Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Wideouts and Wisdom on Wednesday: Parker, Thornton and New England Patriots Minicamp

Episode Date: June 6, 2022

As the New England Patriots march toward 2022, the team has some matters to address before the beginning of mandatory minicamp. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Clare ‘ClazzyClare’ Cooper to discuss who will have a bigger impact on the Pats wide receivers: DeVante Parker or Tyquan Thornton. The duo also dish on why David Andrews is still the key to the success of the offensive line. Lastly, Clare shares her thoughts on the top storylines heading into mandatory minicamp.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.Blue NileMake your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKED ON SPORTS listeners get $50 off purchases of $500 or more using code LOCKEDON.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Tyquan Thornton on the fast track? Why is David Andrews still the main man in the middle? And what can we expect from Mandatory Minicamp next week? I'm Mike DeBate, and you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are 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 from Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Lockdown Patriots

a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage, also your first listen every day. Remember, Lockdown Patriots free and available on all platforms. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I also cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. So please please believe me my message definitely let me know what's on your mind at mdabatenfl on the bird app and of course

as you can see it is not wednesday here on the pod but it is still time for the middle ground it is still time to bring that class and pizzazz that you all know and love during the middle part of the week. She is a columnist extraordinaire for PatsPropaganda.com, as well as being the host of one killer Patriots podcast. A Claire Perspective of Patriots podcast is something that you should be smashing that subscribe button, downloading, consuming wherever you get your podcasts. My good friend, the lady of Lockdown here on Lockdown Patriots, our resident midweek voice of reason, the illustrious Claire Classey. Claire Cooper

joins me here today as she does each and every Wednesday, even though it's Thursday, folks. Claire, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for joining me today. No, well, thank you for having me. It seems quite apt, really, to have the Countess of Clas on when it's the celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee over here. So it seems like, yeah, it seems quite apt to be on on the Thursday on this bank holiday for us in the UK. Absolutely. What better day to celebrate royalty than to have a member of the Lockdown Royalty here on the show? I don't kid when I say that. You truly are a gem of this podcast, and I truly don't know how I'd be able to get through the week without our chats, and I mean that sincerely.

Also, be able to get through this show without your wisdom and counsel because you always bring it the way only you can. And as I said to tease the opening in the show today, Claire, there are some storylines that the Patriots right now are in the midst of working through as they march toward mandatory mini camp to begin next week in gillette june 7th through the 9th that's going to be telltale for a lot of things but there are a couple of storylines that we've noticed here uh you know throughout the course of the last you know couple of weeks especially the wide receivers, especially the offensive line, two things in particular stood out to me. And I thought we'd talk about those today. And I wanted to get your thoughts on these subjects. Let's

start in the wide receiver core. The Patriots took the practice fields now twice, and those sessions have been open to the media. I've had the good fortune of being able to observe some of that. And when you watch the wide receivers work out, first of all, Matt Jones looks like he's developing a really good synergy with a lot of these guys looking very sharp when it comes to his connection with Kendrick Bourne. Even Devontae Parker coming in now as the new arrival. And rookie Tyquan Thornton seems to be finding a role in this offense as well that's something that I think is going to really endear him to the the public here in New England into the fan base but there's still some question marks as to how the Patriots are going to spread the wealth around

when it comes to distributing the ball the Patriots may have a lot of bodies on the wide receiver core and I think this wide receiver core is better than the one they had last year. But at the same time, you don't have that bona fide number one, absolutely surefire shot that everybody wants or that everybody coveted in the offseason. I still think this unit is good enough to get the job done. But in order to be better than they were last year, they're going to have to get some big time contributions from one of the new notable names namely either Devante Parker as a veteran or Tyquan Thornton as a rookie when you look at

both of these guys Claire which do you feel has the chance to make a bigger impact this year on the Patriots roster well it's quite significant that you're sort of only really mentioning two of the names and i know obviously that's because these two are the newest in the fold but there are a lot of other names kind of in there in the mix that haven't been moved on shall we say in regards to nikhil harry now most of the fan base for the patriots either believe or think that he is going to be moved on so but the depth as you said it's quite interesting because you've still got Jacoby Myers in there who had you know a great rapport in in the Patriots system you've got Nelson Aguilar who granted didn't really perform

to I suppose fan expectation really because we don't know what Bill's expectation was of this guy he you know he paid him as people like to say so you've got another veteran there who hasn't had hasn't really given much during a year that we've seen so is it kind of Aguilar's year to prove himself as people like to say so I don't know if if when we whittle it down to just two guys, that we've just got Thornton and Parker that need to perform, that need to show, that need to be utilised. As you said, there's depth there on the wide receiver core. Now, if you are just talking about Parker and Thornton, you're also talking about two individuals that may be new to the Patriots. But as you said, one of them is a veteran. Parker isn't new to the NFL. Granted, Thornton is new to the NFL, not new to football. Of course not.

