Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Trade Value: New England Patriots’ Bold Moves In Latest Mock Draft!

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's our final mock draft of the season, and we get aggressive while making a surprise pick in the second round. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked-on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattels. On today's episode, find out which tight-end weapon we add to the 2026 offense. In the second segment, we make a controversial decision in our mock draft's second round. But first, we approach the first round differently than we have in any other mock draft that we've done. Now, for this mock draft, we moved away from pro football focus and we moved towards the mock draft database simulator so we can open up trades. And the final mock, we said, why not go five rounds instead of three rounds?

Starting point is 00:01:01 So we get to pick 31 in our final mock draft at the mock draft database simulator. And the available edge players are T.J. Parker, Zion Young and Malachi Lawrence. The available wide receivers, Chris Brazel and Chris Bell. How about offensive tackle? Max Ihenichore is available. The best player available on the board is T.J. Parker at 28th overall. So some good names there. T.J. Parker, Malachi Lawrence, Chris Brazel, Max I Hennachor, some really good names that I think a lot of Patriots fans would be happy with.

Starting point is 00:01:38 We also had not one, not two, not three, not four, but five. One, two, three, four, fifth trade offers came in for the 31st pick. The Chargers offered their second round pick at 55, third round pick at 86, a fourth and a sixth round pick in 2027. That's a good offer. Minnesota offered their 49th pick. Then they also offered 97 in the third round, a fifth round pick, and fifth and sixth round picks in 2027. Buffalo, division rival, called us, and they offered a third round pick at 91, two-fifths in a 2027 second round pick. Cleveland call.

Starting point is 00:02:18 They offered a fourth round pick at 107, and they offered three picks. They offered three picks in 2027, a second, a fourth, and a fifth. Finally, the New York Giants called, and they offered pick 37, and they also offered a fourth round pick in 2027. So I think there are multiple good offers on the table for us to make a decision here. But before we make any kind of decision on those trade offers, I wanted to pick up the phone, and I wanted to call the Arizona Cardinals. Ty Simpson had a workout last week with the Cardinals. the Cardinals are reportedly very interested in Ty Simpson.

Starting point is 00:02:58 So why not pick up the phone, call Arizona and say, hey, do you want to move up from 34 to 31 to get your guy? And not only to get your quarterback of the present and the future, but also trade into the first round so you can get that fifth year option on the contract, which is why a lot of teams love trading in late first. because if you can trade into the late first, you get that extra fifth year on that rookie contract. So we offered, we picked up the phone, we offered 31 to Arizona and Arizona accepted. Arizona in return for pick 31, gave us pick 34 and pick 104, which is a fourth round pick, which would give us three fourth round picks in this draft. So we say yes to that trade. We drop from 31 to 34.

Starting point is 00:03:57 At 34, here are the available players. At tackle, Maxi Hanna-Chore, at Edge, Zion Young, R. Mason Thomas, and Gabe Accus. At wide receiver, you still have Chris Brasel and Chris Bell sitting there for you. The best player available on the board, according to the mock draft database simulator, is Interior Defensive Lyman from Clemson, Peter Woods. he's ranked as the 29th player on the board. So those are the guys we're looking at. I Hanna Chor, Young, R. Mason Thomas, Gabe Accus, Bell, Brazel, and Peter Woods.

Starting point is 00:04:35 Now, I'm not too interested in the interior defensive lineman at this point. I could look at wide receiver, but I feel like you could still go out and get a pretty good wide receiver in the second round later on at 63. And at edge, I'm not necessarily in love with Zion Young. I wonder if R. Mason Thomas is too small. And I think drafting Gabe Accus at 34 might be a little bit of a reach. But really, I'm looking at tackle. I'm looking at tackle. I know that tackle falls off a cliff if we don't make this pick.

Starting point is 00:05:13 And so a guy that I think I would have likely picked at 31 is still sitting there at 34, and that is offensive tackle, Maxi Hennichore from Arizona State. And we've talked a lot about Hennichore and what he can bring, just tons of potential, great movement skill, good feet, a big human being. He has plenty of length. And I love the idea of dropping down three spots, picking up another fourth round pick, and landing the guy that we probably would have taken at 31. anyway. I mean, if this was the day of Bill Belichick, we'd be talking about incredible value, right?

