Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Update: Romeo Doubs Misses Practice, Stefon Diggs Signs, and a Camp Mailbag!

Episode Date: August 5, 2026

New England Patriots practiced on Wednesday, but one man who didn’t was Romeo Doubs. Will the Patriots buck NFL trends and carry seven receivers, or is a trade for Kayshon Boutte in the cards? Nick Cattles breaks down early training camp surprises, from Will Campbell’s improved technique to rookie standouts like Tanner Arkin and Khalil Jacobs, alongside disappointments including Ben Brown’s struggles at guard and Kyle Williams’ uncertain role. Key topics include the Patriots’ pass rush dynamics with Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, Stefon Diggs’ move to the Washington Commanders, and the strategic challenge of balancing roster depth at defensive tackle and tight end. Plus, Nick Cattles unpacks the growing presence of Guardian caps for player safety and why the newest model could change attitudes across the league. Can New England’s retooled roster contend in 2026, or will key position battles define their fate? Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-patriots/ Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, & More 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nfl/ #patriots #newenglandpatriots Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COM to play Daily Dingers and make your free pick on who’s hitting a homer this MLB season. Home Chef For a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners FIFTY PERCENT OFF and free shipping for your first box PLUS free dessert for life! Go to https://HomeChef.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Betterhelp This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON. KALSHI For a limited time, Download the Kalshi app and use code [LOCKEDON] to get up to $500 in bonus credits when you trade $25. Square Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at https://square.com/go/lockedonnfl! #squarepod Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Romeo Dobbs was missing from Wednesday's practice, and we've got a training camp mailbag. This is Locked on 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 Cattles. On today's show, pleasant surprises and disappointments early in camp. In the second segment, the likelihood or not of the Pat's breaking camp with

seven wide receivers on the 53-man roster. But first, Camp Notes, Stefan Diggs finds a new home, and we talk pass rush. Romeo Dobbs was a DNP on Wednesday. Now, Wednesday was a walkthrough, so it's not like Romeo Dobbs missed a ton of action, but he was a DNP on Wednesday. Was this because of an injury? We don't know. Was it because of a significant injury?

We don't know. Was it a personal day? You guessed it? We don't know. But it is interesting on the heels of the Patriots Tuesday, claiming Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, Tajon Palmer. Now, you might question why the Patriots would claim a wide receiver when they have a lot of wide receivers at their disposal during this camp.

So we will keep an eye on Romeo Dobbs, see what's going on. If he has a significant injury, the news will come out. if something is going to keep him off the field for an extended period of time, we will certainly do our own podcast episode on that. But all we know, as of this recording, is that Romeo Dobbs did not practice on Wednesday. Andrew Callahan from the Boston Herald also noted on Wednesday that Will Campbell was wearing a full arm brace on his left arm.

And Andrew Callahan painted the picture of Rob Gruncowski from years ago, when he had that huge arm brace. We all remember that, right? Well, similar arm brace on the left arm of Will Campbell during Wednesday's walkthrough. Stick a pin in that. Also, according to Andrew Callahan, Terrell Jennings repped behind Ramandre Stevenson

and Trebionn Henderson with the starting offense. We just had this conversation about the idea of Jan Miller being the third guy in that running back room. It looked like Lan Larison, to begin camp was that guy. Miles Montgomery, UDFA, also in camp. But Terrell Jennings, who just got off the NFI list, he's out there now, he's practicing with the Patriots,

and as of Wednesday's walkthrough, he was repping behind running back one and running back two, which would lead you to believe that right now, Terrell Jennings might be running back three. Again, right now, we underline that. Another note, UDFA cornerback, Channing Canada, actually repped with the starters on Wednesday. And what's interesting here is that you've got two rookies who have started to seemingly

climb up the depth chart. You've got Karan Prunty, who we've talked about, recent podcast. Seems like he's playing better as camp goes along. So you've got Karan Prunty in the conversation. And now you've got Channing Canada. And it just feels like those two rookies are making a. charge at cornerback four and five with Carlton Davis out. Now Carlton Davis comes back. You'd imagine Charles Woods slides to cornerback four. And then you'd be looking at the battle between Channing Canada

and Karan Prunty for cornerback five. But Prunty and Canada getting more reps as camp goes on and repping with the starters from time to time. Gabe Accus was at practice again on Wednesday. He was on the second team defense opposite of Braden Swinson. Braden Swinson's been moving all around throughout camp to this point. Harold Landry, Carlton Davis, still out. No update on those two guys. C.J. Dupree officially off the NFI reserve list as of Wednesday. He was there at the walkthrough.

