Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Will Kyle Williams Reverse Patriots’ Early Round WR Draft Curse?

Episode Date: June 9, 2025

Patriots' Kyle Williams: The Next Big Thing in New England? Trade rumors swirl as the team continues to eye receiver upgrades.Nick Cattles breaks down Williams' potential to reverse the Patriots' wide receiver draft woes, highlighting his unique background as a high school quarterback. The discussion shifts to New England's reported interest in Ravens' Rashod Bateman, sparking speculation about the team's receiver corps and Drake Maye's development. Cattles analyzes Carlton Davis joining the Patriots, the importance of OTAs, and the defense's top-10 potential. He also explores NFL labor relations and the voluntary nature of offseason activities.Tune in for expert insights on the Patriots' offensive overhaul and defensive strategy heading into the new season.Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPatriots?sid=YouTubeLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL#patriots #newenglandpatriotsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.Skylight CalendarRight now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to Skylightcal.com/NFL.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.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)

Kyle Williams looks to make fans forget about the failures of the past. That's where we start on this episode of Locked On Patriots. MUSIC You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Patriots fans? I am Nick Cattles, your host, born and raised in New England, your New England Patriots expert, host of

the Everything Pats podcast, co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattles and also a Sports Talk Show host veteran. On today's episode, the Pats reportedly were involved in trade talks for a recently extended wide receiver and an important piece is back at Gillette. But first, Kyle

Williams attempts to make us forget about the many draft swings and misses at wide receiver. We appreciate you joining the show, making us your first listening for being an everyday or the Lockdown Patriots podcast. They proud partner of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And as a reminder, we're going three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday until we get back to five shows a week on Monday, July 14th. And don't forget to help us out, like and subscribe on YouTube to this podcast.

Kyle Williams has all the tools to reverse the early round wide receiver jinx of prior Patriots drafts. We all know the names, I'm not going to go down the roll call. Mike Giardi recently wrote about Williams and here's what he had to say. Going into the senior bowl Williams had generated a little buzz. In fact, what you heard most about the fifth year senior is that he had a long way to go as a route runner and as such that limited his ceiling as a player. But that was the public sentiment. Privately Williams had a lot of fans in league scouting circles, front offices and coaching

staffs. One of those believers was Patriots wide receivers coach Todd Downing. Williams is going to get every opportunity during this camp. I truly believe the Patriots are going to give Williams every single solitary opportunity that they can so he can win a job and play lots of football in 2025. And when you look at Williams, he has the tools. Williams fills an urgent need for this football team. We have spent the last couple of years, we have spent more than the last couple of years

talking about needing that X receiver. It goes back to the Nikhil Harry draft. We've been talking about XXX for the past few years. And this team still until it drafted Kyle Williams, fingers crossed, still needed that X receiver. And maybe just maybe he is the guy to finally fill that need. But it's not just X receiver, it's also wide receiver explosivity.

The Patriots have not had nearly enough explosivity from that position. You look across the league and you've got Jamar chase and Tyree kill the Pats have not had that They've been missing that critical element to an offense We're talking about somebody who can take an underneath route to the house turn a screen into a touchdown beating guys downfield for big plays that explosivity has been missing. As a matter of fact, you can look at the Patriots, this was written by Pro Football Focus before the draft, on explosive play rate trends.

In seven of the past 10 years, the team that finished last in explosive pass play rate has used an early pick on a pass catcher the following spring. And that's precisely what the Patriots did in the draft by selecting Williams on day two. You can look at Williams and what he brings to the table and it makes so much sense as to why the Patriots would draft him and what they envision that Williams can bring to their offense. Matt Bowen of ESPN recently wrote about rookie fits and some of the best rookie fits this upcoming season and he put Kyle Williams with the Patriots on the list. Here's what he wrote in part, Williams can operate as a vertical threat and

he can hit the accelerator after the catch. With Josh McDaniels back, Williams can be schemed to get free access off the line to run the crossers and overs. He could also see some manufactured touches. We're talking screen passes, we're talking jet sweeps, fly sweeps, to maximize his electric ability. Mike Giardi wrote, if the 4-4 speed plays outside, and it did in college, Williams will give May someone who can chew up cushions on the outside and reintroduce the deep comeback

