Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Update: Stefon Diggs Reunion Ruled Out? | Patriots Minicamp Latest

Starting point is 00:00:00 For all of those out there that we're hoping for a Stefan Diggs reunion, we might have some cold water for you. Compliments of Mike Vrable. 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?

Starting point is 00:00:29 I am your host, Nick Cattels. On today's episode, it sounds like the Pats are not done adding at a certain position. In the second segment, Drake May meets with the media and continues to give fans a reason to get excited. But first, the latest on Stefan Diggs possibly returning to New England. Now, day two of mandatory minicamp was a walkthrough, was a jog through. So not much happened on the football field. There really is nothing worthwhile to break down about today's practice. Tomorrow will be different.

Starting point is 00:01:01 Thursday's practice will be closer to what Tuesday's practice looked like. hopefully highly competitive, but today's practice was what it was. It was a jog through. However, we still have a lot to discuss. You know, last week there were some murmurs floating around about a Stefan Diggs reunion. And some people were cryptically talking about Stefan Diggs, possibly coming back, his number, make sure that number is still available. There were those murmurs. There were the, you know, rumor and innuendo floating all around New England about.

Starting point is 00:01:35 about that possible reunion? Well, Mike Vrable talked about a possible reunion with Stefan Diggs today at practice. Mark Daniels of Mass Live posted, would you consider bringing Stefan Diggs back? Mike Vrable said, quote, we're happy where we're at right now with our numbers in the receiver room. Right now, I don't think that's something that we're expecting, exploring, sorry, but I would never say no. So, again, Mike Vrable says we're happy with the numbers in the wide receiver room right now. That's not something that we're exploring at this moment, but I would never say no. There are some disclaimers in there, right? Mike Frable is giving us a just in case, a couple of words in there that slightly leaves the door open for the possibility of Stefan

Starting point is 00:02:23 Diggs returning to New England. Mike Rable says that right now they're happy with the numbers in the wide receiver room, that right now they're not exploring, bringing Stefan Diggs back. Of course, Right now is right now. Things can change over time. So the fact that Mike Vrable used the term right now, not once but twice in his comments about Diggs, that does leave the door open. And of course, the way he finished his comment with I would never say no,

Starting point is 00:02:51 which I think he meant to say, I would never say never, that also keeps the door open for the possibility of Stefan Diggs returning to the Patriots. But I think it's very unlikely. It's not impossible, but it's very unlikely. I've been saying this for several weeks.

Starting point is 00:03:08 You can go back when we did the Stefan Diggs episode. After the court hearing, after the trial, he got through that, not guilty. We did an episode on Stefan Diggs at that time. And I said I found it very unlikely that Stefan Diggs would return to the Patriots for a number of different reasons. And I would be borderline shocked if he returned in 2026. I asked the simple questions at that time, and those questions are even further solidified because you know A.J. Brown is on this team now. Where's the opportunity for Stefan Diggs? Could he play on the Patriots? Absolutely. But he's going to be the third receiver. You're

Starting point is 00:03:51 paying Romeo Dobbs to be the number two. You made that trade for A.J. Brown so he can be the number one. So if Stefan Diggs was to return to New England, he would have to be okay. with the idea of being the third receiver on this football team. And I'm not sold that Stefan Diggs would be okay being the third receiver on any football team, especially the team that he just was cut from a few months ago. I also asked at that time, and this still remains a question at the top of my head, what about the money? Do you think Stefan Diggs is going to be okay taking third receiver money?

Starting point is 00:04:28 Do you think he's going to be okay getting paid less and I think, significantly less than Romeo Dobbs and A.J. Brown. I don't think that he would love that. And so you've got to wonder, are other teams willing to offer more of both of those things? Is another team in the NFL willing to offer Stefan Diggs more opportunity than he is set to get in New England? Are other teams willing to offer more money than Stefan Diggs would get from the Patriots? There are teams out there that need receivers still to this day. You know, Patrick Mahomes just moments ago got a big fat contract extension.

Starting point is 00:05:10 I'm sure the numbers have been reworked within his deal. Kansas City is a team that I think needs a receiver. Rishie Rice cannot be trusted off the field. So Kansas City is looking. Stefan Diggs to the Chiefs would make a lot of sense. Stefan Diggs to the Raiders would make sense, given the opportunity, given the money. the Washington commanders would make sense. Even the LA Chargers would make sense for Stefan Diggs.

Starting point is 00:05:37 So I look at this situation and I think there are two things at work. I think some fans who are in love with fantasy football. I love fantasy football. I got my break in Boston radio doing a fantasy football show. I get it. But this is not fantasy football. You just can't throw a bunch of receivers out there who have personalities that are very big, egos that are very big.