And now the question for C.J. Dupree is whether or not he can push Tanner Arkin for that tight end three spot on the. Dept chart. Meanwhile, Stefan Diggs, old friend from 2025, has finally signed with a team. That team is not the Patriots. I talked about Stefan Diggs back in early May, and I outlined several reasons why I did not think Stefan Diggs would be back in New England. Didn't feel like there was much of a chance if a chance at all that he would return. I know in early June, there was some social media stuff going around, but Stefan Diggs lands with the Washington commanders. This became, I think, the best opportunity for Stefan Diggs as soon as that Brandon Ayuk situation went

fully off the rails. So Stefan Diggs goes back home, will be the commander's number two receiver behind Terry McLaurin. He will get plenty of opportunity. It's a one-year deal up to $12 million. All right, let's get to the mailbag. First up is Keith Butler 84. A lot is made of our average pass rushers, but we have excellent interior rushers. How many teams have excellent exterior and interior rushers? I've discussed, Keith, the context of the defensive line a few times, and interior pressure is critical. I have highlighted that over the past few years. Getting the pass rush on the inside is crucial to any defensive operation. Quarterbacks do not like any pass rush to begin with, but they especially do not like the pass rush right in their face.

right in front of them right up the gut. They don't want to be flushed out all the time. Now, Emery Hunt, who is a well-respected draft Nick, he has made the point, and he made it on the Ross Tucker podcast, that he believes, this is one man's opinion, but he believes the offensive tackle position has been overemphasized. And he feels like the tackles are getting overhyped,

and the offensive guards, the interior offensive line, are getting overlooked. And one of the points that Emery Hunt makes in saying that is that the interior defensive lineman getting pass rush, it's becoming more of a thing. And it's it's becoming more difficult for interior offensive lineman to stop that pass rush. However, I would say all of this is relative, Keith. Edge is just pressure more often than interior defensive lineman. On the whole, when you look at it, I'll give you an example.

Last year, Christian Barmore was seventh in ESPN's pass rush win rate at defensive tackle. His pass rush win rate was 10%. So he was seventh at defensive tackle with a 10% pass rush win rate. Chase Young was seventh in ESPN's pass rush win rate at defensive end. But Chase Young, his pass rush win rate was almost twice. was almost twice as high as Christian Barmore. Christian Barmore 10%, Chase Young, 19%. So when you look at edge rushers,

they get to the quarterback more often than the interior defensive line. So yes, it's great to have interior defensive linemen like Christian Barmore and Milton Williams who can get after the quarterback. But even if they're some of the best guys at that position to do that, they are not getting to the quarterback nearly as often as the top premier defensive ends. And what you want if you're a defense in a perfect world is consistent pressure. Now, as far as teams with top 20 pass rush win rate players at both defensive tackle and defensive end back in 2025, seven teams fit that criteria.

Pittsburgh, Denver, Green Bay, the New York Giants, the United States, the Cleveland Browns, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta was in the playoff hunt. Quarterback play killed them. Seattle, we know how their season ended last year. Cleveland, really good defense. Offense without a quarterback was a mess. The Giants, really good defense.

But again, they were relying on young players, namely Jackson Dart and Cam Scataboo at quarterback and running back, respectively. Jackson Dart then got hurt. He was in an odd lineup. But the Giants defense was really good. Green Bay Playoff team. Denver AFC championship game. Pittsburgh playoff team with a really good defense. So seven teams had at least one defensive tackle and one defensive end in the top 20 of ESPN's pass rush win rate. Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, they can help wreck games. There's no doubt. They can help you wreck games. but it is still critical to have edge rushing on the docket for your defense as you go into the season.

