Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Trader Bill, Defensive Priorities and Draft Diamonds in the Rough for the New England Patriots — 4/20/22

Episode Date: April 21, 2022

The 2022 NFL Draft is just over a week away, and the New England Patriots are beginning their final approach in their plans for next weekend. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper of PatsPropaganda,.com. The dynamic duo discuss whether Bill Belichick and the Patriots trade out of the first round of the upcoming draft. They also provide their thoughts on the bigger draft priority — Linebacker or Cornerback? Lastly, Clare offers her list of ‘Draft Diamonds in the Rough.’Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport 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.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Shady RaysEXCLUSIVELY FOR OUR LISTENERS, HEAD TO SHADYRAYS.COM AND USE CODE LOCKEDON TO GET FIFTY PERCENT OFF TWO OR MORE PAIRS OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES.Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK. Blue NileThis Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, you've heard of Trader Joe's. Well, what about Trader Bill? Will Bill Belichick trade down and out of the first round in the 2022 NFL draft? And who do we have on the list of the Countess' Diamonds in the Rough? Unlike debate, stay put. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. Our 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, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is free and available on all platforms, including YouTube, which you may or may not be listening or viewing this podcast right now. I am your host, Mike DeBate. I cover you in Wingman Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Feel free to reach out to me and follow me on Twitter at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some Twitter love to that Twitterverse, please be sure Feel free to reach out to me and follow me on Twitter at MDABATENFL.

While you're out there showing some Twitter love to that Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. And, of course, today's episode of Locked On Patriots, proudly brought to you by the folks over at BlueNile.com. Folks, this Mother's Day, give mom something she'll treasure forever with fine jewelry from BlueNile.com. And Locked On Sports listeners get $50 off $500. Use promo code LOCKEDON at checkout. Pats fans, it is just over a week away, and I mean just over a week away,

until the 2022 NFL Draft commences in Las Vegas, Nevada. A lot to talk about when it comes to the draft. Patriots strategy, what they may do, what is going to be the priority for the New England Patriots? That's the question right now. And here today to help provide the answer is our resident lady of Locked On. It's Wednesday, so you know it's time for a visit from the Queen of TE, the Baroness of Blockers, the Principal of Positivity, the Countess of Clas herself, the illustrious Claire Clasie Claire Cooper. Claire, thank you for joining me today from across the pond.

Welcome back to your regular seat on Wednesdays here on Lockdown Patriots. Oh, well, as always, how can I be anywhere else on a Wednesday? And I do have to point out, Mike, you missed one. I'm afraid you missed one. I did. You missed Empress of Tight Endage. I did the Empress of Tight Endage. And to think, I'm the one that coined that phrase,

and I missed that one. I know. The old man's getting old, Claire. It's just, it's difficult. No, I'm kidding. It's sleep deprivation. It's draft season. All of just, it's difficult. No, I'm kidding. You know, it's sleep deprivation. It's draft season. All of that coming to a head.

But see, this is why the lady of lockdown is here. She definitely keeps me awake. She definitely keeps me coherent. And she gives you someone, you know, worthwhile to listen to. So that way you don't have to listen to me drone on and mix up words for the next half hour. No, all kidding aside, folks. Claire is here because of the wisdom and the counsel that only she can bring. And Claire, we've got a lot of wisdom and counsel to extract from you today.

The draft is just over a week away, a week and a day, I guess you might as well say, from the commencement of the 2022 NFL draft. A lot of people were speculating about what the Patriots may do. And originally, everyone thought, oh, this is going to be the year. They're definitely taking a wide out in the first round. There's a lot of talent there. There's so many players that would fit well into the offensive system. Mack Jones needs his weapon. These are all the arguments that we've heard. But as cooler heads prevail, and as we've gone through the draft process, a lot of scouting,

a lot of mock drafting going on. People are starting to come around to the fact that defense is something that's important. Offensive line is important. There's a lot of different holes on this team that need to be filled. And really, Bill Belichick could not make a bad decision by going with any of those needs at the number 21 position the one thing that will probably upset some fans um not the not the the diehards that really i think understand bill's strategy but something that will upset the twitterati out there on next thursday night is if roger goodell comes to the podium and says we have a trade the new england patriots have traded with team x and they will no longer have

