Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Why Keion White was drafted by the New England Patriots | 2023 NFL Draft Reaction

Starting point is 00:00:00 Bill Belichick had seen enough on defense that he wanted to go hard in 2023 with the 46th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The New England Patriots take Georgia Tech's Keon White defensive lineman, pass rusher, edge rusher, probably going to play him all over this defensive front. I'm Peter Bukowski, joined by Locked on Patriots host Mike DeBate. And this is kind of a no brainer. When you think about it, locked on NFL draft coverage presented by ultimate football GM. You think you can run an NFL franchise better than bill Belichick? Doubt it.

Starting point is 00:00:33 Visit ultimate dash gm.com to play the ultimate NFL GM simulation game. Start your dynasty today. And Mike, I mentioned this seems very intuitive. He just. Keon white does seem like a Bill Belichick type player, big physical athletic can play all over this defensive line. What does he bring? Yeah, that's exactly what he brings. This guy is someone who brings

Starting point is 00:00:58 size at six, five to 85. Peter also has the athleticism though, to drop into coverage. If you need him to do that I think he's going to project as a five tech defensive end but he'll be a three down player for the New England Patriots without question uh great again great height great weight great speed his size and someone who can kick inside on third down this was a real Patriot pick and I think Bill Belichick got a guy that he's wanted and probably coveted for quite some time. Yeah, you pair him with someone like Josh Usche, who is the sort of linebacker version of this, can play off the ball, can play on the edge as a pass rusher. A lot of different moving pieces here, but they used a high pick on Christian Barmore.

Starting point is 00:01:38 Dietrich Wise is in the building. Lawrence Guy has been a longtime contributor in the NFL, and they still have Matthew Judon on the end. So where do you think he slots in terms of playing time? What could his role be here with this team? Yeah, he's still a developmental player in a lot of ways. And I think that's where he's going to be. He'll be rotational at first, but you mentioned pairing him along guys like Matthew Judon and Josh Uche, who is headed for unrestricted free agency at the end of 2023, as is Anthony Jennings. So this is an interesting pick, I think a forward-thinking pick for the New England Patriots. But Keon White is that type of guy that's going to put the work in. We had the great

Starting point is 00:02:14 fortune of being able to speak to him very shortly after he was drafted this evening. And the one thing that he kept hammering the point home is he's constantly looking to improve. He'll be the first guy in the weight room, the first guy in the weight room the first guy in the meeting room gonna study he's gonna put in the physical work and because of that that's rewarded in a bill belichick system so this is going to be a good pick for the new england patriots and one that has a chance to pay dividends down the line i i know that the fit on the defense is intuitive all that good stuff the christian gonzalez pick as we talked about yesterday a no-brainer but in this spot the Patriots had some opportunities at some pass catchers on the board why do you think they eschewed that opportunity to add to this offense

Starting point is 00:02:55 with Mac Jones and and what they're bringing with Bill O'Brien this year probably a couple of reasons I think first off I think again Keon Clark was someone that the Patriots had zeroed in on and targeted and i think because he was there at 46 didn't have to move up didn't have to move back they made the move to go get the guy they wanted but at the same time as we kind of alluded to the last time we spoke on this i think the patriots are seeing that there might be some depth in terms of guys that can come in here and be productive players. There are a number of different players that could be available in the latter part of this evening or even all day on day three. So the Patriots are very much cognizant of the fact that they do need some pass catchers. Wide receivers, tight ends are starting to disappear from the board. So Patriots kind of

Starting point is 00:03:40 have to kick themselves into gear if they want one here. But at the same time, I think it was more about the value and the coveting of Keon White rather than just saying, well, we really don't need a pass catcher right now. I think they're well aware that they do. So much to talk about with this New England Patriots team at all times. We will see how Bill Belichick plays with his new toys coming up in 2023. For more on the Patriots draft and all things Patriots. No one covers the Patriots like Mike debate and the locked on Patriots podcast. Subscribe on YouTube,

Starting point is 00:04:11 wherever you get podcasts, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. Thanks, Mike. Anytime, my friend.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Why Keion White was drafted by the New England Patriots | 2023 NFL Draft Reaction

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