Starting point is 00:05:56 Incredible value moving down the board, picking up another selection in the fourth round, while still getting the guy that you probably really wanted at 31 anyway. And we look at Morgan Moses and we say, hey, if Morgan Moses gets hurt, of course, he's 35 years old, we can easily slide Maxie hit a chore right into right tackle. Now, of course, he did not play football until junior college. So he's still raw. But if you look at some of the games that he played this past season, especially the game against Texas Tech, where you had, you know, two really good pass rushers against

Starting point is 00:06:34 Texas Tech. And Ahenichore held his own. He held his own against a David Bailey. So yes, he's still a little raw. He might not be as raw as some people paint him to be. And he is somebody that you can use in 2020. In case of an injury, you can use him as your sixth offensive lineman. And looking towards 2027, you have Will Campbell on the left side,

Starting point is 00:06:59 Maxi Hanna-Chore on the right side. You've got your two pillars on that offensive line, your two tackles for the next eight, nine, ten years. And if Elijah Verit Tucker can get through the season healthy, he is still pretty young. So you have him for a few years after 26. Jared Wilson, you would have him. sitting there for you for the next five, six, seven years at center.

Starting point is 00:07:26 And then you kind of look at Michael Wenow and you wonder, you know, when do you make that move? But I love it. I love moving down from 31 to 34, not a huge drop, obviously, getting that extra pick in the fourth round and landing a guy who is really a late first round talent that I very likely would have taken at 31. So so far, this mock draft is working out perfectly for yours truly. Absolutely perfect scenario. Moving down, gaining a pick, and still drafting a guy who can help you in 2026.

Starting point is 00:08:05 And if you hit on this pick, should help you into 2034, 2035, 2036. So that's the pick. Maxi hit a chore at the top of the second round at 34 overall. Coming up next, the decision we made. that changed the entire nature of this final mock draft. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. Matt Derry here from the Lockdown Lions podcast.

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Starting point is 00:10:33 This is a job for Indeed, sponsored jobs. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Speaking of, don't forget to check out the Everydayer Club for ad-free episodes and access to a group chat with other listeners of this show. tap the link in the show notes to find out more. We're going to lockdown patriots.com. And don't forget, if you're watching us on YouTube to like, comment, and subscribe, clicking that thumbs up, helps us with the algorithm as we continue to build out this community. And don't forget to throw a comment and your thoughts on how we handled the first round in our final mock draft, which of course eventually led us to the second round for our first pick. I want your thoughts.

Starting point is 00:11:14 Don't forget to comment. And don't forget to subscribe. The next goal, 10,000. subscribers. All right. So now that we've made that deal, and we have drafted Maxi Hanna Chor, we move on. We move on to our next three picks. And our next three picks are 63, the end of round two, 95, the end of round three, and 104, somewhat early in the fourth round. And again, now we have three. We have three fourth round picks.

Starting point is 00:11:48 So when I'm sitting there and I'm thinking about how this is going to unfold, I want to move up. I want to move up. I've got that extra asset that I gained from the Arizona trade. I've got pick 104 sitting there in my back pocket knowing I still have two fourth round picks. So I pick up the phone again and I'm going to get aggressive. I call the Carolina Panthers.

Starting point is 00:12:13 And what I do is I offer Carolina my 63rd pick in this draft, so a second round pick. And I offer that fourth round pick that I acquired from Arizona, 104. I offer those two picks to Carolina to move up 12 spots in the second round, from 63 to 51. Carolina accepts. They accept the deal. So now we jump. We jump from 63rd in the second round to 50 first. And after making that trade, here's who's available to us, given the position.

Starting point is 00:12:52 Tight end. Eli Stowers, somebody who continues to be linked with the Patriots. Max Claire is also there. And Oscar Delp. So Oscar Delp, we picked in our first mock draft. Max Claire, we picked in our prior mock draft. And Eli Stowers is somebody that, again, we've had a conversation about given the interest the Patriots have shown.