Starting point is 00:06:00 they want the football. It's a diva position. They want the targets. They want the catches. They want the production. They want the money. They want the Pro Bowl. They want the All Pro. That's what they want. And so to have three guys like A.J. Brown, Romeo Dobbs and Stefan Diggs in the same wide receiver room, very difficult to imagine. And I think it's obvious, you know, that Stefan Diggs would look at a place like Kansas City and say, well, if Kansas City is willing to offer me money, is willing to give me opportunity, and I can play with Patrick Mahomes and possibly contend for a title, why would I not do that and be a bigger part of the offense?

Starting point is 00:06:42 So people, I think, look at this from the fantasy football lens, and then they always look at it from the Patriots lens. Yeah, having those three receivers would be fantastic as long as they could get along, and the personalities meshed well. walking into a season with AJ Brown, Romeo Dobbs, and Stefan Diggs is very sexy to think about. But this is also from Stefan Diggs's point of view

Starting point is 00:07:05 in what he wants, what he's looking for. And let's not forget that Diggs's resume, he usually starts to wear out his welcome after a year. You know, after a year or so, things start to get a little bit strange. things get a little bit constrained between him and the team. So he has that track record. Now, what could change?

Starting point is 00:07:28 And why did Mike Vrable say right now, not once but twice? And why did Mike Vrable say, I would never say never? Well, things can happen. Ish happens all the time. If you have an injury in camp and Stefan Diggs is still available, well, that could change the math. If Stefan Diggs goes out there in free agency and he finds out that, you know, through camp or through the beginning of camp.

Starting point is 00:07:53 Teams are not willing to give him the type of money that he wants to make in 2026. Then if his money demands decline, then it would make more sense. It would make more sense. There's a third possibility. I don't think this would ever happen. But if Drake May walked into the office of Mike Rabel and said, I want Stefan Diggs back, that might sway the team to make that move. But aside from an injury, aside from

Starting point is 00:08:20 Stefan Diggs is likely money demands declining and probably declining significantly, or Drake May making some type of demand, which I just don't see happening, I don't think it adds up. And if it did happen, and A.J. Brown and Romeo Dobbs and Stefan Diggs were all healthy, and they were together. I would have lots of questions. I would have questions about the egos, the personalities. I would have questions about the snap rates. How much is each guy going to play. And is each guy going to be happy with the amount of time he's on the field? Stefan Diggs played, you know, what was it? 50 to 55 percent of the plays last year. And now you've got Dobbs and you've got Brown. So what would the, how would the pie be split up,

Starting point is 00:09:07 so to speak, between those three receivers? So I would still have a lot of questions if it ever happened. But I find it incredibly unlikely. I found it incredibly unlikely several weeks ago. And I have not moved from that stance. All right, let's get into Drake May. Drake May opens up about his development in the Josh McDaniels offense, and he also talks about AJ Brown in this wide receiver room. We'll get to that next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. Workplace chaos can show up fast. Deadlines are stacking up. Projects need attention, and on top of everything else you're trying to fill an important role.

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Starting point is 00:10:44 This is a job for Indeed, sponsored jobs. The confidence from Drake May is absolutely oozing out of the third year quarterback. And I'm not sure how you can't get excited by what happened day one of Minicamp and what Drake May is saying. We are going to get to Drake May's comments in just a minute. Don't forget, I want to thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. And get your daily Patriots fix completely ad free by joining the Everydayer Club today. Start your seven day free trial right now and get closer to your third. team without the interruptions.

Starting point is 00:11:21 Click the link in the show notes or go to lockdown patriots. Tuppercast.com to claim your free trial. Also, don't forget, if you're watching us on YouTube, I appreciate you. And don't forget to click that thumbs up. Love the likes. Give us the likes. The likes help us with the algorithm. I want to slap that algorithm right in the head.

Starting point is 00:11:39 Help us out by clicking that thumbs up. Don't forget to throw a comment in. Do you still believe Stefan Diggs is a good fit? Or do you agree with me? And it's time to kind of forget about that. It's very unlikely unless something happens like we discussed in segment one. I want to see your comments. Want to know how you feel.