But yeah, you've got two guys that are in very different positions within their career. So it's difficult to compare them in an instance, particularly when they don't really sort of play the same kind of position as such um you know i believe that park is more kind of a multi-purpose mid-range right runner and thornton's more of that vertical stretch the field you know outrun the coverage speed as i know a lot of people keep talking about his speed so you're looking to compare two individuals that haven't necessarily going to be showing the same skill set so they're two guys that are probably going to be on the field at the same time or there's a good chance that they'll be on the same field at the same time and then like I mentioned Nelson Aguilar he kind of I guess he plays a Parker-ish kind of position you could

say Parker plays an Aguilar kind of position, they're individuals that are there to be multi-purpose, you know, they've got a bit more strength, they've still got speed, of course, because it's a position where you kind of need speed granted, so looking at it from that respect, I think it's difficult to just look at the two individuals that you mentioned in a vacuum, looking at just Parker and Thornton and how they're going to affect the roster how they're going to affect you know playmaking that kind of thing because I think at this stage there's a lot to look at with regards to the other members of the wide receiver core as well and I think it's as we've all sort of mentioned as you guys Boston media have sort of mentioned it it feels a little bit early I know that we're sort of we're just desperate for scraps of football because it feels a little bit early I know that we're sort of

we're just desperate for scraps of football because it feels like it's been so long and we just want to see what this team has got because they're so different now to what we saw last year and as you mentioned the wide receiver core has upgraded shall we say with no disrespect to those that played last year it has sort of it does look like it's taken on sort of more talent, shall we say, and I'm very loathe to sort of say that because I hate to sort of transfer it away from guys that played, you know, their all last year.

But yeah, we've got an increase in skillset in the position we believe as fans anyway. So I think it's just interesting to see how they're going to utilize and and really which one which way it goes in regards to the offense because as we all know Josh McDaniels isn't there anymore and we're pretty certain that the Patriots way is going to stay and it's they're going to you know work the same way as they always sort of have but because they've got these different positions because they've got these guys with different skill set and they've got a different offensive coaching

system we may see it very differently to sort of what we're used to seeing it so to be honest with you I'm just sort of anticipating waiting to see what what they get out of these and to be honest what they take forward so come September who actually does sort of line up under the wr list and who is left um from previous and from now in all fairness no i think you make a good point and i'm glad that you mentioned the guys that are on this roster because so often we get caught up in the new shiny toys we forget about what we've got we forget about the blessings that we still have here in new england and we're going to get to those blessings in just a moment when we talk about David Andrews in the center position because I know that's one of your favorite subjects not just tight endage folks Claire Lester David Andrews and

she's going to be gushing poetically in just a moment but I think in a lot of ways where I was you know kind of going with this thought process and again you take me back to a place of reason you take me back to a place of reason. You take me back to a place of being grounded, middle ground, you know, you know, reasonable thoughts. And I appreciate that. But where I was going in this process as well, you've got these guys that are playing well, you know, that they're going to try to build on the momentum that they had last year. So when you look at the new elements, the two new big elements, obviously, on this wide receiver core are the veteran Devontae Parker. A lot of pedigree there when it came to what he did in Miami.

And then you take a look at this kid, Tyquan Thornton, now coming out of Baylor and being that speedy type of receiver that everybody's been wanting. We keep hearing about they need a guy that can take the top off the defense. I can tell you this kid can do it. He can really do it. He's fast. We had the opportunity to talk to Taekwon on Tuesday, and it was funny. He mentioned that, you know, people would always come up to him and want to race. But since he ran the 4.28 at the combine, no one is challenging him to a race anymore.