a first round pick you can already hear the collective groan coming from the fan base in your infinite wisdom and counsel and I say that truthfully and I say that with every bit of reverence countess you do see things that us mere mortals do not see so when you look at Bill Belichick's strategy in this draft i know a lot of people make a lot about his history i'm not too big on that i don't think bill belichick pulls upon the history uh you know lessons that he has and says well i didn't trade down this this and this year it's an even year yeah that we're going to do that he's going to make the best decision he feels in the moment do you think that there's enough talent in

this draft to warrant his trading out of the first round or do you think that trading out of the first round is a bad move what are your thoughts on this not really worrying about what Bill is going to do what are your thoughts on this in terms of how Bill Belichick is going to approach the first round of the draft well this is kind of the million dollar question this year isn't it it's been mentioned recently how the Patriots always trade down but Tom Curran had wrote about how Belichick has traded out the first round four times in his tenure in 2000 Robert Kraft gave up his first round pick to acquire Belichick and then in 2016 it, it was the whole, you know, they were stripped of their draft choice for the whole deflate gay scandal,

that kind of thing. So it isn't actually as common as perhaps people perceive it to be that they have traded out. The other point I have heard recently, and I'm pretty sure it was Mike Giardi that mentioned this, is how this year's draft is quite lower round talent heavy and so finding a willing participant participant to drag to trade out with is not really going to be quite the same as usual and then you need to compound that with the fact that there's a weakness in the quarterback class

this year which is often sort of the driving force for the crazy trades and you know you've got teams wanting to stick where they are with the picks that they've got kind of in the first round. So maybe this is the year. Just bear with me on this one. But maybe this is the year. This is the year that Bill Belichick trades his late round picks to get three picks in the first round where he gets a what top wide receiver a top linebacker

and a corner can you imagine how utterly crazy pats nation would be how much they would lose their minds in a good way if he did that i mean i'd love to see it just obviously just for the whole the sheer craziness of it to quote bill murray from ghostbusters dogs and cats living together mass hysteria there you go that's it now i have i have no insider knowledge this was just a random thing that i was kind of throwing out there spitballing it's it's silly really the chances of him doing that obviously quite ridiculous but you know i mean we'd love to see it obviously there are some great top players that I want the Patriots to get. And unless you're like Kansas city with a zillion peaks,

we can't kind of have all the shiny new toys that we want to have. And I mean, no one knows what they're really going to do. And it's probably not unfair to say that the Patriots don't know what they're going to do. Now I'm sure that they have, you know, various plans,

but until the other teams make their selections you can't know kind of who is available to pick up i mean the war room big board is probably awash with kind of plans a to z that you sort of if the top round guy goes then you know then they know where they're going to move next like flow charts that kind of thing but as i said this year may be a lower round pick quality year and you can only trade if someone wants to trade so if bill even if bill is sitting in his office right now thinking how he's going to trade out of the first round he still doesn't know that he actually can unless he's already got a team ready to trade with and i mean to be fair he might have how would we even

know about that but those sorts of things seem highly unlikely at this stage so I mean in all fairness I'm hoping I think I'm hoping at this point that Bill just sticks at 21 and he just gets a top quality player at 21 I mean who what who knows I know there's a huge call for cornerback and you know I've been on that bandwagon as well there's some really good talent in this draft and it just really is going to be subjective as to who drops it could be that the guy that you thought was going to go at five or something you know that the top quarterback that you thought was going to go at five they're sitting there and the Patriots are ready to to be called up you know round 20

pick 20 is being done and that guy's still there and it's like you can't plan for that there's so many variables there's 32 of the teams kind of thing that kind of thing and well there's 20 obviously because there's 20 more picks but you you see my point so right now being able to sort of say what we kind of predict they do that's impossible what you you think they might do fair enough everybody's got their opinion i quite like the whole bill's gonna get loads of early round picks and trade up and get loads of like top players and the whole world might just cave in in all fairness um but still i mean, I'm just hoping that they kind of stick at 21 and get themselves a top-round player.

And I think if he does that, the chaos and the mania will mostly subside, unless at 21 he takes himself a kicker or the punter. A riser. His name, a risza, thank you. Yeah, then we'll have the hysteria of he took something. But as long as he takes kind of like somebody that they're looking to have, and in all fairness, the holes are quite numerous when it comes to the sort of roster and the needs. So I think as long as he picks at 21, I think we'll all be okay.