Starting point is 00:11:58 And don't forget to subscribe. So Drake May was absolutely stellar day one of camp. And we talked about that. Day one of mini camp, he was absolutely sizzling. And then Drake May spoke to the media today. If you're wondering what Drake May did today, as I mentioned at the beginning of this live stream. It was a walkthrough. It was a jog through. So no competitive action today on the field. So really nothing to report. But as far as Drake May speaking to the media, ultimate swag, man,

Starting point is 00:12:33 just ultimate swag. Here's what he had to say about playing in Josh McDaniel's offense for the second year. Quote, it's just naturally night and day from last year at this time. I was trying to get things right. Now we're just kind of taking the next steps. There's a reason. and there's a why to it. Josh McDaniels is so good about explaining that why and helping me get to know that why so I can play faster. One of the number one reasons, one of the number one reasons. There only can be one number one reason, Nick, one of the top reasons. One of the main reasons why I wanted Josh McDaniels to be hired by the Patriots as soon as we found out that Mike Vrable was going to be the head coach. One of the main reasons.

Starting point is 00:13:18 why I wanted that to happen is precisely because of what Drake May just said. Year two in the offensive system, he's playing faster. He understands it more. And the idea of Josh McDaniels, to me, brought stability. I know there were some people floating out the idea that Josh McDaniels could get a head coaching job after last season. That was not happening. Okay. I think that was good work by maybe Josh McDaniels or people that or close to Josh McDaniels, possibly wanting him, right? Possibly wanting him to go get that head coach money somewhere. But he was not going to get a head coaching job, especially after year one.

Starting point is 00:13:59 I don't think he's going to get another head coaching job in the NFL. I just don't think that's going to happen with his history as a head coach. So hiring Josh McDaniels brought stability to the program, brought stability to your quarterback. And that's precisely what Drake May is talking about. Last year, I was just trying to get things right. But now, now we're taking the next steps. Now what's happening is I understand the why.

Starting point is 00:14:25 And because I understand the why, and I understand this system, I can play faster. I can play better. Now, he didn't say better, but if he plays faster with his natural talent and he's more comfortable, he should be better. I don't know what the counting stats are going to tell us by the end of the year, but he should be better at football in 2026. And just think about Drake May's football life before McDaniels. It was ridiculous.

Starting point is 00:14:56 Absolutely absurd. Two different offensive coordinators, his last two years in North Carolina. He then joins the Patriots in 2024. His offensive coordinator is Alex Van Pelt, who did not ever do the job aside from one season in Buffalo when it was thrown on his lap in the very last second of that year before they kicked off. I mean, he has had to deal with a bunch of different offensive systems,

Starting point is 00:15:19 a bunch of different offensive coordinators, a bunch of different offensive terminology. Now he gets to breathe. Now he gets to sit back a little bit and say, man, year two of the same offense, this is incredible. I don't have to start from scratch again. I mean, it is just a different universe.

Starting point is 00:15:41 It is no longer that mess. that stability. We all know the natural talent is there for Drake May. We all see the natural talent at this point. The dude was runner up to the MVP last year, first year in that offensive system with Josh McDaniels. We all see the natural talent. It is now all about refining his game, refining his game, understanding defenses at a higher level, and having ultimate comfort within this offense. and by what he's saying and how he says it, he feels like he's there. He feels like he has that comfort.

Starting point is 00:16:17 I mean, Greg Bedard a couple of weeks ago told me, people in that building are raving about Drake May. They feel like mentally he is so far ahead of where he was in 2025. It's not even close. And he's got that confidence. May discussed his new wide receiver and the wide receiver. in the wide receiver room. This is from Taylor Kiles, who posted, Drake May says having big receivers is comforting as a quarterback, noting how their physicality translates after the catch and as blockers in the run game. He also mentioned how he grew up with, you know, his brothers who are all on the taller side.

Starting point is 00:17:00 So we talked about this before the A.J. Brown trade became official. Drake May loves bigger receivers. He's comfortable throwing the football to bigger guys. Mac Hollins. Even Stefan Diggs. Stefan Diggs is not a small dude. I mean, he's six foot about 190, 195. But Drake May loves throwing to big receivers, Hollins, Hunter Henry, AJ Brown, those types of guys. That's what he is comfortable with. That's the zone. That's the lane he loves to live in. And that's one of the reasons why when we talked about AJ Brown last week, ad nauseum, when it became official why I said A.J. Brown is a perfect fit for Drake May. That was one of the reasons I listed. His size is a perfect fit for the quarterback. Diggs again, six foot about 190, 195. A.J. Brown is 6.1.226. And A.J. Brown is much more physical at the catch point.