They don't want to be embarrassed. And that is lightning. I mean, there's no question about it. This kid can fly. The one thing that worries me about Parkerer and excuse me the one thing that worries me about thornton and the reason why i think parker may be a little bit more of a threat this year is because uh first of all there's a little bit of a slender build i think he has to build into his pro size now that's not to say that he's going to add a lot of excess muscle bulk. He's not going to be one of these guys that's going to, you know, be out there and then look like a power

lifter that does this, you know, on a regular basis. There are some guys out there that do it and they do it well, and there's no question about it. Taekwon's never going to be like that. He needs to stay slender in order to maintain his speed. But the second thing that I worry about with him is he's still developing his route tree. You can see it throughout this week. He's working on running the routes. He's working with Joe Judge, even with Mac Jones who's trying to show him

the nuances of how the Patriots do business here. I think that's going to continue to be something he works on. I think it's really tough to see a clear path for him to be a star right now on this wide out core. He'll get his touches. He'll get his opportunities. He'll show flashes, but I don't think he's going to be the guy that you're going to be talking about on a week-to-week basis of, wow, he had a really big impact on this game.

It might be sporadic where he makes a play or two here and there and say, wow, this kid's going to be something in year two or year three. Parker is more NFL ready he's a veteran there's no question about it and I think his skill set lends very well into what Mac Jones and the Patriots want to do someone that can align on the perimeter he can even drop back this kid has an opportunity I think to be someone here in New England that I think New England's been looking for that reliable receiver that can be the guy that takes the attention of at least one maybe even two defensive backs at a time and free up

guys like Kendrick Bourne free up receiving tight ends like Hunter Henry and John O'Smith gives them a little bit more opportunity so my thought process is Parker has the bigger impact this year but there's a lot to like about this kid, Thornton, and he's a humble kid. Enjoyed talking with him. I look forward to seeing how he's going to blossom in this Patriots offense. Claire, one of the big things about being able to blossom in this offense, so to speak,

is being able to get the protection that you need. And Mac Jones had his protection at times last year. Different look to the offensive line this year. No question about it. Gone are guys like Ted Karras and, you know, Shaq Mason is gone. And that's difficult for a lot of fans to see. But there are some new faces in the fold this year. Michael Wayne, who not a new face, but he's going to be in a new place on the line.

And then, of course, the rookie Cole Strange. There's so much talk about this line. But the man in the middle is still the guy who gets it done. And he's still the guy, I think, that is the straw that stirs the drink on the offensive line. What is it about David Andrews, folks, that makes him that indelible piece that the Patriots just simply cannot be without

when it comes to the offensive line? Claire is going to lend her wisdom and counsel on that subject, as well as mine, in just a moment. But first, folks, it's time to talk to you a little bit about some of the major gifts that you may want to be putting out this year. Wedding season is coming up, Claire. I mean, there's no question about it. It's a good time of year for all of that stuff. ready to pop the question or you're just celebrating a milestone moment find jewelry as unique as your significant other with the modern convenience of online shopping at bluenile.com bluenile has

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discreet packaging that won't give away what's inside shop stress-free and find your forever peace. Go to BlueNile.com today. Patriots fans, we are back with the illustrious Countess of Clas, adding the Clas and Pizazz the way only she can. The great Claire Classey Claire Cooper is joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. Columnist extraordinaire from

That's Propaganda and of course the host of A Claire Perspective, the Patriots podcast. Inc incidentally my favorite listen out there in patriots media definitely be sure to check that out folks claire in the previous segment we talked a little bit about the wide outs and what they can what we can expect out of the wide outs this this year when it comes to the new england patriots the new faces and some of the old guard that remains on this team. I think that's a good segue into the offensive line because what we're hearing on the O-line is that the Patriots offensive line is going to have a much different look this year. First of all, Ted Karras is gone. He's in Cincinnati. Shaq Mason will be in Tampa Bay. Joe Tooney left a couple of years ago. We know that's not know going to happen so now we're looking at

an offensive line that is definitely going to contain Trent Brown at one of the tackle positions I'm almost convinced that it will be the right tackle position that he's manning but you never know we'll get to that in just a second Michael Wayne who Michael Wayne who looks like he's going to slot in at right guard, replacing Shaq Mason. Makes a lot of sense. He hasn't played that position that much in the pros, but he played it very well in Michigan. That's what got him drafted here in New England, let's face it. You're also looking at Cole Strange, the rookie, coming in, playing left guard.