Starting point is 00:13:15 So Stowers from Vanderbilt, Claire from Ohio State, dealt from Georgia. How about Edge? Looking at Edge, deny Dennis Sutton, who is somebody that we have talked about and who we have also drafted in our mock draft before this last one. Ramello Height, who is somebody who's been linked with the Patriots, is also available at 51 at Edge. Interior Offensive Line. We discussed offensive guard and the Patriots, you know, talking to a number of the top guard prospects in this drafts.

Starting point is 00:13:48 Interior offensive line, you've got Chase Basantis and Emmanuel Pregnone, who are both available at pick number 51. Wide receiver, Zachariah Branch and wide receiver, Elijah Surratt, are both available at 51. And then you get to linebacker. And linebacker, you've got Jacob Rodriguez from Texas Tech and Anthony Hill Jr. from Texas. Now, wide receiver to me, not very enticing. I don't really feel the need to draft either Zachariah Branch or Elijah Surrap at 51. It's just not enticing.

Starting point is 00:14:26 Edge. I like Deni Dennis Sutton, but I feel like he's a reach at 51. I mean, when you look at the mock draft database simulator, it shows us that denied Dennis Sutton is somewhere around 70th overall. So drafting him at roughly 50, that's a 20 spot reach. So I think drafting denied Dennis Sutton early in the second round, or at least somewhere early to mid second round, is a bit of a reach. Ramello height is an even bigger reach than Deny Dennis Sutton. So I'm actually going to not draft an edge here. And we'll stick a pin in that decision.

Starting point is 00:15:07 Interior offensive line, I've said this for a while. I think you can wait on a guard. I think you can wait. I think there will be options for you in the third round, fourth round, fifth round, maybe even the sixth round. So I'm not going to show urgency at the interior offensive line here. So inevitably, my decision came down to tight end versus linebacker. and I think both positions have day three depth.

Starting point is 00:15:33 So if you don't use a pick here on one of those positions, I think you can find somebody who can have some impact for you at that position later on in this draft. And I've told all of you about loving Jacob Rodriguez. He's one of my favorite players in this draft. But yet, Tiden is more of a need than linebacker to me. But we're going to. we're going to take a swing. We're going to take a swing, hoping that a tight end falls to me later in this draft, hoping that an edge falls to me in the third round. And I am going to take

Starting point is 00:16:11 Jacob Rodriguez linebacker, Texas Tech at 51. He is a good to very good athlete. He is incredibly smart football intelligence. He is wickedly instinctive, which I think this defense needs, especially at the second level, a little bit of an upgrade there, beyond Spillane. I like Robert Spillane, Christian Ellis, I think you can upgrade.

Starting point is 00:16:35 And don't forget, Jacob Rodriguez is a big time playmaker. I mean, this guy creates fumbles. He gets interceptions. He is a headache for any offense, and he is a perfect culture fit. So I take a little bit of a swing, hoping that the depth at tight end

Starting point is 00:16:52 and the depth at edge will give me options later in this draft. And I picked the guy that I love and who I would consider one of, if not the best player available sitting there at 51. So so far, Maxi Henachor early second round at pick 34 after the trade with Arizona. I backed that up by moving up using the pick that Arizona sent to us number 104. I move up to 51 with a deal with Carolina and I draft Jacob Rodriguez. Now, the last pick of day two is pick number 95. And we start to look.

Starting point is 00:17:30 And what we realize is we've got some problems, folks. There was a huge run at Edge and there was a huge run at tight end. So, tight ends, Justin Jolie, Michael Trigg, too early for those guys. Edge. Anthony Lucas and Caden Curry. I feel like it's a little bit of a reach for those two guys, if not a big reach. Anthony Lucas, for example, the mock draft database simulator has him ranked at like 125th overall. Can't take him at 95.

Starting point is 00:18:07 That's a 30-pick reach. I'm not going to go desperation here. So unfortunately, my swing at Jacob Rodriguez hoping that there was going to be, you know, players that fell, especially at edge, it did not work out for me. Deny Dennis Sutton is gone. Kieran Crawford is gone. Ramello Hyte is gone. Derek Moore is gone.

Starting point is 00:18:32 A bunch of dudes went. So now it is what it is, as they say. I'm looking at wide receiver, Ted Hurst, wide receiver, Skyler Bell. Those guys interest me. Interior Offensive line, Logan Jones, Jalen Farmer, not really in love with those options. Of course, I'm looking at wide receiver. I'm wondering, you know, how far along. are we in these AJ Brown conversations? Is it likely? Is it not likely? Ted Hurst is an outside guy.