But you know what? Nobody knows. Nobody does know. And the one thing I will say is I definitely, I praise you for your positivity, Countess, because to think that the hysteria in New England will dissipate at all, regardless of what Bill Belichick does, unless he pulls off a trade to bring tom brady back from tampa bay and uh you know and i mean there will even be people that will criticize that believe me uh there is no there is going to be no shortage of hysteria with what bill belichick does look

the moves are going to be scrutinized he's going to be put under a microscope it's either going to be damn the torpedoes full speed ahead bill we trust that's it or it's going to be the old man is wrong he's lost his mind you know it's just kind of going to be the way that things go that's the natural ebb and flow of patriots nation and really i mean there's nothing you can do to combat it every fan has the right to their opinion and the right to cheer or boo or feel good about or bad about any of the moves when it comes to what we do for a living and trying to analyze what Bill Belichick will do and what he should do,

I think you hit the nail right on the head. And I think Mike made a great point on One Patriot's Place when you guys spoke with him. And even when you've spoken with him in the past on a Claire perspective, it's been such a journey through this draft class to determine that there's a lot of bottom heavy talent at this class so naturally like you said you made a great point it's going to be very

difficult to find that trade-up partner unless you're dealing with a team that doesn't have a first round pick that desperately wants to get into the first round to fill a big position of need then you may see someone try to bite and if the Patriots feel that it's to their advantage and they can get the players they need in the second third fourth rounds they may entertain the idea i mean it's definitely not out of the realm of possibility but at the same time you have to be willing to go that extra mile and the fact that this isn't a quarterback heavy draft and you're not going to see the quarterbacks taking up four or five selections like you did last year where the Patriots waited and got the quarterback they wanted all along at 15 and didn't have to move up

I think somebody predicted that last year I can't remember where that but no that's it's not important right now um but uh in any in any case I see look I had to make her laugh on that one it was a bad joke and she saved saved it. Once again, thank you. I appreciate that. But I digress, folks. The Patriots do have significant needs at a lot of different positions, two of them Claire just mentioned, the cornerback position and the linebacker position.

Well, if offense gets the headlines, defense is what wins championships. And if the Patriots do decide to address one of those positions early on in the draft which one is the better one or the more poignant one to be able to select the countess of class and i herself will discuss that in just a moment but first as the countess of class you can see she likes the finer things in life as she should she is the countess of class herself you have to do that well i have a special treat for you claire and all of our great She likes the finer things in life, as she should. She is the Countess of Clas herself. You have to do that. Well, I have a special treat for you, Claire, and all of our great listeners out there, because our friends at BlueNile.com understand the importance of living life's special moments

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Patriots fans, the illustrious countess of class, the empress of tight endage. I had to emphasize that one because I missed it the last time. All kidding aside, my good friend and analyst extraordinaire from PatsPropaganda.com, the host of a Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast. Claire Classey, Claire Cooper joins me as she does every Wednesday here on Lockdown Patriots. Claire, we talked a little bit about Trader Bill and what he's going to do and whether

a trade would be pertinent for the New England Patriots going into the 2022 NFL Draft. But you and I both know that a trade only accomplishes so much unless you address the needs on your team and if I'm ranking the needs right now on the Patriots I'm probably going offensive line first believe it or not they have two big gaps right now at the guard position you have to think they're going to probably use a veteran to fill one of them but at the same time you know you're going to look at all of your options and i think they will address the position through the draft i think the patriots needs are greater on defense than they are on offense right now and for everyone screaming about wide receivers i get it

it's a need the patriots will address it davante parker's acquisition i think did make it a little less likely that the Patriots are going to go wide receiver very early in the draft. Claire, we talked about this last week here on Locked On Patriots, gave some phenomenal insight. But now I'm going to pick your brain on the defensive side of the ball, because we all know, like I said, leading into the break, offense gets the headlines, but defense is what wins championships. And Patriots looked a little long in the tooth last year they looked a little slow at the linebacker position and I think in a lot of ways this is a draft that