He's been taking a lot of snaps there lately, definitely showing some athleticism. He's bringing an energy that the Patriots, I think, will find very beneficial on their offensive line. And Isaiah Wynn slotting in at the left tackle right now. Isaiah hasn't, he hasn't showed up for OTAs just yet, but we're still waiting for him to make that move and to be there. Hopefully, they'll be there for mandatory minicamp next week. The one name that I haven't mentioned, conspicuous by his absence, is David Andrews. And David Andrews is always the stabilizing force. He is always the man in the middle. David Andrews is to the Patriots offensive line, Claire, to what you are here to Lockdown Patriots. That stable, middle-of-the-ground presence that always brings the type of stuff that you need always provides that type of guidance that wisdom and counsel that gets you through the week just

like David Andrews gets people through the game I know you're a huge fan of David but I also know you're someone that follows him very closely in terms of what he does on the field and off the field when you look at this offensive line especially knowing all of the changes that they're going to have to endure this year by the way i haven't even mentioned that matt patricia is going to be the one coaching them this year carmen brisillo now out in las vegas with josh mcdaniels two years removed now from a couple of you actually more than that uh from dante skarniecki's retirement what is it about David Andrews that makes him that stabilizing presence in the middle and makes him so much of a key for the success of that offensive line

well I think some of it is going to be sort of personality the the sort of the off the field the in the locker room kind of attitude that he's got and sort of um like camaraderie that he's got and sort of like camaraderie that he brings. The other thing is, of course, his sort of tenure as a Patriot. He was undrafted in 2015 to the Patriots, played 14 games, I believe, in his first year or started 14 games in his first year. Other than when he was unfortunately out of commission in 2019, sort of due to those blood clot concerns in his lungs, he's been a very consistent part of the Patriots offensive line. And with him being in the position that he is in the centre,

he's a very key position in regards to like Matt Jones and, you know, another sort of key to keep using the same word, but another key of the offence in regards to a quarterback. So you've kind of got a key linked to a key. So, you know, you've got a very important position there and a lot of it is his as i mentioned as his time within the patriots yeah okay so the offensive coaching and the offensive sort of personnel has made changes over the years that he's been there but he has been one consistent so that in itself is going to work well for him that he's sort of always been there through these changes he's been there but he has been one consistent so that in itself is going to work

well for him that he's sort of always been there through these changes he's been there for the quarterback and it's obviously very you know sort of good for him in history wise he's been behind a very successful quarterback so he spent a lot of time with you know within the industry within the the patriots um the word that i'm after, situation, I've lost my words today. He's been in the, you know, in the Patriots company for a long time under sort of Tom Brady. And I think that in itself is key. You know, he's 29. So he's got, although he's not an old guy, of course not. He's got kind of that sort of experience, maturity as these guys kind of get older and I think you can see that in him just in general when you see him sort of on and off the

field sort of social media things that kind of thing you know he's he seems a very down-to-earth sort of grounded kind of guy and you want that when you've got the man that's in the centre of your offence that's that those are the sorts of personality traits that you're going to look for, I would imagine, being a coach or being an offensive coach. So I think the changes in the offensive coaching, as you mentioned, Matt, Patricia, because you've got David Andrews there as this consistent, granted he's not taking the place of a coach or the person, and I would never allude to that whatsoever, but I think he's time within the place of a coach or the person and i you know i would never to allude to that whatsoever but i think his time within the patriots way his time within the in the

system is is key for the the coming together of the offensive line and i think it helps that he has got pieces that he's very familiar with in regards to trent brown Isaiah Wynn, to help sort of stabilise, maybe grow those kind of newer guys in the system, such as, I know Michael Wynne has been there for a year, but it helps, you know, he's grown within the system, and then you've got Cole Strange being introduced, and not to mention sort of other additions, like Alex, is it Alex D jale um who is coming from the cfl so you've got sort of i think i've got his first name wrong so i do apologize um drew drew de jale that's okay oh drew sorry my bad my bad i don't know who alex de jale is you know maybe he's his cousin and he'll come in next year we'll see um no he'll get him on speed dial yep This is it. This is it. Oh, he's a new name. His ears have just pricked up. Who is this guy?

What do we know? Sorry. So, yeah, trying to come back to the subject. You know, there are other new bodies that are in the system that have kind of got different experiences behind them. But David Andrews feels a bit like an anchor in a good way, not in a negative sort of terminology. I mean that in a very good and a very respectful way, because as you mentioned in the introduction, yeah, a big fan of David Andrews.

As you guys know now, I'm a big fan of the offensive line anyway, including like tight ends, that kind of thing. So yeah, I think that the key is, I keep saying that word, so I do apologise, but I think the key is his time in the Patriots way and his relationship with Matt Jones it grounds everything and I think that's important when you've got the changes when you've got the coaching changes that kind of thing you've got this familiar

face you've got this guy who's been here he's seen it all sort of thing in regards to that he worked under Tom Brady that kind of thing so I think is important, his history within the Patriots, to help, as I said, ground the team, ground the situation, and have the experience that he can share with the other individuals that are switching positions on the offensive line, coming into the second year, or even brand new. So, yeah, he's a very solid kind of individual from what we sort of see. And I think those sorts of things, those sorts of personality traits, as I mentioned, are good for his position.

