Jake Bailey.

Now, this was a surprise for a lot of reasons. First, you don't see an awful lot of teams use a draft pick on a punter. Most teams seem pretty content to sign them as undrafted free agents, but the Patriots are not most teams, folks. The tape on Bailey showed that he had a huge right leg, and that's significant because Bill Belichick usually doesn't take right-footed punters. His punch showed a tremendous amount of distance and hang time. I can remember watching Jake in minicamp and training camp and seeing some of these booming punts that would go up, and people would make comments about when this was going to come down. I would love to use the analogy to say that some of them still haven't landed yet, but you'd know I was lying. If there

was any knock on Jake coming out of college, it was his accuracy. And ironically, that's exactly what his predecessor was best known for, Ryan Allen. Allen was coming off of the best performance of his career in Super Bowl 53. In fact, there were a lot of people, and I'm one of them, that believed that he could have been Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl 53. Not saying Julian Edelman didn't deserve it, I'm just saying Allen could have been considered. So when the Patriots used this pick, knowing they had a punter on staff, it raised an eyebrow or two. But you have to give credit where credit is due to the young booter from Stanford. He came in and he earned the starting job. Had 81 punts, 3,638 punting yards, averaged 44.9 yards per punt. His longest punt was 65 yards

and he had 36 punts inside the 20. Twice he was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Weeks 3 and in Week 11, and even though he had arguably his worst game at the worst possible time, which was the Patriots wildcard round loss to the Tennessee Titans, Jake Bailey more than proved that he is worthy of the Patriots punting job and he will be a productive member of this special teams unit for a number of years. In fact, it's for those reasons that I would say Jake Bailey was the Patriots Rookie of the Year in 2019.

That's a very, very tough decision for me to make over Chase Winovich. I think in terms of upside, I think Winovich is definitely the one with the most upside. But if you're talking about the player that had the most impact on the team in 2019, it had to be Bailey, especially given the amount of times that the Patriots were forced to punt. He came up big, showed a lot of poise for a rookie, and just a moment ago I talked about his accuracy being a concern. He really did a lot to improve that, so in my opinion, Bailey just edges out Chase Winovich as their 2019 Rookie of the Year, but make no mistake about it, both of these players had tremendous seasons and have very bright futures ahead of them.

And with their final selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Pats selected cornerback Ken Webster with the 252nd pick, and Ken Webster actually ended up playing for the Miami Dolphins this year. He did spend training camp with the Pats, but he was a roster casualty cut just before the season. He was signed by the Dolphins, played eight games for Miami, and actually started five of them. So even though Webster didn't quite catch on in New England, showing some prowess down in South Beach under Brian Flores, and Miami looks like they've picked up a pretty good depth corner as a result of that.

And even though they technically weren't drafted by the Patriots, a couple of notable rookie free agent signings. Jacoby Myers as a wide receiver came in. A lot of buzz surrounding Jacoby in training camp. It ended up earning him a roster spot. Again, this is a very complex and sometimes unforgiving offense for a young wide receiver. Myers showed flashes of being able to make some catches. However, there were some issues with drops and some incorrect route running. Myers will still be a member of this team in 2020. I look for him to work on that all through training camp and especially in the preseason. And last but certainly not least, it's hurt me that I could not mention this gentleman

more this season. The Patriots made that man a gunner. Gunnar Ryszewski was signed as a depth wide receiver and a punt returner. He didn't start any games for the Pats this year, but he did play in eight of them and he did show some prowess as a punt returner before being placed on injured reserve. Both Ryszewski and Myers made an impact on this team in 2019, and I think that'll continue in 2020. Not just about promise with these guys anymore, they have experience, and they'll put that to good use during minicamp, during training camp, and especially during the preseason

if they want to try to crack the 2020 roster for your New England Patriots. So there you have it, folks. It's almost time for us to hop into that time machine and head back to the present. But before we take our leave of the Patriots 2019 draft class, I still haven't given you my overall grade for this draft. Well, without further ado, folks, here it is. If I'm being honest, the 2019 NFL Draft for the New England Patriots is more about potential than it is about immediate impact. Jake Bailey and Chase Winovich made their presence felt right from the start. Their play in 2019 told me that they're quality NFL players,

and they will continue to be for quite some time. As for guys like Nikhil Harry and Juwan Williams, well, I don't believe either one of them are wasted picks. These guys are high-round talent, and I think they're going to round into that talent this season. To evaluate either one of them right now is simply not fair. We just haven't seen enough of them to be able to do that, in my opinion. Players like Damian Harris, Yanni Kajusti, Yelda Frohol, they will get their opportunity to show

what they can do in 2020. Or at least they should. If they get that opportunity, I think you'll see what the Patriots saw in these guys. And it could make for some interesting positional battles during training camp. Overall, the Patriots' 2019 draft class is still finding its way. But if we're grading on this, folks, we have to grade on production on the field and not on potential. Simply can't grade on potential when there's nothing to compare it with. Based on that, I give the Patriots' 2019 draft class a C+, based on what they did on the field. But you know what?

This might be a fun exercise to revisit in 2021, maybe a throwback Thursday to two years ago in the 2019 draft, and then we might just see exactly what the Patriots had when they made their selections between April 25th and April 27th of 2019. So our time machine has arrived at its destination, the temporal displacement has occurred, and you are now back on Thursday, February 6th, 2020. Yeah, I know I said earlier, folks, I wouldn't have the Back to the Future references. I can't help myself.

Really do love making those references, and I hope it doesn't annoy you too much. And if it didn't annoy you too much, please join me here tomorrow on Locked on Patriots, where we'll put a wrap on the first post-Super Bowl week here on Locked on Patriots. And folks, I might just have a special guest to help me tie it all together.

As always, please be sure to join me each and every day here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe and download via your preferred podcast provider. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank you so much for listening today and for taking a travel through time here on Throwback Thursday. But most of all, I thank you for staying locked in to Locked On Patriots. Have a great day, everyone.