into the Pats Arsenal, never mind the potential home run ball. Back to Bowen, who notes last season Williams averaged 17.1 yards per catch. He scored 14 touchdowns. He's a big play target who brings more juice to the team's wide receiver room. He's going to play X and he's going to bring that explosivity and he's going to get every single opportunity to do so because he's a different kind of receiver than what the Patriots have had in that room and really a different kind of receiver than what the Patriots have had in that room and really a different kind of receiver compared to many of the receivers currently in the room. Here's another thing about Kyle Williams

and why I feel somewhat optimistic about his chances of reversing this early round wide receiver jinx. He played quarterback in high school. Did you know that? If not, now you do. And when you play quarterback, even at the high school level, you understand. You understand the route recognition,

the coverage recognition, what your receivers are supposed to do. So when you make that jump to receiver, you're looking at the game through a quarterback's eyes. And that's a completely different world. Think about Jacobi Myers, think about Julian Edelman, two guys who played quarterback before moving to wide receiver. Think about how those two players fit within the McDaniels offense and what made them effective.

What made them effective and fairly early within the offense is at least partially because they played the quarterback position. Because in Josh McDaniel's offense, you have to have that route recognition. You have to understand what the other receivers are doing. You have to understand what the quarterback is looking at. You have to adapt and adjust to the coverage. It is critical in this offense to do so. And Karen Geregian recently at Mass Live

wrote about Williams during his senior year. Anton Clarkson, his coach at St. Monica Catholic High School in Los Angeles took Williams aside and basically told him his football future was as a receiver. Clarkson believes a receiver who's played quarterback has a better understanding of how to make a quarterback's life easier.

Oh yeah, no doubt. Just the way they see the field. It's a much broader scope. Just making yourself presentable for a quarterback, how you see the defense, all that stuff helps. If you've been a quarterback, you're able to see things from a much bigger prism, unquote. Gorikian writes, Williams took it further.

He said he understands the importance of route depths in running to the designated spot, as opposed to being a few feet away. He also talked about the same big picture view and knowing how he could best help a quarterback. The football IQ is one thing, but playing at the quarterback position and seeing an offense from that position to then jump to wide receiver. It really does allow you to look at it from 30,000 feet, take a big picture view of what's

unfolding in front of you and what you have to do to be successful, what you have to do to help that quarterback. It's a zone where you're going to sit in the coverage? You know. The route recognition, the route depth, recognizing coverages. And finally, Williams strikes me as a Mike Vrabel type guy. And we've talked about Mike Vrabel type guys being brought in during the off season, whether it was via free agency or the draft. And we're talking about a guy who is tough. Williams is tough.

Talking about a guy who's smart. We're talking about leadership skills. And we're talking about work ethic. And I wanna go back to that Karen Geregian story about Williams and here's what Clarkson said, quote, we used to joke, he just wanted to make the position switch because he wanted to wear gloves, but he's very much in the mold

of how Julian Edelman would be, Hz Ward would be, or Steve Smith would be. And Steve Smith of course has said, Williams reminds him of himself, just roll up your sleeves he's going to give you everything he's got. He's an old-fashioned gladiator. Unquote. An old-fashioned gladiator. He's going to work his took us off Sounds like a Mike Vrabel guy So when we look at Kyle Williams, he's got the skill He's got the fit within this offense bringing a couple of elements that this team desperately needs and

He has coaches that love him Todd Downing a huge fan and being a Mike Vrabel type guy I just have to imagine that Mike Vrabel is also a fan of Kyle Williams and we saw the call between Vrabel and Williams during draft night where you know Vrabel told Williams your top 30 visit won all of us over. He's going to get the opportunity. And I feel like he's got a great chance to reverse that early round wide receiver jinx for the Patriots. Let's hope so.

Speaking of the wide receiver position, the Pats reportedly tried to trade for one this offseason. Find out who next as we continue with today's episode of Locked On Patriots, part of the Lockeddown Podcast Network, your team every day. You ever check into your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, entertainment, it's easy to lose track. And that's where Monarch Money comes in, your personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money isn't just a budgeting app, it's a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments

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Locked on NFL for half off your first year. So yes, the Patriots, as we talked about last segment, they've been trying to find that X receiver. They've been trying to find more explosivity, but the Patriots are still looking for that number one guy. Don't get it twisted. They are still looking for that number one guy. Don't get it twisted. They're still looking for the alpha. And Jeremy Fowler over the weekend at ESPN reported that the Patriots tried to trade

for Rashad Bateman. Now Bateman just signed an extension with the Ravens so we can just get that idea right out of our heads. It's not going to happen, but the Patriots were involved. The Patriots were involved, the Packers were involved, but the Patriots were involved the Patriots were involved the Packers were involved and the Cowboys were involved so again the Pats, Elliot Wolfe this crusade to find a true number one guy began last off season when they tried to acquire Brendan Iuke as we know and it kept on

moving on through to this past off season where apparently, according to Fowler, they tried to acquire Bateman and Bateman wanted a new contract. The Ravens said, Hey, go out there and try to find teams that are interested in the Patriots were one of those teams that was indeed interested. Now, what I want to know is when did these talks happen? Let's look at it generally. When did these talks actually happen? When were the Patriots on the phone with Bateman, Bateman's representation? When were they trying to make this deal to bring him in? Now I would imagine it was likely before the

draft. And there's a reason that I say that. Let's look at all three teams and what they did. The Packers, the Cowboys, the Patriots. Those three teams were what they did. The Packers, the Cowboys, the Patriots. Those three teams were interested in Bateman. So what did they do? What did they do during the draft or right after the draft? Well, we can start with the Packers. The Packers for the first time in like forever drafted a wide receiver in the first round.

They went out and they drafted Matthew Golden from Texas. So they clearly wanted a wide receiver. They clearly went after Bateman. And when they found out that Bateman was not going to be a possibility, they went out and they drafted Golden from Texas in the first round. That is a heavy investment, especially for that program in Green Bay. They just don't do that. Then you had Dallas. What did Dallas do? Well, Dallas decided to trade for George Pickens from Pittsburgh. So it certainly feels like the Cowboys were interested in trading for Bateman. The Ravens said not going to happen. We now realize that teams are actually

interested in this guy, willing to trade for this guy, which means he has more value than The Ravens said, not going to happen. We now realize that teams are actually interested in this guy, willing to trade for this guy, which means he has more value than maybe even we thought that he had. So we're gonna sign him, we're gonna get a deal done. And it certainly feels like the Cowboys then pivoted and made that deal for Pickens post-draft. What did the Patriots do?

The Patriots drafted the guy we just talked about last segment in Kyle Williams? So those three teams you can see it clearly They made moves for receivers whether it was in the draft or via trade Every single one of those three teams made something happen So I have to believe that the Bateman talks were before the draft maybe even during the draft early on. And it just feels like when you look at what those three teams did, it feels like

a reaction to the Bateman talks ending. That's what it feels like to me. So I'm trying to put two and two together here. I think the Patriots spoke to Bateman or Bateman's representation before the draft. They kind of envisioned him filling this Kyle Williams role within the offense. They then found out that Bateman was going to stay in Baltimore. So they pivoted, looked at the draft and said, who can be that guy? Now I also want to know, and I have to imagine that these talks about Rashad Bateman happened after the Patriots signed Stefan Diggs. Now maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe these talks for Bateman happened before late March, but the Patriots, they agreed to a deal with Diggs in late March. And if these talks happen, post-Stefan Diggs, pre-NFL draft, it tells us a few things. It tells us that the Patriots, they don't necessarily want to utilize Diggs as an ex-receiver, which is probably why we see Kyle Williams almost exclusively lining up on the outside during OTAs. We'll see if that continues today during mandatory minicamp. But it's rather obvious the Patriots, they look at Diggs and they say, no, we want Diggs not on the outside as the X, maybe occasionally he can go out there, but we're looking at

him as a different piece. We're going to move him around. We're going to put him in the slot a decent amount because he was really good in the slot last year for Houston. It also tells us that the Patriots do not view digs as a number one wide receiver. I don't think that they would have signed digs and then gone out and traded for a Rashad Bateman and end up giving Bateman a contract on top of the Diggs contract that they felt like Diggs was a number one. Now, of course, maybe the Bateman stuff happened before the Diggs conversation, before Diggs agreed to a contract, and maybe they just took the Diggs

money and they said, that's what we were going to pay Rashad Bateman, at least in part. So this makes sense. But if this did happen after Stefan Diggs agreed to a deal with the Pats, it tells you they don't see Diggs as an X and they don't see Diggs as a number one, because if they felt like Diggs was a true bona fide number one still in 2025, I don't think they would have extended themselves to have that conversation with Bateman and his representation. The Patriots at the time might've had a little bit of, I don't wanna say concern, but caution regarding Diggs and his ACL.