You want guys that can pressure the quarterback on both the interior and on the, as you called it, exterior. Teams can game plan versus one strength. Doesn't mean they always win on the game plan, but they can game plan easier for your defense if you're not getting that pass rush off the edge. And we saw it, right? Even with Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, we saw what the Patriots had to do during the late season and post season run last year. They had to blitz an awful lot, which leaves your corners in man coverage. So it really just impacts the rest of the defense.

So you want both. You want both. It's not like if you have an interior pass rush, you're all set. You're golden. It's not the case. Appreciate the question. All right, could the Pats keep seven wide receivers? My answer next.

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subscribe to those, but all subscribers to the ad-free shows should receive notification and a refund by today on Wednesday. And make sure you subscribe to the regular feed to get our daily content. I am not going anywhere, and I am very excited to have all of you aboard this season. 2026 should be a lot of fun. All right, let's get back to the mailbag. Let's talk receivers. I'm Jha underscore D. Do you think the paths go into the season with seven wide receivers if Efton Chisholm makes the 53-man roster and Kyle Williams is in the kick return or punt return role?

I'm not sure we'll see Kyle Williams in the punt return roll. Kick return, yes, he's been active on special teams in camp. We saw him return some kicks last year as well. Efton Chisham making the 53-man roster is certainly possible. But Jha, it's incredibly difficult for me to envision the Pat's taking seven wide receivers into the regular season. Mike Reese on Sunday this past weekend at ESPN.com, he broke down what every team did heading into last year's opener at the wide receiver position. And according to Mike Reese, 13 teams last year brought six wide receivers into the regular season.

13. 18. So the majority of the teams in the NFL last year brought five wide receivers into the regular season. There was one team that only had four wide receivers on its 53-man roster when that team broke camp. And that team, interestingly enough, the Seattle Seahawks. So 13 teams with six wide receivers, 18 teams with five, Seattle with four. There was not a single team in the NFL last year that had seven wide receivers.

on their 53-man roster. You hardly ever see it. I also think we need to remember what Mike Vrable said last week when he was asked about K.Shaan Booty and the depth that wide receiver. Mike Vrable said, quote, I love having depth,

but I would say that we're always going to try to look to improve, whether that's by adding draft capital, obtaining a player, or keeping the guys we have. Now, you know, that's some tap dancing, right? That's trying to serve a lot of different masters with that quote. But I think you pay special attention to the beginning. I love having depth, but I would say that we're always going to try to look to improve,

whether that's by adding draft capital. That's where it all began with Mike Vrable in that quote. And I would just have to imagine if the Patriots had their druthers, and we've heard this from Mike Giardy and others, that rhyme. If the Patriots could get a pick, that they valued in return for Kishan Booty, for example, they would much rather have draft capital in six wide receivers than feeling like they would have to bring seven receivers

onto their 53 man to get ready for week one against the Seahawks. I think they would much rather have the pick in six receivers than seven receivers. And I think that's clear by what Mike Vrable said last week. I think that's clear by all the reporting that we have received. And let's not forget, Karen Geregian also reported over the weekend that, you know, Kishon Booty, he requested to be traded. He knew the numbers game. And back in April, before A.J. Brown was in town.

Kishan Booty went to the Patriots and asked to be dealt. You also have to look at other positional depth because if you keep seven receivers, you're obviously keeping one less guy at another position. and some of those positions I'm looking at that really make this a roster squeeze, so to speak, defensive tackle. You know, you go back to the first segment. We just had that question about the interior pass rush from Keith, right? Well, the NFL, defensive tackle depth is more important now than it's ever been in the league.

And so the Patriots, they have a number of guys, fortunately, a number of guys on the interior defensive line that are NFL players. And you could argue a number of guys that are good NFL players. And so how many defensive tackles will the Patriots keep? Is it better to keep an extra defensive tackle? You've got to manage Christian Barmore, right? Milton Williams missed games last year. Is it more important to have that extra defensive tackle?

Or is it more important to have a seventh wide receiver? How about tight end? you not only are looking, I think, since the injury to Julian Hill, I think you're looking at trying to bring in, you know, three tight ends that can work for you week one, especially the fact that Hunter Henry, you don't want him blocking a lot. Eli Raarden is still rather young regarding his blocking. So you want a guy. We've talked about Tanner Arkin, C.J. Dupree, who we brought up in the first segment.