Maybe it's sought out in regards to, you know, centres. Those are the sorts of persons that they do seek out. I'm not a scout, so I'm not quite sure. But and his relationship with Matt Jones, that is another thing that's significant and good as we've as we saw last year they built up a good rapport initially and we saw David Andrews go to back him all the time he you know Andrews was ready to leap over still bodies to defend his quarterback as we saw in a couple of games last year when someone made a jump after the whistle that kind of thing so it's it's little things like that that really give you that indication of this dynamic of this solidity as as i already mentioned in regard to that to make him such an important part of the offensive line and of the offense in in itself absolutely and again it's that stabilizing presence of a team captain that had like you

said very eloquently we just didn't even mention i didn't even mention that really i think gives david andrews that gravitas that he needs to be able to dictate things along that offensive line in the previous segment we talked a little bit about taekwon thornton and being brought along as a rookie and being able to you know really kind of i think bounce his way off of some of the veterans that are on this roster and even though they're not like old grizzled veterans that have been there for a long time that's like kendrick born uh jacoby myers can really give him i think some good uh you know feedback in terms of adding strength adding muscle but not necessarily adding a lot of excess weight, things of that nature. That's the type of mentor relationship I can see David Andrews taking on with a Cole Strange.

Because to me, I think Strange brings a level of athleticism that we haven't really seen at that position since Joe Tooney left. Evan Lazar joined me on the pod last week here on Locked On Patriots, and we talked a little bit about Cole Strange and how he looks and how he's drawn such amazing comparisons to Logan Mankins, but his game is actually a little bit more suited to what Joe Tooney brought to the table at the left guard position. I think he can really do a great job there alongside David Andrews in between both Andrews and Wynn, who I think Wynn had a little bit easier of a time adjusting when Joe Tooney was playing left

guard maybe even though he's much more inexperienced and there's growing pains that Cole Strange is going to have maybe the type of game that he has is going to be a little bit more mirrored toward what Tooney brought to the table as opposed to what Michael Wainu did last year you notice that Isaiah settled down a little bit when Ted Karras was playing that position again the veteran presence kind of mimicking what was done in the past and keeping that consistency. David Andrews is the real true catalyst in being able to do that. He's the one that keeps things on an even keel. And especially now you're looking at on the right side,

Awainu is going to be playing on the right guard position. Trent Brown most likely will remain the right tackle. and he did a great job there last year assuming good health this is an offensive line i think that will be better than the unit that you saw in 2021 and i think they were fairly good at being able to protect mac but that's the job you want to protect the quarterback prevent those outside edge rushers from being able to get there penetrate and disrupt the quarterback's rhythm. That's where Mac had his problems last year. When those blitzes were coming from the second and third level of the

defense, he had a lot of problems last year. It's up to the old line to be able to control them. And I think that unit they have this year is more athletic to do it, but you need that veteran presence in the middle, keeping things on an even keel and dictating what goes on very few in the league if any are better than david andrews are doing that so the fact that he's there is a big big uh boom for this team and also let's not forget the change in the coaching staff as well i mean we talk about it with the quarterbacks all the time thank god mac

has brian hoyer there on the field to help him out and to be that on-field coach well I think in a lot of ways I think the Patriots are going to see that this year as well not Patricia is going to rely very heavily on David Andrews to keep this unit together and to keep them cohesive and keep them all on the same page not an easy task that's the job of a captain and I think he'll do it well and he has done it well for a number of years here in New England definitely sure hands definitely not to not not to be worried if if if it's in the hands of David Andrews then I'm not worried absolutely and you know what for the lack of a better term I don't think the Patriots are too worried about that either as long as David Andrews is in the middle of that offensive line I think they're in good shape that being said Claire we've talked about

a couple of the storylines leading in meaning the offensive line and the think they're in good shape. That being said, Claire, we've talked about a couple of the storylines leading in, meaning the offensive line and the impact of rookies on that unit, as well as the wide receivers. But mandatory minicamp, folks, is coming up beginning this coming Tuesday, June 7th at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. What can we expect out of this three-day event? Mandatory attendance, so everybody who needs to be there better be there. We're going to talk in just a moment

about what the Countess has in terms of expectations. Will she be pleased at the end of this? What to do if she's not? We'll talk about that in just a moment. But first, folks, in this competitive environment, Lockdown Patriots listeners, could you afford to have a portion of your workforce just sitting around doing nothing? No, not good business. Why should your building be any different? Catalyst Power would like to lease that empty rooftop from you to build a large solar array. Generate a brand new revenue stream without lifting a finger or being responsible for the installation or upkeep of that array. You can do something great for the environment, great for your marketing, and great for your