allows them to address that at the same time JC Jackson walks out the door you don't have that big time shutdown corner that you've had really since Stephon Gilmore came in even before that Darrell Rivas was here I mean this is a defense that's always proud itself on being the one to employ a big-time cornerback, at least for the majority of the tenure of Bill Belichick's time here. If the Patriots are to address the defense this year prominently in the draft, cornerback and linebacker are probably your two biggest needs. What would you say is the more important? Which one do you think that the Patriots would be better off addressing in this draft coming up well this is another hot topic isn't it as we mentioned like previously the whole trading

down thing is a hot topic now but the whole cornerback versus linebacker need is definitely kind of hot potato at the moment I mean they need to get younger and they need to get quicker. And I'm totally on board with that. I try and be as logical as I can, but I still have a very kind of head-heart argument going on right now about this. Because I think overall that the Patriots need a cornerback that little bit more.

And I will explain why in a minute. But I am still torn because I've seen some fabulous linebackers at the combine and stuff and there's a couple that i really really kind of want so i'm mesmerized by the kind of linebacker selection the way that a kid looks at the candy display but knows that she really needs to go over and buy that pie for her family i kind of want the candy but the family need the pie so you know the team need the pies i get the pie so do explain the cornerback room seems a little that luster at the moment and we sort of know mostly of what the

patriots have when it comes to kind of that situation you've got like mills williams jones these are guys that we've seen play there is the unknown in malcolm coming back. And can he be what he used to be? That sort of thing. So again, you're not really looking at a list of maybe heavy talent, shall we say. But you've got McGrone, McMillan, Perkins. There's three linebackers that you haven't and didn't see much of from last year.

So you've already got three unknowns on a list for linebacker. Now there's a chance that all three of those suck completely, and that the depth at linebacker just gets weaker and weaker and weaker each time you see them play. And that's, you know, that's fair enough. We don't know that at the moment. You'd assume that they wouldn't completely suck because they're sort of still on the team.

The team obviously have seen more than what we've seen. But I mean, but I mean like I mentioned I am all for the Patriots getting a linebacker in this draft but if it was a shootout choice between linebacker and cornerback I think for 2022 the Patriots could do with addressing their cornerback needs and secure one for the future and seeing what they can get out of their linebacker depth and maybe 2023 the year to sort of address the linebacker situation to get something going forward i mean this is my kind of rather indecisive opinion and i'm not saying that that the patriots shouldn't get a linebacker

at all as i said previously there is a few that i really really like and i'm not used to liking linebackers in all fairness it's all very new for me but the bottom line is if if i really have to choose if you're saying to me you you've got one selection you know completely forget everything else in regard to the draft you've got one selection here claire you can have one pick i think i would have to choose that kind of sort of cornerback me at bay because i think that's what they need for the here and now I think they can work with what they've got at linebacker. You'd be missing out on some significant talent and I appreciate that, but there's a lot of holes that the Patriots have got to plug.

And as I said, if you're giving me one choice, I'm going cornerback baby. Yeah. I definitely see the argument without any question about it. And look, there is a rich amount of talent at cornerback baby yeah I definitely see the argument without any question about it and look there is a rich amount of talent at cornerback and any of the guys that they might have a shot at at 21 assuming they hold on to that pick I don't think you're going to go wrong with a whole lot of them obviously sauce gardener is going to go early on you're not going to have him available he's not going to last past the top 10 there are rumors that he may not last past the top five and it wouldn't surprise me to see that happen but you start to look at the other corners in this class guys that are consistently being mocked to the patriots andrew booth um you look at kair elam out of florida you look at trent mcduffie who came in all these guys have either met with

the patriots or they're players that really fit well into their system. The more I watch Booth, the more I watch McDuffie, I really like these guys. I was very high on Elam right from the get-go. I thought he provided that type of alpha mentality that you need to succeed at the position here in New England. But when you look at the versatility, especially of guys like McDuffie and really Andrew Booth, who's my favorite guy in this class at the cornerback position or the Pats, I think there's a chance that at least one of those guys is

there at 21. And I don't think you can make a wrong choice there. So if the Patriots do go with a corner, there's a lot of argument that can be made that they've made the right choice. Here's why I'm still intrigued by linebacker. And the reason why I think I'm intrigued by linebacker is because two options in the middle of that defense can really help to transform the way the Patriots move forward, especially if you're going to move your defensive strategy toward a more robust defense against speedy

offenses and trying to contain speedy quarterbacks. Two guys. I absolutely love one of them. No secret. I mocked him to the Patriots here on the ultimate mock draft on the, the locked on podcast network is Nikobe Dean linebacker out of Georgia. And I've talked about Nikobe several times.