I think you need a tight end on this 53 man. roster that can block and that you know can block. And I don't think that is right now Eli Reardon and it's not Hunter Henry. So if you're carrying three tight ends, guess what? You're also carrying a fullback with Reggie Gilliam. So three tight ends and a fullback, that will put some stress on the 53 man roster. How about offensive guard? We talked about it on yesterday's podcast, how the offensive guard depth has not looked good

in camp. that might force you to keep an extra interior offensive lineman than you want. So every decision that you make impacts another decision. I'll have more thoughts on this in a minute, but don't forget to like, click that thumbs up. If you're watching us on YouTube, don't forget to comment. Those two things help us with the algorithm and take a second and subscribe. Help us out by subscribing. The next goal is 11,000 subs.

Now, of course, things can change at wide receiver, right? Will everyone be healthy? What's up with this Romeo Dobbs situation? So if one guy goes down, then I think you're bringing six, and the seventh guy is, you know, put on the back burner for the time being. So we'll see if everybody can be healthy. And that's also including all the other positions. If you don't have defensive tackles to be on your 53 due to injury,

then it's easier to carve out that seventh spot at receiver. And I think Efton Chisholm, you know, he has limited returnability, and I think he has redundancy with other receivers. If I had to guess, Efton Chisholm would be the odd man out right now. Kyle Williams is a much better kick returner. He was a third round draft pick. He brings the speed element that Efton Chisholm does not bring. So if I had to pick right now, I'd say six wide receivers on the 53 man, Efton Chisham, odd man out. They try to get them on the practice squad.

But if they can get something of quality for Kishon Booty, then I think they make that deal. But to answer the question, I do not think the Patriots go into 2026 with seven receivers on the roster. I think inevitably they will get to six, whether that's trading booty, whether that's some type of injury, whether that's cutting Efton Chisholm

and trying to get him on the practice squad, I think the answer will be six. Coming up, pleasant surprises and disappointments. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp has been a widely used online therapy platform, and today the focus is on why so many people continue to choose it. If you're curious, you can actually see what people are saying by visiting betterhelp.com

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If BetterHelp is right for you, visit BetterHelp.com slash lockdown. That's better, h-elp.com slash lockdown. Thanks for checking out the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. Back to the mailbag, we go. Mr. Ed 315. Which pads have been pleasant surprises and which ones have been disappointing so far? Well, I'll start with the pleasant surprises from what I have read and what I have heard. UDFAs are always fun, but you never know if any of them are going to actually impact camp,

especially early camp, but there are two UDFAs that have stood out. I mentioned him last segment, but Tanner Arkin. Right now, Tanner Arkin is the leader in the locker room to be that third tight end, to be that 260 plus pound blocking tight end. That so far in camp has been Tanner Arkin. And then you look on the defensive side. We talked about Channing Canada and Karan Prunty earlier, but Khalil Jacobs, another UDFA linebacker right now seems like he has a solid handle

on being on the second team defense. It looks like he has surpassed KJ Britt. It looks like he is well ahead of. of Namdi Obi-I-Zor. So if you were laying out linebacker depth chart from one through four right now, you would start with Robert Spillane. You would have Christian Ellis, I still think. Christian Ellis is the second guy for now.

Chad Muma, who is pushing Christian Ellis, according to what played out at practice on Tuesday. Chad Muma would be three, and then you've got Khalil Jacobs. So Tanner Arkin, Khalil Jacobs. I would also say that a pleasant surprise at camp is Will Campbell's technique. Look, we can talk about it all we want. We can read about it all we want during the offseason. And we can envision a world where Will Campbell improves his technique.

He works on the things he has to work on. He comes back and he's a better football player. But early in camp, that's exactly what we're. what's happened. It is not just visualizing it. It's reality. Will Campbell's technique. He's more aggressive. He is much more aggressive. And so I think that is a pleasant, I don't know if you'd say surprise, but I guess I'd say a pleasant surprise that it's actually played out the way we were hoping it would play out. Now, I'm not talking about the level of competition. We'll have to see him against better competition, but improving his technique was unequivocally needed,

and he's done that. Karan Prunty. has improved throughout camp. I put him on the list. Hitting on a fifth round cornerback would be a nice get by the front office. Now, as far as disappointments, Ben Brown at guard, he's been a disappointment. Everybody that has discussed Ben Brown, written about Ben Brown, has told you that Ben Brown has fallen short of expectations. He has not had a good camp to this point. And I think the Patriots, judging by their actions in the offseason,

and they were hoping that Ben Brown would be a super sub on the interior offensive line, and that's not playing out right now. I think you have to put Kyle Williams on the disappointment list. He had one really good practice. We talked about it last week. You know, that one really good practice happened right after we discussed him being buried on the depth chart, but he has not consistently created moments during this camp to this point. and it is still a big problem that Kyle Williams is not getting reps with Drake May.

Even with Romeo Dobbs not at practice on Wednesday. And yes, it was a walkthrough, but Kyle Williams was still, he was still deep down on that depth chart, even without Romeo Dobbs. And I would add two free agents from this off season that have been disappointing so far. Mike Brown, who I think the team was hoping would have been their third safety. He has been leapfrogged by Del Pettus. Del Pettis is now getting those snaps as the third safety. And a guy just brought up in context with Khalil Jacobs, KJ Britt.

KJ. Britt was an early signee in free agency. The Patriots brought him in, I think, hoping that he would battle Chad Muma to back up Robert Spillane and Christian Ellis. And instead, he's going backwards. KJ. Britt is now behind. He's clearly behind Chad Muma and Khalil Jacobs. and he's more the fifth slash sixth linebacker on this roster currently. So not great for him.

Andres Stein 05. There's been a massive proliferation of the Guardian helmets. Was that Romeo Dobbs who brought them over to the Pats? A few things here. Got a few thoughts on these Guardian caps. The Guardian caps are mandatory in training camp for most positions. Now, the way you can get away from that, You know, quarterbacks, they don't need it.

They're not taking contact. Quarterbacks are fine, punters, kickers, they're fine. But most positions, most of the other positions, it's mandatory to have a guardian cap in training camp. Now, again, there's one way you can get away from that, and that is if your helmet meets certain requirements, then you don't have to wear the guardian cap. So the guys who are playing the positions during training camp

that have to wear guardian caps. If they're not wearing guardian caps, it's because their regular helmet meets the requirements of safety that have been literally printed by the NFL. Why are they mandatory in camp? Well, the NFL will tell you there are more players on the field,

and it's the start of full contact. And there seems to be more head injuries, especially early in training camp, than any other time. Now, players with concussion histories are always more likely to use them. There are two examples with the Patriots, right? Jared Wilson used one last year after his concussion and being an offensive lineman, especially being a center.

That makes a lot of sense. I would imagine he would once again be wearing the guardian cap. And Romeo Dobbs, who's had some concussion issues and you brought him up, Andres. So, you know, those are two guys that I would anticipate continuing to wear the Guardian cap. Maybe there are others that I just forgot. But we'll see. Because the other part of this is Guardian has gone back and they have redesigned the Guardian

cap. It is, I guess, not so creatively known as the Guardian Cap 2.0. And it's better aesthetically. It is refined. So like the outer surface layer looks a lot better. a lot better. Now, should that matter? Not to me. If I'm trying to protect my brain, I don't care how the helmet looks, how the guardian cap looks. But some players, I do think, they care how aesthetically it looked and how it felt. And so this is a little bit of a

sleeker model. So I do wonder if we'll see more players wearing the guardian caps this year during games because of that new design. I do not think Romeo Dobbs's influences significant enough to change players' habits. I just, I don't see that happening. I don't think people would say, oh, Romeo Dobbs is wearing one. I'm going to throw one on. I don't see that as the case.

Big picture, I hope a lot more guys are comfortable wearing the newer model. Protect all the brains that you can protect. There are enough, you know, health and safety issues in the NFL. If you can protect yourself, protect yourself. At least that's my opinion. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe on YouTube. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen. For your second listen,

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