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Go to catalystpower.com slash LockedOnPatriots to learn more. LockedOn Patriots listeners, we are ready to wrap things up here on LockedOn, but not before we absorb just a little more clasp-a-zazz wisdom and counsel from my illustrious guest today, Claire Cooper, who is a columnist extraordinaire for PatsPropaganda.com. Of course, a Claire perspective of Patriots podcast. In case you haven't heard me mention it a couple of times, folks, I'm going to mention it one more time. Smash that subscribe button.

A phenomenal listen. You will not be disappointed. Claire, we've talked offensive line. We've talked wide receivers. We even sprinkled a little tight endage in there because we're contractually obligated to do that when the countess is my guest each and every week but i think we're going to close out with kind of more of a broad stroke because we're taking a look now at the patriots closing up ota and moving toward mandatory minicamp this is kind

of the dress rehearsal for training camp we know that it's a three-day event at you know gillette stadium all 32 nfl teams the Patriots are not unique in this regard folks but it is a situation for us to be able to see which players might be involved in a contractual holdout depending on who shows up OTA you can never tell because they're completely voluntary everyone has the right to attend or the right not to attend and you know pretty much the team downplays attendance on these things but mandatory minicamp is where you're really going to see the eyes open up if someone doesn't show up that could be a problem also we're going to get a chance to see personnel

groupings what the patriots are thinking for some of their new additions and what they're thinking for some of the veterans that have been key members of this team and how they're going to align in terms of offensive and defensive alignments. I know this is something that you always look forward to. You keep a sharp eye on it, even from across the pond, and do your best to keep up with all of the coverage here. And you do a remarkable job considering the time difference, considering the zone problems. I think it is remarkable, the job that you do trying to keep up with all of this. And when you look toward mandatory mini camp week now here in New England,

what are some of the things you're looking forward to seeing? Could be offense, could be defense, anything at all. What are you looking forward to watching or keeping your eye on this week? Well, first off, Mike, we barely mentioned tight ended. So you can't really say that we we you know fulfilled the contract in regards to discussing them because we didn't really touch upon them whatsoever and obviously one of my answers is is going to be the one thing that I'm looking forward to is seeing how the tight ends work out there seeing how much kind of uses they get that kind of thing there's

been teeny tiny little bits of Jono Smith making a one-handed catch so I love how we kind of get really excited about one single catch it's like it was one single catch there is a chance that in my lifetime I might I might manage one of those and if you caught it on I don't know that was a pretty impressive catch yeah okay you know with all due respect probably not but I'm just trying to put it in perspective here. I'm kidding, folks. I'm kidding. We all managed that one fantastic catch in our lifetime sort of thing. But no, seriously, obviously, it was great to kind of see him. It was great to see Janu Smith out there, particularly because he wasn't able to last year.

There was various reasons that kind of came to light since then. Initially, we weren't really told. He just wasn't sort of around in in that kind of time frame last year so it's good that he was it's good that hunter was able to be there as well so it was good that they you know they already were working towards that dynamic that building back up of the team sort of thing so that was great to see and obviously that's something that i want to see anyway because i'm very much interested to see how this tight end endage core shall we say does evolve because I am interested to see being a tight end enthusiast so I know this is you know this might be just sort of small for me and a niche for me but I'm interested to see

how they develop and what they do in regards to Asi Asi and Dalton Keane now I know Keane was seen out there but he was limited so that sortton Keane. Now, I know Keane was seen out there, but he was limited. So that sort of initially had me concerned. Now, I know the guy's coming off surgery. We get it, that kind of thing. There is still a worry that if he's not kind of back fit already, how's that going to sort of develop into his season? He's in his third season now.