He just has that sideline, the spine sideline ability to be able to get wherever he needs to be on the field but also his ability to stop the run is tremendous but a guy that i'm coming uh very close to saying really kind of choice one and one a would be devin lloyd out of utah i had a chance to really watch a great deal more film on devin uh you know over the course of the last couple of days working on some mock drafts for Sports Illustrated, it really gives you that option to see what this kid can do. And he actually plays with a little bit more of a downhill bumper type style, very similar to what Dante Hightower used to play at and the type of process that he gives. That leadership in the

middle of that defense is really, really strong. So I love the argument about the cornerback. I definitely definitely don't disagree with you but there is an argument to be made for linebacker as well and honestly i know it's going to sound like a cop-out folks but you know what i think claire and i are probably in agreement patriots really can't make a bad decision here they've got holes that need to be made they that need to be filled uh the moves that need to be made on both ends and if they can do that or come away with one of these guys, I think they're doing something special. So my pension is to go for linebacker, but I'm actually going to agree with you, Claire. I think if they do make the move, I think the Patriots make the move for the cornerback

simply for the reasons that you've made. They've got McGrone, they've got McMillan, they've got Perkins that they haven't really tried out. And even though Perkins is more of an outside guy, or at least they're trying to convert him to that, who knows? Maybe Cam McGrone, maybe Raekwon McMillan can help give this team that spark that they've been looking for. Don't forget Mack Wilson.

They traded for him too. Speedy linebacker, a little bit undersized. But I think he can thrive in this system as well, based on the type of game that he likes to play. That's the thing, there's just depth at linebacker. Sorry, there's just that little bit of extra depth at linebacker that they don't have at cornerback, which is what's swaying me.

When you're talking about the linebackers though, I really like Chad Moomer. So it's really difficult for me to say that they should go cornerback because I'm so kind of like you said go either way so if they went I don't think I'd be upset if they went linebacker I just think when you look at what they've got right now and what's on offer and how the sort of the projected draft is going that kind of thing how you know how they may drop that sort of thing it just seems that little bit that cornerback the

need the sort of the reasoning for cornerback just edges out linebacker just for me just in my opinion as a whole oh absolutely and i again i definitely don't disagree with the argument i think it really is a lot of times a matter of a preference and i happen to agree with you i think the patriots will agree with you more than they agree with me in this situation. And you know what, folks? At the end of the day, that's probably a good thing. See, the wisdom and counsel that Claire provides always brings us back to a level headed place here on Locked On Patriots.

But we're not quite done absorbing that wisdom and counsel just yet because coming up, Claire is going to reveal her list of diamonds in the rough. That's right. The Countess of Clas has a list of diamonds in the rough that's right the Countess of Clas has a list of diamonds in the rough how perfect is that you can see it on a t-shirt bottom line folks we're going to talk about some hidden gems in this draft that Claire has her sharp eye on and maybe the rest of

us should too and we'll talk about that in just a moment but first it is that time of year where everybody's trying to get things in shape whether whether it's your home, whether it's your automobile, whether it's yourself. You want to be sure to have the energy that you need to enjoy the weather and also to get yourself in shape for the upcoming spring and summer months. To do so, you want a sweet treat that's going to provide you with a lot of the protein that you need, but none of the excess calories and sugar well the best thing that i can offer to you is the product that's put out by our good friends at built.com built bar is truly one of the best products out there folks when it comes to getting a little bit of that edge when it comes to protein but also not sacrificing the great taste of your favorite candy bar built bar does it and they do it even better.

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Mint brownie, cookies and cream, raspberry, chocolate, everything you can possibly imagine. They've got it and then some. So don't delay. Do it today. Visit Bilt.com and enter the promo code LOCK15 for 15% off your next order. Once again, folks, for the great sweet treat that has all the protein that you need but none of the excess calories and sugar, visit Bilt.com today. Enter the promo code LOCK15 for 15% off your next order at Bilt.com. Patriots fans, the Countess of Clas herself has livened up the studios today, brought an incredible amount of Clas and panache to this podcast, which is not easy to do, folks.