They might've looked at it and said, you know what? Yes, we think he's ahead of schedule, but we don't really know if he's ahead of schedule. And if we don't have Diggs for the first month, month and a half of 2025, we're gonna need somebody else to help Drake May. So I find the timing element very interesting regarding the Patriots and when they had these conversations with Bateman and or Bateman's representation and how they pivoted, when they pivoted, why they pivoted.

And I also walk away from this story, this report by Fowler saying to myself, the hunt will continue. The Patriots are going to continue to hunt for an Alpha wide receiver. Now, I would say Bateman is more of a two than a one. And so maybe it did happen after digs or before digs in digs is seen as a three or a to be or But even if they brought Bateman in I would not have been sold that Bateman was one of those True number one alpha guys the Jamar chases that I brought up earlier. I don't think Bateman's at that level

So the Patriots will continue to try to search and seek out a true alpha for that room, not just personality wise, but production wise. Maybe they hit on Kyle Williams and he ends up being a true alpha. I think if Kyle Williams ends up being a solid number two receiver, you hit a home run with that pick at 69. I'm not going into Kyle Williams rookie year saying to myself, he's going to be this team's number one. Now, if he ends up being that guy, man oh man, that's a grand slam, not even a home run. But the Patriots are going to continue to hunt for a true alpha and they've got the resources, they've got the money, they've got the draft picks.

Because if you can acquire that true alpha, that's when you see Drake May take that big time leap. Looking for a leap this year from May, but the big time leap likely to happen in year three if he continues to progress and the easiest way to get to that big-time leap like Josh Allen had in year three The easiest way to get there is to try to find an alpha like the Bills did with of course Stefan Dix It's all full circle, baby Alright a big off season acquisition has finally made his way to Gillette. That's coming up next as we continue today's episode of Lockdown Patriots,

part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. This Patriots defense has top 10 in the league potential. This Patriots defense has top 10 in the league potential. And there's really no doubt in my mind that this defense has all of the fixings to be really freaking good in 2025. And a big piece of that puzzle is Carlton Davis, who of course signed a big contract during the off season. Carlton Davis, the ability to lock down that second outside corner position is huge for this team.

We've seen Christian Gonzalez and what he can do already in all pro. He's played what 20 games in his NFL career and he's already an all pro. There are no questions about Gonzalez. Gonzalez is unequivocally one of the best young corners in the league and he has a legitimate shot at being one of the best if not the best corners in the league within the next 12 to 18 months or so There's no denying Christian Gonzales's talent and what he brings to a defense But you need the other guy on the outside you need that player opposite of Gonzales

That doesn't necessarily have to lock somebody down a la Darrell Revis but somebody who you can trust and Davis fills that role and now with Gonzales and Davis you feel like you've got a Cornerback tandem that is going to make life miserable For most if not all of the passing offenses they face in 2025 now Mike Reese Over the weekend wrote about Davis. Here's what he had to write. Davis was back on the field Thursday after not being present during practices, open to

reporters the last two weeks. Now I did kind of get a kick out of so many people talking about myself included, Stefan Diggs and him not being at all of the OTA practices. And I found it somewhat interesting. And I've said this on the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast. I said it at the beginning of this whole situation. It's interesting that Carlton Davis, he's at Turks and Caicos and nobody's talking about it. Nobody's worried about Davis being at Turks and Caicos, but everybody's freaking out about

Diggs being down in Miami and being on a yacht. So inevitably, the Davis absence from OTAs, is it a big deal or is it no big deal? I say it's no big deal. I'm not one of those people that lose their minds over a player not being at OTAs. The CBA matters. You collectively bargain certain things. And we know all of the power that ownership has when we talk about the NFL. And apparently, according to Roger Goodell, the owners want even more power financially

because they sound like they're not too thrilled about the 50-50 scenario anymore. So look out for that over the next couple of years. That's going to be a big story that continues to grow. But the collectively bargained agreement, the negotiation, the back and forth between players and the owners, the NFLPA collectively bargained OTAs. It is a voluntary part of camp. It's not mandatory. Now mandatory mini camp starts today, goes through Wednesday and if I'm a team I get concerned if a guy doesn't show up at mandatory minicamp.

But when we talk about OTAs, it's collectively bargained. The players have negotiated for the right to not have to be at OTAs. Now, in a perfect world, everybody would show up, everybody would be thrilled. But frankly, when we look at the Patriots attendance at OTA is relatively speaking, they did a great job. The vast majority of dudes were out there. The vast majority of guys were involved. Diggs was involved more than I thought he would be.