It doesn't bode well to be sort of already limited hopefully it might just be kind of like growing pains it might just be they're easing back in and things like this i don't know in all fairness so i'm just waiting to see how it does unfold sort of between now and september in regards to the titans if they do look at moving on from Dalton Keane and Devon Asiasi if they do look at bringing someone else in if they look at making a trade if they switch it out it just sort of feels like sort of on the edge of my seat situation to see what's going to happen now granted nothing could happen in all fairness they could not do anything with either of them

just moving forward Dalton Keane might be sort of developing well recovering well and that's all great and fine and dandy don't get me wrong I don't want him to have any injury issues it just struck me as we're already in the situation where he's limited we're already starting this kind of beginning of the season almost if you like I know it's not official that kind of thing so with him sort of limited granted I know there are other players as well so I'm not trying to kind of pick on him or pinpoint it it was just one of those things that hit me personally of wow already limited you know I hope it's just superficial as I mentioned just that they're kind of putting him in gradually that sort of thing so for me that's something that I'm interested to see how that moves forward if they do look at switching out

these chaps if not if they grow if they sort of slot back in that sort of thing because we haven't seen them as we've aforementioned on these shows before how Asiasi was a healthy scratch last season 17 games and not a peep and I was quite surprised at that so that's one thing that I definitely have my tight-ended radar on is what happens in regards to that but of course I'm a Patriots fan in general as well so I am very interested to see how the offensive line does solidify how the relationships kind of build between them I know you mentioned that the setup as you as you kind of believe it may be to be I'm interested to say that I think maybe they'll switch out I know obviously the names that you mentioned are sort of the more

top players and it's sort of not a given but it's an expectation that Cole Strange looks like he's sort of ready to to be a starter but as I mentioned the name Dejahle the the sort of other pieces that they may slot in that may actually make that offensive line work better than maybe what you'd class as your your top players who knows and I know there's a little bit of unrest in regards to Isaiah Wynn and his injury situations and his injury histories. As you said, he wasn't there, that kind of thing. So it may be that he isn't a starter. Now, I'm not assuming anything, folks.

I'm not giving you any breaking news or anything. This is just an opinion of, you know, that might be the case. So that's another sort of setup that I'm interested in seeing is how the offensive line sort of is. Then there's a mass change in regards to defence. I know a lot of people have concerns over the defensive line with regards to Lawrence Guy kind of getting older, that sort of situation.

I love how we say these young guys are getting older. It's crazy. And the linebackers, they didn't add in regards to the draft with linebackers and it was definitely what people would perceive as a need and i don't disagree with them however we sort of semi forgot about those that they drafted previously because we hadn't seen them and we didn't know what to expect for them from them so hopefully this mandatory minicamp will sort of give us a little bit more of what we can expect from them perhaps maybe i know it's still it's still quite until you get to september

until you get to nfl games against other nfl teams it's difficult to sort of judge what they've got um but we kind of can only go on what we've shown and yeah so it'd be interesting to see what these kids have got what these new linebackers as i knew i know some of them first second year that kind of thing but they still seem very new because we haven't really seen them play and we haven't seen the system with them in to see how the system does work with regards to somebody like blitz so because they maintain devon mccourty and things like this to see how the system does work with regards to somebody like Bledsoe because they maintain Devin McCourty and things like this to see how they set them up, how the defence is just going to be full of safeties

and the offence is just going to be full of tight ends, you know, that kind of thing. Absolutely. I'm very interested to look into that in all fairness. For me, it's kind of a big picture. It's kind of an everything. I'm very interested to see how everything transpires how everything is set up and again the speed of Thornton that that kind of thing and and

how Parker is used so it is really a bit of everything I'm very interested to see as I keep saying I'm looking forward to seeing the general setup but for me personally as a tight-ended person that that's the one little thing if you want me to pinpoint that is the one little thing that I'm looking forward to very interested in seeing how it develops with regards to when we get to training camp that rotating door of players that kind of come in sign the day and then leave all the tight ends that they signed last year I think they had something like eight technically on the roster at one time and then obviously they all sort of left that kind of thing in regards to Paul Butler and other names that escaped me at the moment that I'm usually can

remember so yeah I'm sort of interested in that revolving door of of players but mainly in my case in tight ends to see how we get from what they have now what we're seeing now what we're sort of showed now in regards to hunter henry johnny smith devon assiasi dalton keen and matt so cool so cool so cool you had it right i always i always keep thinking that his name is skull and it's not it's me my brain not working properly apologies if his last name was skull and he did not play for the minnesota vikings that would yeah that would be a true disappointment but in regards to sort of what they've got now in those five and what they end up with come september i wouldn't be

surprised maybe and that's because I'm hoping who knows but I wouldn't be surprised if that setup from that five to what they've got come September might actually be really really different so there's definitely something that I am keeping my sharp eye on as well as the rest of the team because I am a full Patriots fan you know when it comes down to it but that's my little particular thing to see, to see what's changing, to see what's different when it comes to tight endage. Yeah, I think your sharp eye is going to be very similar to that of the Patriots fan base. And I'm glad that you mentioned, you know,

mixing in different players and not just really focusing on the front runners. And we have a tendency to do that. You mentioned the offensive line and Justin Heron is getting a lot of interesting looks from the Patriots coaching staff. They're showing a lot of faith in him, putting him in there with the starting unit. I think he just got some starts yesterday, the previous day as well.