But she does it, and virtue always lies in the middle. We love having Claire here on a Wednesday because it evens out the show like you can't imagine. Claire, it's always, always an honor to join you on the microphone, and today it's been no different. We've talked about Bill Belichick and the chance of trading out of the first round. We've talked defense. We've talked the cornerback position, the linebacker position, what the Patriots may do here in the upcoming draft, but you always keep your sharp eye out for the unusual, and I say that in a good way. I don't say that in a bad way. But you're looking for things that the average fan may not have their sharp eye on when it

comes to the Patriots' interest in this draft. We've talked about some of your tight endage prospects, where no one else is really talking about tight endage to the Patriots. But you've done a great job of explaining why they'd be smart to look at some of these guys. I know you have a list of under-the-radar players that may not be getting the national attention that they deserve, but really they should be. We're calling it the Countess of Clazz's Diamonds in the Rough, folks. Claire, I won't take any more of your time and step on any more of your toes than I already have.

In terms of this list that I'm speaking of, who do you have your eye on in this draft as potential draft steals or potential draft... I guess the best way for me to put it is potential good draftees for the New England Patriots in this upcoming draft. Sorry for fumbling that. Well, because my access to the college guys is a little

limited I don't think that there's many players this year that I've had the skinny on that's like a plus for the Patriots the guys that I've seen and that I really like are mostly names that others are talking about and some of that is because the Patriots have got so many holes to fill on the team there's just so many positions to look at at the moment that there's kind of always a guy there somewhere that somebody's going to like and somebody's going to talk about because they've got so many holes to fill I mean even the 21 year old special team superstar out of San Diego State Matt Ariza that we mentioned before you know he's kind of getting some some love as it is and you know the the diversity kind of thing and he's just a punter but i mean no disrespect to punters i love me a bit of jake bailey you know but this year feels so diverse

um maybe because particularly because it's not a quarterback heavy year as well as we mentioned before you know that's going to be significant so some of my picks are kind of low around guys in some areas i mean i like the mcdiffies and the gardeners at cornerback that kind of thing but there's a kid out of cincinnati that is projected more kind of in the 140s range so he's like a fourth-ish round and that's kobe bryant i mean linebackers again it's more top guys that have caught my eye the troy anderson and chad moomer as i mentioned before but i found that malcolm rodriguez out of oklahoma state quite interesting now he's a little bit undersized because he's 5 11 but he

has a great football iq and he wrestles which i think gives him a bit of a sneaky big guy positive he's projected again sort of the 130 so another sort of fourth round guy and i know that he's got some negative towards him because of his short arms but he's been on my list as this sort of fourth round guy and I know that he's got some negative towards him because of his short arms but he's been on my list as this sort of Patriots particularly if they hit the cornerback earlier if they do kind of go 21 at cornerback then you're starting to look at the sort of lower round linebackers because you don't want to miss out on the sort of the O-line guys as well because of the sort of the tackle guard problems that we that they might have so you know i'm really interested to see how this kid translates onto an nfl field so he's kind of my little watchful eye at lower round guys i'd be

very interested to see where he goes now most patriots peoples aren't looking at tight end and i completely get it i know part of my interest is in the fact that I have an overall soft spot for this position we all know this this is no secret we all know this but I do have some logic behind it as well the Patriots went through some really lean years at tight end and I feel that they need to set up so that they don't again I mean Hunter and Smith yeah that you you know you've got these top two guys for a couple of years at least but don't let that mean that you kind of sit on your heels when it comes to tight endage if keen and assy assy don't pan out this year then you know then the backup cupboard and the developmental tight end shelf is empty baby and we can't have that so the reason that

i've been looking over the tight end is kind of more of like i've been kind of looking more interested in the future investment now i'm not saying mortgage the present for the future they they've got so many holes that they need to fill that significant talent in the kind of first rounds is what's necessary so i'm talking more kind of later round undrafted sort of guys get a kid that you can mold into a great tight end now we all hear how it's a significantly difficult position so their first year can be kind of written off i mean look at smith you know he's not he's not but his first year kind of got written off in regards to that so my sleeper agent that i may

be watching that possibly no one else is in Patriots Nation, that's fine. I don't mind being this lone wolf. Hey, I've sat on my Ryan Ezo soapbox alone for a very long time. I have no problem with that. But I'm looking at Austin Allen, the tight end out of Nebraska. Now, I have mentioned him before, so I know that people's ears might prick up and say, oh, we have heard about him. Now, the Nebraska offense kind of didn't perform very well last year. And I think that really has reduced his draft stock.