Starting point is 00:18:01 So when you combine, when you take Drake May's confidence being the second year in this Josh McDaniel's offense. When you take his natural talent, his confidence to go along with AJ Brown and what AJ Brown can do with contested catches and the physicality and the back shoulder stuff, when you combine those three things, May's natural talent, his confidence, and AJ Brown's ability, what you have is the capability of hitting high level, tight window throws. And when you can make high-level, tight window completions, your offense is so much more difficult to deal with. It is critical. Speaking of A.J. Brown, pretty important quote from DeMario Douglas today. Pop Douglas said this, Andrew Callahan posted. It feels like A.J. Brown has

Starting point is 00:18:57 been with the Patriots, quote, since the start of the off season, unquote. So Pop Douglas says it feels like A.J. Brown has already been with the Patriots since the beginning of the offseason. And you saw that play out day one of minicamp when it was made to A.J. Brown with that back shoulder touchdown play. And I said it on yesterday's live stream and podcast. That type of play shows really good chemistry early on. When you can throw back shoulder and complete that type of pass, that's the stuff you're looking for. And that might take a week or two, three weeks, whatever under normal circumstances. But Pop Douglas is telling us, no, AJ Brown is fitting like a hand in a glove. AJ Brown, it feels like he has been with us for months.

Starting point is 00:19:51 And that's exactly what you want to hear. It is huge, absolutely ginormous if AJ Brown can quickly pick up this offense. Because the quicker that Brown can pick up this offense, the quicker he flourishes in his role. And the quicker you can utilize his versatility as a receiver and play outside and inside. When he's picking things up this quickly, and if the chemistry is there so early with the quarterback, you're checking boxes. And now he starts to get advanced quicker. And now his impact is even more significant quicker.

Starting point is 00:20:33 You have that chemistry with Drake May. You have the opportunity to start fast. You've got that opportunity to be shot out of a cannon. Week one, Seattle Seahawks, Wednesday night, prime time. The entire football world is watching you. And if you have that chemistry and you have the offense down, that gives you. That gives you the opportunity to make noise week one.

Starting point is 00:20:57 And that's exciting. If you can start fast, that's exciting. In everything that we've seen on the football field, according to reports, and everything that has been said by A.J. Brown, Drake May, Pop Douglas, and everybody else. It feels like so far, so very good for A.J. Brown when it comes to acclimating to this offense and understanding what he has to get done. Coming up, Mike Frable is ready to add to a certain position

Starting point is 00:21:27 in more thoughts from the head coach, including an update on Caleb Lomu's progress. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. With Julian Hill down for the season, it doesn't sound like the Pats are content with sticking with what they have in the tight end room. Thanks for checking out the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:21:55 now the number one sports podcast network. So it doesn't sound like the Patriots are thrilled with their current tight end depth after the Julian Hill injury. And Mike Vrable talked about it earlier today at practice. This is from Andrew Callahan transcribing. Vrable talking about the tight ends, quote, that's probably somewhere where we'd have to address, unquote. So the head coach comes out today and says, yeah, tight end. is a room, is a positional group that we have to, we have to add. That is probably somewhere where we would like to add somebody. That's, that's somewhere where we, we have to address.

Starting point is 00:22:38 So the head coach is saying it clearly. The Patriots, they know, with Julian Hill out of the equation, they want to add another tight end. And adding a veteran tight end would be ideal. Eli Rairden is raw. And tight ends take time to develop in the NFL. I do not want to throw Eli Rairden in the deep end of the pool if he's not ready yet. The worst thing you can do is rush a rookie, put too much on his plate. And the Patriots know that. Jack Westover is not your quintessential blocking type tight end.

Starting point is 00:23:14 So I don't think he's the answer. And you're a contending team. The trade you just made for A.J. Brown, you are making a statement. that you are going for a title. You are going for a title. You are trying to win a title. So if you're in that position as a football team, do you really, really want to bank on an undrafted free agent?

Starting point is 00:23:36 I'm not saying it's impossible that a CJ Dupree or a Tanner Arkin, I'm not saying it's impossible for them to make the football team. But if you're the Patriots, don't you want a little bit of extra security going into camp? so you're not looking at it and saying Hunter Henry, Jack Westover, who played fullback for last year, Eli Rairden, rookie, don't know really what he's going to do and what kind of impact he'll have immediately. And then two UDFAs. No, that's not what I'm looking at.

Starting point is 00:24:06 If I'm Mike Grable, that's not what I want. If you are truly contending, add a veteran tight end, add a body, and let that body that you add compete at that position. and I mentioned this name right after we found out the Julian Hill injury, right? You go back to the Julian Hill bonus episode last week during the A.J. Brown hysteria in chaos. I mentioned Will Disley. And I said Will Disley to me is a name that would make a lot of sense. And Will Disley is still the name to me.

Starting point is 00:24:37 Big dude, good to really good blocking tight end. Plenty of experience. Now, you got to know the injury situation. He was injured last year. He was released early this offseason by the Los Angeles Chargers. but if Will Disley is healthy, he's been the name. That's the name I brought up immediately when we found out about Julian Hill's injury. Will Disley is still available.

Starting point is 00:24:58 That's a guy I am looking at. Now, there are other pathways to bring a tight end in. You can find a tight end that might get cut at some point in July or early August. You might even look at teams and look at their depth charts and say, are there any teams that have a lot of tight ends? I feel like the Rams might have 20 tight ends. Could you make some kind of trade? What would it cost you?

Starting point is 00:25:22 So the Patriots, Mike Vrable, clearly telling us on Wednesday, they're looking for another tight end. They want to add to that room. Caleb Lomu. Caleb Lomu. Mike Vrable spoke about the rookie tackle on Wednesday. Phil Perry posted the following quote, learns quickly. Usually doesn't make the same mistake twice. Mike Rable also noted that he has been impressed by Lomu's versatility.

Starting point is 00:25:53 Now look, no pads. No pads. And when there are no pads, it's very difficult to evaluate in the trenches. It's incredibly difficult to evaluate defensive linemen, offensive linemen, when they don't have pads and they're not smashing each other in the head and face. It's a very, very difficult task. And I think it's it's fools gold to take too much from minicamp. It's fools gold trying to evaluate and project a defensive lineman, especially a young defensive lineman, a young offensive lineman.

Starting point is 00:26:30 So we've got to point that out, no pads, it limits the evaluation. But there are three things, if you're Caleb Lomu and you're walking into mandatory mini camp, there are three things that you could do that would, make everybody feel better. There are three things that you need to show right now as a rookie to give confidence to the coaching staff. One thing is aptitude. How are you learning? Are you learning quickly? According to Mike Vrable, Caleb Lomu is learning quickly. He is a fast learner. Number two, are you available? Gay Backus right now. Gaye Backus is not available. That is impacting his rookie season negatively. Doesn't mean he's going to be a complete swing and

Starting point is 00:27:11 miss this year, but it absolutely is negatively impacting him by missing these weeks. So aptitude, availability, and you got to show, if you can, your versatility. And it sounds like so far, it's early on. Again, it's early, early, early. But so far, Caleb Lomu has checked all three boxes for the coaching staff. Abtitude, availability, and versatility. And speaking of that versatility, Lomu actually told the media, on Wednesday that he feels natural now playing right tackle.

Starting point is 00:27:46 So now does that mean he's got it all figured out? Of course not. But it is very good to hear. We went through the whole Canaan Wallace experiment. We went through the, you know, well, his name escapes me. The tackle from the Steelers, you know who I'm talking about. You know, they wanted to switch sides with him before he decided to leave the team. Akora for, Chook's a Korophor.

Starting point is 00:28:10 So Chooksokorafor had tough times sliding into a different side. Caden Wallace had a tough time sliding to a different side. Well, Caleb Lomu, and both of those guys kind of voiced some hesitancy, Caleb Lomu's been more optimistic about being able to play right tackle. And now he's telling us that he feels pretty natural at right tackle. And if that is true, that's significant news before camp. I mean, we are a month and a half away from training camp. If Caleb Lomu is already feeling natural at right tackle, that is a significant thing.

Starting point is 00:28:45 Your offensive tackle depth looks much better if he has confidence. And his ability to play swing tackle is there. One more note about the O line from Mike Vrable. He had an update on Morgan Moses. He said that the Patriots are quote unquote just managing Morgan. He'll have a plan through training camp. It's a long season he's important to us. I don't know if this is managing the injury.

Starting point is 00:29:07 Of course, the last time Morgan Moses was. on the field. He was dealing with an injury. He walked off the field with trainers at the last OTA practice. So I don't know if Mike Vrable is telling us that they're managing an injury with Morgan Moses or they're just managing his snaps. And this is part of managing his snaps. I mean, Kevin Byard is out there and he's 32 years old. He's no spring chicken. But we learned last year. I thought Mike Vrable did a tremendous job of managing the veterans, managing the players that need that type of management, whether it's injury history or age. So I trust Mike Vrable to manage the players correctly.

Starting point is 00:29:46 A.J. Brown, Morgan Moses, Robert Spillane, Kevin Byrd. I trust the head coach to handle and manage those players to have them ready week in and week out. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown 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 thumbs up.

Starting point is 00:30:10 Give us a like. Let's slap that algorithm. And don't forget to subscribe. And 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. Had to lockdownpatriots.com or check the link and the show notes to learn even more. Have a great day. We will be back on Thursday to recap a much busier and exciting mandatory mini-camp practice.

Starting point is 00:30:36 Till then, be well.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Update: Stefon Diggs Reunion Ruled Out? | Patriots Minicamp Latest

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