And that, to me, I don't know if that's necessarily a numbers game or if that's a situation where the Patriots are finally looking at him, maybe realizing his potential i remember people telling me when he came out of west virginia this kid was going to be a a star in this league or at least uh you know have the the opportunity to be a steal in that draft do these guys make that leap um we didn't mention much on the defense uh this time around but i just wrote a piece for sports illustrated uh the other day on devon godchild and how he needs to make that next level step in the final year of his contract to really be that stabilizing presence. We talked about David Andrews in the middle of the offensive line. Godchow needs to really step up and be a stabilizing presence in the middle of the defensive line. I'm not saying the same type of role. They're

two different players, two different presence in the locker room, but there's a step that needs to be taken there and then of course the secondary I'm looking forward to seeing Malcolm Butler progress we saw him a little bit this week how's he going to have an impact on that secondary is you know the combination of he and Jalen Mills going to be enough or the Patriots going to need to add something to the cornerback position I still think that's the biggest hole on the team and I'm really concerned to see how this team is going to progress down the line. And then of course, you know, the safety position, which I always have a mention for because of my guy, Adrian Phillips, he's got two more box safeties alongside him right now in Kyle Duggar and also in Jabril Peppers, who was brought on as well.

So interesting things for the Patriots right now. A lot of, excuse me, a lot of interesting things going on with the Patriots right now. And I think it's going to be very, very difficult to keep your eye on only one of the things that Claire mentioned, because there's so many storylines heading into this mini camp. I'm looking forward to it. And I know you are as well, Claire. We'll keep you updated right here on Locked On Patriots, folks. We're going to have boots on the ground.

I will be in attendance next week at mandatory minicamps. I'm looking forward to that. And, Claire, I'll be joining you on one of those days right here on Locked On Patriots. So things are about to get interesting in Foxborough, and we look forward to having you along for the ride as well as all the great guests and our listeners here on Locked On Patriots. But I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for joining me here today on a holiday in your neck of the woods, no less, but for you to be here and to take the time out to

still bring your class and pizzazz and wisdom and counsel here to the Locked On Patriots masses. We really appreciate you, Claire. So before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can interact with you on social media, where they can find your great work, and what we can look forward to, not only on A Claire Perspective, the Patriots podcast,

but also on Pat's Propaganda. Of course. Well, as this is kind of like a side gig for me, I do have what they call a regular day job, so that's been keeping me quite busy. so I haven't been writing very much recently plus the topics of you know have been less than kind of that you can really talk about in all fairness we've had we've had not very that much to report and until sort of recently now so my writing has slipped a little so I do apologize but yeah you'll find me on Pat's Propaganda and Tom Shulmellers is on there as well

my work colleague a clear perspective as you mentioned I've been I've still been managing to squeeze that in so that's that was out last week with Porpoirillo and then it will come at you next week so yeah I'm still trying to keep the every two weeks going and trying to as best I can so hopefully I'll have a new guest for you in a couple of weeks time as well and then of course not to forget to mention One Patriots Play Sports to you by e2g sports where you will find myself Steve Balistrieri and Thomas Murphy absolutely folks and I can't recommend it highly enough definitely check out all the great work that Claire does on patspropaganda.com her and Tom do an amazing job with that site Claire perspective thepective, the Patriots podcast, like I said, one of my favorite listens,

and another one of my favorite listens, One Patriots Place, starring Claire, Murph, and, of course, the resident voice of reason here on Locked On Patriots. He'll join us a little later here in the week, Steve Balistrieri. Claire, again, thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for your counsel. A special extra thank you for the Klaas and Pizazz, which we know and love each and every week. But, folks, thank you so much for making Locked On Patriots the daily part of your New England Patriots coverage and also your first listen every day.

And now that you've concluded your listening of Locked On Patriots for the day, be sure to make your second listen, the Locked On NFL podcast. Go and check that out. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And, of course, smash that subscribe button on YouTube as well. Until tomorrow, Foxborough faithful, stay safe, stay well, be the change that you wish to see in the world. On behalf of the illustrious Claire, Clazzie Claire Cooper, I'm Mike DeBate. Have a great day, everyone.