Now, I want to take advantage of that very significantly. He's a tall guy and it depends where you look, but I've seen him reported anything from six feet seven to six feet nine. So, you know, I kind of want to check with his mom on that one. But at the combine, he was logged at six foot seven and five eighths. So, you know, people question maybe his blocking abilities because a lot of kind of what happens when you're sort of a tall guy is the sort of the pushing sort of motion.

Your centre, not your centre of gravity, but your point of impact is higher. So they're not really sort of making their full strength through because they go over sort of things. So I know i'm not explaining that very well i'm not very technical we all know this i'm a fan i think you're doing you're doing all right you're tremendous slouch but i've watched him and i think he could be a bit of a diamond in the roof as we like to you know like to say here on to be honest there are a good few titans um that i like this year but realistically the patriots aren't going to choose one that's high now i know that it's been said there's not major first round talent but some of the guys that i've looked at um oh pronounce his surname dolcic no oh

yeah i can't pronounce his surname now it's completely gone out of my head but the higher round titans the patriots aren't going to look again because as we've said that Oh, yeah, I can't pronounce his surname now. It's completely gone out of my head. But the higher round tight end, the Patriots aren't going to look at getting because, as we've said, there's too many needs to fill. So it's not a high round pick that we're looking at. So I need to keep my expectations in check. We all know how much I wanted Pat Fremuth, and that ended in a few tears. I'm not ashamed to admit when he went to the Steelers. So I am trying to be as

sensible as i can for me in all fairness but yeah i am still looking at the sort of stock the cupboard look at the future get somebody in the lower round where you've got you filled your holes with significant need where you've got the sort of the top talent that you're going to get and scoop up one of these tight-end guys that we can sort of utilize in the future and maybe give the first year off and see what he can develop as. So that's kind of where I've been keeping my sharp eye recently.

Not bad. I like that. And I love the sharp eye reference at the end. The tight end to which Claire was trying to refer was Greg Dulcik of UCLA. Yeah, well, it's okay. You know, I had to look up his – Brain went. Yeah, several times.

Yeah, it really is. But, you know, it was kind of fun to, you know, see you struggle with. I kid. I kid count at some point. Yeah, thanks for not throwing me a lifeline there, Michael, in all fairness. So, yeah, him, Greg Dulcik. And Daniel Allinger is another kind of – Very good, yeah. I don another kind of very good first round he's another sort of

higher round guy than what we would really want the patriots to be looking utilizing in all fairness so they're not going to get he was one of my favorites i've got to say he was one of my favorites daniel bellinger he was one of my favorites particularly out of the combine um but i am realistic and that is why i'm sort of pegging my hopes and dreams, if you like, on the Austin Allen out of Nebraska one. Well, I've definitely come on to the Austin Allen train as of late because of your insight and because of your expertise. You mentioned over a month ago here now about a potential dark horse candidate

that the Patriots might have their eye on, or that really any NFL team really should have their eye on or that really any NFL team really should have their eye on this kid at the time he wasn't on a lot of big draft boards you're seeing him on that train now you're seeing him gain momentum he's considered now a tight end talent that is a draftee rather than a potential undrafted rookie free agent so I think a lot of that has to do with the wisdom and the counsel that you got right here folks that is the reason for we're going to take credit for it and i'll stand behind that no seriously great great uh list and we'll definitely continue to take a

look at that i like that you mentioned rodriguez i think he's an intriguing prospect in those mid rounds guy that i've come on to a little bit later. And I want to thank our good mutual friend, Phil Perry of NBC sports, Boston kind of turning my direction, returning my attention in this direction. And that's a Kentucky nose tackle, Mark Juan McCall. I know a lot of people are going to say the traditional nose tackle is a dying breed in the NFL.

But if you look at what the Patriots had a lot of difficulty with last year, it was finding that middle presence to be able to stabilize that run defense. And I love Devon Godchow as a player. I think he's a great fit here. I think he's going to do great things in the interior of the defensive line. But I don't think he's the true nose that the Patriots thought he was going to be when they brought him in.