Starting point is 00:19:00 Does that impact my decision here? And do I go with Skylar Bell? I don't. I actually draft Ted Hurst. And the reason why I draft Ted Hurst here is I think he's mostly going to go through a developmental year, year one in 2026. And even if you acquire AJ Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles, he's going to give you two or three years of production. You're still going to going to need eventually that bigger bodied X with the catch radius that can do some things on the boundary. And when you're looking at the rest of the wide receiver position, you've got a number of free agents after 2026.

Starting point is 00:19:38 So I'm looking at this and I'm saying to myself, I'm going to draft. I'm going to draft Ted Hurst. And I'm going to say that by 2027, he's going to be an upgrade over multiple guys I have in that room. and my future at wide receiver is going to be AJ Brown, Romeo Dobbs, Kyle Williams, Ted Hurst, and whoever else survives the rest of that battle in that room.

Starting point is 00:20:03 So I actually pull the trigger on a wide receiver and I go with Ted Hurst. So in the second round, I draft Maxi Hennichore. I draft Jacob Rodriguez. Then in the third round, I stick and pick at 95 and I draft wide receiver Ted Hurst. It's coming up. We give Drake May another weapon and finally address Edge.

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Starting point is 00:22:04 So I'm sitting at 125, our first pick in the fourth round. Anthony Lucas is still available at Edge from USC. So good thing I did not draft him at 95 because he's still sitting there at 125. and then you have Max Llewellyn from Iowa. So those are the two best edges available on the board. Tight end, you've got Michael Trigg and Eli Rerden. Interior Offensive Line. Jalen Farmer and Jake Slaughter.

Starting point is 00:22:35 Jake Slaughtermore, a center. So nothing much there that would make me jump up and down. Safety, you have a couple of interesting prospects, Genesis Smith and VJ Payne, the best player available, according to the mock draft database, is Genesis Smith, who has trouble tackling guys, a little concerned about that. It feels like, to me, when I'm looking at this, and I know I'm picking at 131, so I'm sitting at 125, I know I've got to wait another handful of picks.

Starting point is 00:23:06 It feels like to me that the edges are going to be there at 131 if I pass on them at 125. I'm going to get one of those two guys. So because of that, I'm looking back at tight end and I am drafting my guy. One of my favorites in this draft, we talked about him weeks ago. I'm drafting tight end Eli Raritan from Notre Dame. 6-6-250 pounds. His unofficial relative athletic score is a 9.81, which puts him 27th out of 1,356 tight ends since 1987 who have qualified for an RAS score.

Starting point is 00:23:52 So the relative athletic score, again, unofficial 9.81 super athlete. He's had a couple of ACLs, as we've talked about, going back a couple of years ago. He has fully healed from those. He has tested tremendously. I think you can attack defenses with Eli Raarden right out of the gates. you can attack them down the seam. He's really good at back shoulder throws and some contested catches. I think he's an improving blocker, as we've discussed.

Starting point is 00:24:22 So I think there's some potential there for him to be a three-down tight end eventually. He might not be that guy, the first half of his first season, maybe even the entire rookie season. But I do feel, I do feel like he will get better at blocking. So Eli Rairdon is the pick at number 125. We move on. Pick number 131, and I guessed right. One of those two edges was sitting there for me to take at 131,

Starting point is 00:24:49 and I took that swing. Edge Max Llewellyn from Iowa, 6-5-260, 32-5-inch arms. You know, and when you look at Max Llewellyn, again, we all have to realize here that when you're drafting in the fourth round, there are going to be inevitably, there are going to be some questions about guys that you pick. I mean, shoot, there are going to be questions that exist for guys you pick, probably in the first round of this draft,

Starting point is 00:25:21 let alone the fourth round of this draft. So Dane Bruegler of the Athletic, he listed the strengths of Max Llewellyn, quick off the ball to disrupt set points of offensive tackles. He's skilled at using stab or long arm moves to attack. He uses Euro steps to set up cross chops or violent rips. So he's got a number of moves. that he can use to get to the quarterback, very physical, always in pursuit mode,

Starting point is 00:25:45 be it chasing the ball or finding throwing lanes, whether in practice or a game, motor stays cranked whenever he is on the field. And coaches say he works overtime with his training, an NFL scout said, quote, solid character, unquote. So he checks the off-the-field boxes. He has a number of pass-rush moves, which is something Elliot Wolf has brought up. He is quick off the ball, which is something else that Elliot Wolf has talked about. Pursuit mode. Again, that tells me effort and finish type of guy. As far as weaknesses, Dane Bruegler writes that Max Llewellyn is stiff, struggles to flip his hips when turning the corner so he doesn't have that bend we always talk about. Pad level gets upright almost immediately post-snap, which is not great. Likes to go to his spin move, but it becomes predictable. He is a below-average run defender. There are a lot of guys in this draft who are below-average run defenders. Alarming number of missed and almost tackles.

Starting point is 00:26:40 on tape. So some of that stuff I think you can coach up. Granted, I'm not in love with this pick, but you need an edge. You need an edge. This is the best guy that's on the board. You know, again, 6-5-260, 32-5-inch arms. He does check a couple of boxes. And the way I will look at this if I'm the Patriots, you know, you bring Max Llewellyn into camp and you say to him, you know, he's going to battle Brayden Swenson. He battles Brayden Swinson for a row. roster spot. Let those two guys go after it. And because I took that gamble on Jacob Rodriguez in the second round and the edge board did not fall our way, you bet I'm going to go out into

Starting point is 00:27:23 free agency when this draft is over and I'm going to call some veteran defensive ends to see if I can get an edge, see if I can find somebody who can come on in. For example, a Cameron Jordan. I'm going to make some phone calls because I don't feel great about waiting until, you know, pick 131 in the fourth round to draft an edge. It's how things fell. It's how things fell, right? Gambled with Rodriguez, thinking an edge would be there at number 95.

Starting point is 00:27:52 I was eyeing Keron Crawford. I was eyeing a couple of other guys. It didn't happen. There was a big run at defensive end at edge. And because of that, we missed out. And this shows you the danger of the draft. This shows you the difficulty of the draft. an exact science. You take a swing in the second round and you're hoping that the board falls

Starting point is 00:28:15 your way. It doesn't fall your way. So you've got to do something else. So Max Llewellyn will battle Brayden Swinson for a roster spot. It's not ideal coming out of the draft with, you know, a fourth round pick being your top pick at edge. But it is what it is. My final pick, 171, offensive guard, Jeremiah Wright from Auburn. Somebody we've talked about, we've discussed in a prior podcast, a Mike Owenu type. And I think he'd be a really good fit to replace Mike Owenu eventually because you're drafting him at 171. It doesn't mean you have to move on from a WENU.

Starting point is 00:28:53 You can keep a WENU through 2026. Then he walks into unrestricted free agency. And hopefully, Jeremiah Wright is ready to step right into that spot. So, you know, overall, again, we discussed the edge thing. But overall, I can't complain a ton of. about this draft because I feel like we got a lot of talent. You know, Maxi Hennichore, I think is your future right tackle. Jacob Rodriguez, I think, could be a stud for you at the second level.

Starting point is 00:29:20 Ted Hurst is an investment at wide receiver long term because you got some guys coming up after this year. And even if you trade for AJ Brown, as we all know, he ain't young. You bring in a nice young tight end that I think is going to be impactful in Eli Rairden. You get your edge at Max Llewellyn. and then you draft a Jeremiah Wright in the fifth round as your interior offensive line get

Starting point is 00:29:43 and you could continue to look at interior offensive line with those four sixth round picks. So again, the gamble with Rodriguez, I love the player, didn't work out for us at edge because of that. And that's an issue, but you did get some talent. And you filled a number of roles on this team,

Starting point is 00:30:02 not only for 2026, but also looking forward. That wraps up this edition of, Locked-on Patriots, thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel, hit that like button and subscribe. If you never miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get Lockdown Patriots, ad-free, plus members-only discord access and more.

Starting point is 00:30:25 Head to Lockdownpatriots.com or check the link in the show notes to learn more. Have a great day, and we will see you next time.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Trade Value: New England Patriots’ Bold Moves In Latest Mock Draft!

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