Christian Barmore is working fully by all accounts. But when you look at the NFL, a lot of guys don't show up. Many guys don't show up for OTAs. Look at what Aaron Rodgers did. Is it any coincidence that Aaron Rodgers decides to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers after OTAs are finished?

Of course not. He signs after OTAs right before mandatory mooney camp so he doesn't have to deal with the media asking him questions of why he didn't show up to OTAs when it's his first year in Pittsburgh, etc, etc. This was so finely mapped out by Rogers because he understands. I'm a vet. I've been playing for like 20 years. I don't want to mess around with OTAs. I'll show up at mandatory minicamp so I'll sign the contract late week before I got to show up for the mini camp. And around the league, there's a number of guys who just, they're not going to show up to voluntary OTAs.

It's just not going to happen. It's their last shot before they got to come into camp and they've got to start playing some football and you know, doing their day job, so to speak. So before that they go on vacation. Kendrick born reportedly was, you know, on a vacation or, so to speak. So before that, they go on vacation. Kendrick Bourne reportedly was, you know, on a vacation or whatever with his wife last week. So they negotiated this, the NFLPA negotiated this. That is their right to not be at voluntary OTAs.

There's no pads, there's no contact really, not much contact. So there's only limited things that you can do The other reason why I don't think this is a big deal that Carlton Davis is you know, finally popping up late last week is Because Davis is in his eighth year He's been in the NFL for almost a decade. He's a veteran. He knows what he has to do to get ready He understands the process. He understands the grind he's about to walk into. So being in his eighth year, he likely doesn't feel the urgency to pop up at OTAs.

Now there were other veterans that obviously wanted to show up at OTAs, and that's great. That's icing on the cake for those guys. But it doesn't mean the dudes that didn't show up or didn't show up in the entirety of the OTA doesn't mean that they don't care. Doesn't mean that they're not going to play well. Just means they took advantage of what was negotiated between their side and the league. And they got some vacation time before they've got to devote their entire life to the game of football until January.

So the fact that Davis is in his eighth NFL season makes me less concerned about him missing OTAs. The fact that he has a solidified role. Davis is Davis. He's going to be a man cover corner. Now I'm sure they'll play some zone, but Carlton Davis knows how to play man coverage. He's played it for a long time. And so he knows what he has to do to help this defense be successful, generally speaking. Goes out there, does his job, plays some press coverage, plays physical, goes downhill to make some tackles when asked to do so or needed to do so. But he's a man cover corner.

He understands. He understands what the job is. He's going to be on an island opposite of Christian Gonzalez for a decent amount of the snaps this year. I'm also just less concerned about OTAs when it's 2025. The Patriots don't even have their defensive coordinator in town because of Terrell Williams having that health scare.

It's 2025. Zoom, tablets, on your phone. There's a million different ways that you can get the information and you can start looking at some of it if you'd like to. So it's just easier to access that stuff now. So Nick, why was Stefan Diggs such a big story? Few reasons. Number one, it's late May, early June, and it's the quote unquote dead time.

So if something happens that's somewhat controversial, people are going to talk about it. They're going to pump the tires. The video comes out. Davis had a video, but it was him hanging out Turks and Caicos on the water. Stefan Diggs's video was a little bit different. So some people made that into a big deal. Social media 2025 digs a big part of social media. That's also another reason. Also another reason digs happens to play wide receiver and wide receiver is one of the sexier positions in the NFL. Everybody loves talking about wide receivers. They don't necessarily love talking about cornerbacks unless it's a top three or four guy in the league. Stefan digs

has a lot more to his name than Carlton Davis does. So if you talk about Stefan digs, you're going to get a little bit more pub from talking about him than talking about Davis. So all of those reasons factored in. But I don't think it's this big deal that Carlton Davis was not at OTAs until late last week. I don't think it's a huge deal that digs apparently, you know, Cherry picked a couple of dates to show up and do his work. It's just not that big of a deal to me. I'm not going to get all worked up. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Let me know your thoughts on today's topics. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C. Radio.

Don't forget to throw a comment in on the YouTube channel and don't forget to hit that like button. If you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you for making Lockdown Patriots your first listen today. For your second listen, check out Lockdown NFL Scouting. Hosts Kyle Krabs and Joe Marino will make you the most informed NFL fan this offseason. Find Locked On NFL Scouting on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a great day and I will see you on Wednesday.