So what do you do in that situation? You bring in a guy that that's exactly what he does. He's got that early down presence. Very, very good in the A gap. If you take him at a pro level for gap control defense, this is a good fit right here. So if the Patriots want to play that 3-4, which they love to do under Bill Belichick, you need a solid nose tackle to be able to do it. So keep your eye on him, folks.

He's a middle of the round prospect. Probably going to drop because a lot of teams are moving away from traditional three fours with the nose tackle but at the same time i like mccall and there's a lot of leadership quality there as well people that i've talked to that are close to the kentucky organization really like this kid a lot for the leadership he brings um not making a comparison and i promise you folks i'm not trying to compare like for like, but you want to talk about a guy that might come in here and try to mold himself after what Vince Wilfork was when he played for the New England Patriots. This is a kid that's in that

mold. I don't think he'll be what Vince was in terms of prowess on the field, but that type of leadership skill and that type of just all-around presence in the locker room that everybody gravitates toward, this kid could be one to watch. So you know what? I don't know if the Patriots are going to keep an eye on him, but that's my sharp eye pick to round out for today. But the countess, what can I say? You know, you laugh at my jokes, which is first off, not easy, folks. Second of all, most importantly, the wisdom and counsel that you provide is truly off the charts. And really, I think you've given all of us something to think about, something to look at today.

And that's why I always, always maintain, folks, that anytime Claire puts pen to paper, anytime she puts voice to microphone, it is always point, click, learn, enrich material, absorb it, because you'll come away as a smarter football fan and she'll point out things that you won't hear anywhere else that's what makes a good analyst and that's why we're honored to have here every single week here on wednesdays and the day before the draft next week folks claire is definitely going to join us we will have an action-packed agenda that day without any question um but what can i say i thank you for all of the wisdom and counsel you provided us with today, Countess. Before I let you go today,

please let all of our listeners know where they can find you, where they can follow your great work and what we can look forward to in the upcoming week here from the great pen and the great voice of the Countess of Clas herself, Claire Clasie, Claire Cooper.

Yeah, well, thank you very much, Mike. Well, as you mentioned, I'm a writer for patspropaganda.com so if you go over to patspropaganda.com you will find some of my written work a claire perspective is brought to you by full press coverage and that's my my podcast which can be downloaded most places that you download your podcast for free um episode 28 and 29 has been out with uh mike giardi and andrew hart that kind of thing and the next episode episode 30 3 0 can't believe it that is due to be recorded very very soon and it is a mailbag edition so I know last

week I called for kind of entries to the mailbag and I have had quite a few so thank you very much so there is still a little bit of time if anybody wants to squeak in under the radar if you hit me up at clazy claire which is c-l-a-z-z-y-c-l-a-r-e if you go over to my twitter on the bird app you will find a few tweets out there kind of calling for questions so you still have time so if you want to nab on over to there and send me a nice question i'll pop it into the mailbag and hopefully put it out on my episode 30 as i said three zero cannot believe it oh and don't forget each and every week one Patriots place brought to you by e2gsports.com with Steve Ballesteri Thomas Murphy and myself

absolutely three faces you are definitely familiar with folks three of the great people in this business and truly uh three of three friends that I am honored uh to what I call friends not just colleagues uh they're the best of the best in every sense of the word, and it is truly my honor not just to work with them, but to know them all. And that definitely includes the Countess of Class herself here. Please be sure to smash the subscribe button, folks, to A Claire Perspective, a Patriots podcast.

My favorite listen each and every time that Claire puts voice to microphone and the guests that she welcomes. Always, always a great listen. And definitely take advantage of trying to get in on that mailbag. I know we teased last week here on locked on Patriots that the midweek mailbag may return with yours truly and the Empress of tight endage right here to answer your question.

So after the draft, we might be taking a look into bringing that back, but until the next time folks, we're wrapping things up here on today's episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast. Greatly appreciate Claire taking the time out today to join me here on the microphone

as she does each and every Wednesday. Folks, bottom line, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And of course, for helping to make Locked On Patriots

your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots your first listen every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is always free and available on all platforms. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, on behalf of the Empress of Tight Endage, the Queen of TE, the Baroness of Blockers, the Principal of Positivity, the illustrious Countess of Clare, Clare Clasey Clare Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate. Stay safe, stay well, be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone.