- 2 years ago
Andrew drops his final predictions for the Patriots' draft after going behind the scenes on his Eliot Wolf profile and what Jonathan Kraft's reported involvement with the No. 3 pick could mean for the front office. Later, he answers your mailbag questions and welcomes back Carlos as this week's MailFan.
You can also listen and Subscribe to Pats Interference on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and at CLNSMedia.com two times a week!
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You can also listen and Subscribe to Pats Interference on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and at CLNSMedia.com two times a week!
Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
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SportsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 Okay, so if you're like me here Wednesday, midday, day before the draft,
00:18 you are done with the rumors, the rumblings, the whispers, the nuggets,
00:23 the expectations around the league, people believe, the scuttlebutt.
00:28 All of that can scuttle away for good.
00:31 I am ready for picks.
00:33 I am ready for players.
00:34 I am ready for the actual draft, which we have been talking about.
00:38 I don't know what is the next level from Ad Nauseam, but
00:41 that level since December, and it's finally here, we made it.
00:45 That all said, what is today's episode about?
00:47 I have one last organic grass fed mock draft for you, just complete guess,
00:52 which files right under the category of the buzz and the scuttlebutt and
00:56 the nuggets and the rumors and rumblings.
00:57 But before we get to that, my final guess of what the Patriots will do on
01:01 Thursday, Friday night, and then Saturday afternoon,
01:03 we are gonna cover a couple of topics.
01:06 One, all your mailbag questions you asked this week.
01:08 Jonathan Kraft reportedly being quote heavily involved in the Patriots decision
01:12 making at number three, and leftovers from my profile of Elliott Wolfe,
01:16 which I published here this morning.
01:18 Which is also a reason that when I said last episode,
01:21 we'll be back on a regular schedule.
01:23 We'll do Tuesdays, it'll be Fridays,
01:25 it'll be back to the pattern of fears you know and love.
01:27 That didn't happen because the telling of someone's life story and
01:32 their journey and what it means and what it could lead to next,
01:35 just takes precedent over this mock draft, which I really wanted to do last night and
01:38 just didn't have the energy for.
01:40 So that is all coming here today, but sticking with Elliott Wolfe,
01:44 this is a story again you can find in the Boston Herald.
01:47 It's on the Boston Herald website.
01:49 I talked to close to 20 people, close to Elliott, among them four NFL GMs,
01:54 three are on the record in that story.
01:55 You have two ex-GMs.
01:58 The one left out was Nick Cacerea,
01:59 who had glowing things to say about Elliott at the combine.
02:02 Went all the way back to Elliott's high school teachers, old colleagues in Green Bay,
02:06 his close friends, his parents, team sources,
02:08 off the record about what things have really been like since he took over.
02:11 And I will say this, you don't always get flowery,
02:16 positive feedback doing these profiles, right?
02:19 Like it's very common going to people close to someone who knows this is gonna be in
02:23 a public space, a part of their log in history,
02:27 this story that's gonna be about them, right?
02:29 Obviously, if it's a worthy enough story.
02:31 But I did not come across anyone at all parts of his life,
02:37 in all areas of his life that had something less than neutral.
02:41 I would say even just generally positive to say about Elliott.
02:45 Which is to say, again, folks on and off the record, in the Patriots building,
02:48 all other parts of his life and across the country, I am an Elliott Wolfe believer.
02:53 And even within that context, because as someone who wanted to dive deeper than
02:57 just like the father son dynamic, right?
02:58 His father's Ron Wolfe, he's in the Hall of Fame, brought the Packers back,
03:01 won a Super Bowl in the mid 90s.
03:03 Others were the Raiders when he was Al Davis's right hand man in personnel.
03:06 Like this was gonna go deeper than that, I'm talking to all these people.
03:10 And what I found, first of all, is that the footsteps trope,
03:14 which is the most common one you'll find in Elliott's stories,
03:16 that have been documented, again, since he was in Green Bay as a scout and
03:19 rising all the way up the ranks, Cleveland for two years and now New England.
03:23 Is that that actually wasn't true.
03:25 Because first of all, his father wasn't around when he was growing up, okay?
03:28 His mother raised him, also raised an older brother, Jonathan,
03:31 who has nothing to do with football nowadays, lives in Alaska on an island,
03:36 helping run a vet clinic.
03:37 And before that, when they were both at the same high school in Green Bay,
03:40 was into aerospace and music and drama.
03:44 So their parents allowed them to do whatever they liked.
03:46 Elliott is not here just because of who his dad is and he really liked football.
03:49 He was allowed to choose football and even quit football,
03:52 which happened in high school.
03:54 A decision that he had obviously to tell his dad, but
03:58 according to his dad, who I spoke with about 45 minutes last week.
04:02 They didn't really talk about it at length,
04:04 which is all to say that this guy is a scouts scout.
04:09 He was a quiet kid in high school who began to treat the game like an intellectual
04:13 exercise because he was just too small, he was too slow.
04:15 He was like a lot of us here at sports media, you're not gonna cut it,
04:18 find another way to stay close to the game,
04:20 because the game's kind of done with you, all right?
04:24 But around that same time, talking to some high school teachers,
04:27 one of whom said he was quote brilliant and understood nuance in a way.
04:31 This person had never experienced with another kid in a classroom,
04:34 33 years at Notre Dame Academy, which again, rich Catholic private school.
04:39 Was that he was a quiet, understated kid, exceptionally smart,
04:44 kind of kept his own counsel.
04:45 That spoke to a scout, the life of a scout is you sitting with yourself all
04:49 the time on the road, in the film room, sometimes after visits with players.
04:54 Digesting information and putting it out in a way that you observe things that
04:58 others don't.
04:59 You're all looking at the same tape, the pro days, the workouts, the drills, but
05:02 what are you seeing that's different that will lead you closer to the truth?
05:05 That is the measure of a scout.
05:07 So yes, he does the same thing his father does, but this is a parallel path.
05:11 He's not in the same footsteps.
05:13 And so being around guys like Mike Holmgren and Andy Reid and
05:16 John Schneider, who I spoke to a length of the story.
05:19 Now the Seahawks GM, Jason Light, the GM of the Buccaneers,
05:22 who wasn't in Green Bay, but a great story about interviewing Elliot when he was 21.
05:26 He showed up in Philadelphia and was like, yeah, your free agent board is errors.
05:30 This guy signed elsewhere last week, that guy left for another team.
05:34 And this was 2004 when the Eagles were going to the Super Bowl,
05:38 as of course you know.
05:39 So here's the thing, he is someone who is ready for this job.
05:44 I've told you this podcast before, officially 20 years in front office is
05:47 unofficially 30.
05:49 Schneider, Ron Wolf, Reggie McKenzie, Scott McClone,
05:51 all these future GMs on that Green Bay staff in the middle of the 90s.
05:54 He is not though, again to round out this picture of Elliot,
05:59 a galvanizing leader of men.
06:01 Like he is a scout, I'll say it again, exceptionally smart, secure and
06:05 self aware and has made a fan or
06:07 a friend of basically everyone in football that I talked to.
06:09 And I don't think the crafts mind that at the top, right?
06:13 Like you can have a GM who's good in front of the media,
06:15 I think Elliot did a fine job the other week, was in great, that's not who he is.
06:20 But what you see is what you get.
06:21 This is an honest person who relates well enough to people,
06:26 not just because again, he was raised in football offices.
06:28 His mother got her PhD in psychology, ran a part time office from home growing up.
06:34 So the best of them has made him someone now even just at 42,
06:38 who will lead this draft, which will define his legacy in a way that will be
06:42 separate from Ron in the Patriots future is really, really interesting to me.
06:46 So those are leftovers.
06:47 One final nugget, because this didn't make the story and
06:50 when you work on these, your brain is just packed with information that,
06:55 the way you're thinking about people and their family and how they grew up and
06:58 their dynamics that you just can't share.
06:59 Then when you finally do share it,
07:01 you're like, what do I do with all this excess information?
07:03 Well, you say it on a podcast.
07:05 And then we're getting to the crafts here in a second.
07:07 Ron Wolf, who got into football basically like Elliot did,
07:12 when he had this interview that I just referenced.
07:14 He's 21, he graduated college, he's driving to Eagles headquarters for
07:18 an interview, low level scouting position, gets in there and says, okay,
07:20 your emergency board of free agents has multiple errors.
07:23 Ron got into the business after working in army intelligence in Berlin
07:28 during the Cold War by coming back and writing teams who were then,
07:33 you know, in pro football.
07:35 And all of them rejected, Rams, Chargers, goes on and on and on.
07:40 So he starts writing, the editor at Pro Football Illustrated to let him know,
07:45 there were some errors in his publication and is now Pro Football Weekly.
07:49 And he writes often enough about this player is actually that tall,
07:51 or he weighs this much, or this is his speed, or this is where he played,
07:54 not where you listed.
07:55 The editor says, fine, why don't you come work for us, okay?
07:59 And right before he took that job, he had taken a train to Providence,
08:04 and then Boston, where he walked in 1960 to the offices of the original
08:10 Boston Patriots, as he described to me, like this blue seersucker suit.
08:13 I didn't know what seersucker was.
08:14 But he walks from the train station all the way to where their offices were,
08:18 then in the Fenway neighborhood, gets to the front door, says,
08:21 can I have a job?
08:22 You have a new team here, my references is what I know.
08:25 And they say no, and the man just walks all the way back.
08:27 So as much as he's, Elliott is someone, a son of Green Bay,
08:31 there are enough smaller pieces here that kind of lead you back,
08:34 not only just to parallel Ron's path, but in a place that there are connections.
08:38 The Packers and Patriots have the most wins in the NFL, first and
08:43 second, since Ron Wolfe took over in 1992.
08:46 Of course, met at the pinnacle of his career, Super Bowl 31, and
08:51 now his son is back, after he resurrected the NFL's first dynasty,
08:56 to revive its latest, and that starts Thursday.
09:00 I guess you don't have to read the profile,
09:01 I basically told you everything good that was in here.
09:03 Though there are stories about him arguing with Belichick over Michael Parsons,
09:06 finding a reminder, Stevenson, lots, lots more.
09:08 So again, please give it a read.
09:09 Okay, Jonathan Kraft.
09:12 So as I am writing this story, digging in through all of my reporting over the last
09:16 few weeks and couple of months, really, Diana Rossini reports for
09:21 the Athletic that Jonathan Kraft is, quote, heavily involved in the decision
09:26 making at the number three overall pick, whether to take,
09:30 presumably a quarterback, or to trade back.
09:33 And Diana is a strong reporter.
09:35 I have seen her move and shake at the combine, the owners meetings.
09:39 She knows what she's doing and who she's talking to.
09:42 Now our friends of the podcast, Tom Curran and Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston,
09:45 have since said, nope, Jonathan just wants to be in the loop.
09:48 He's not a scout, he knows it, he's gonna have his input, but
09:51 he's not heavily involved.
09:54 And I will say on my end, without any hard reporting there,
09:57 that I categorically, this is the columnist hat coming on now,
10:01 condemn any involvement from ownership in football decisions.
10:04 Hell, in baseball decisions, in basketball decisions, in hockey decisions,
10:08 you hire the people who have spent their lives learning this craft.
10:12 And then you empower them, step back and chill the hell out.
10:16 This isn't to say they can't have any input.
10:18 Again, you're the boss, you have the right to do that.
10:20 But if you want your business to flow well,
10:22 do as Robert Kraft has claimed to have done for the last 30 years.
10:25 Hire your people, let them do the work that you're paying them to do.
10:29 That's how it should be.
10:30 So what I will say is this, about Jonathan specifically.
10:34 If what Diana says is true, and he is not sitting the hell back and
10:38 letting them do their work, Aliev Wolf, Alonzo Highsmith, Matt Groh, etc.
10:42 We still don't know if he'll have final say on this.
10:46 And that's a huge distinction, right?
10:48 Are you just on the phone calls?
10:49 Are you in the meetings?
10:50 Are you throwing out ideas?
10:51 Or are you pushing hard for some type of outcome?
10:54 And if he's pushing hard, and especially if Jonathan has final say,
10:57 I do not know, I am not reporting.
10:59 I don't think it's even fair to assume that based on what's out there,
11:02 especially given the reporting so far as we just documented has been contradicted.
11:06 What I will say though, if Jonathan is close to pushing or making a call,
11:11 it is much, much, much, much more likely the Patriots will trade back.
11:15 And again, we don't know this.
11:17 That's not a fair assumption.
11:19 But follow me here.
11:19 Jonathan is pro analytics, right?
11:22 The crafts have a sports analytics company.
11:25 He speaks at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference every single year,
11:30 just basically across the river from my apartment.
11:32 And I have reported about the Patriots being behind in the analytics department
11:35 for years under Belichick, who let's be kind here,
11:38 at best Jonathan professionally despised.
11:42 And analytics folks will tell you, and I believe they're right.
11:46 You've heard this from Dario and others already in the process,
11:50 that the best way to draft is just to get more picks.
11:53 Give yourself more bites at the apple, more chances to hit, more bets to make.
11:57 Belichick did this, traded back, infuriated you, annoyed me on headline,
12:01 but it worked, we saw it work.
12:03 This is the philosophy.
12:04 And so for Jonathan, not only to that thought, but
12:07 there's a quantifiable upside to that, right?
12:10 When you're weighing make the pick,
12:12 what's the upside of just taking a quarterback versus trading back?
12:15 And this is key, we don't know the specifics of any offer that's been made or
12:18 will be made, obviously sitting here midday Wednesday.
12:21 But the value of all of the picks,
12:23 the Patriots would theoretically get in this trade back is quantifiable, right?
12:27 And it's going to exceed the value of the third overall pick per modern trade
12:32 value chart.
12:32 So when you add up, let's use the Vikings for example, and this isn't the offer.
12:37 We don't know, but again, an example.
12:39 Number three for 11, 23, 2025 first round pick, a 2026 first round pick.
12:44 The aggregate value of those selections according to these charts,
12:47 which teams use to say, hey, should we move back at the first?
12:50 If we get an extra third and a fourth or whatever, is going to exceed that.
12:54 Like that's a win by the numbers.
12:56 And that's how these trades work.
12:58 If you're moving up that far, and especially for a quarterback,
13:01 you are overpaying, you are paying a ransom.
13:04 That's just how this works.
13:05 So by the numbers again, it will be a win for the Patriots.
13:07 And that I believe will be persuasive to Jonathan,
13:11 someone with a business background, someone with a numbers background.
13:14 It will also be persuasive to anyone who just likes other quarterbacks,
13:16 not named Daniels, May and Caleb Williams.
13:19 And the difficulty in arguing against that, not only if your boss believes it,
13:23 if he is pushing, if, to make a trade back,
13:28 is that the upside of the number three pick, just taking Drake May,
13:32 just drafting Jaden Daniels is more qualitative.
13:36 And I don't think that will be particularly persuasive to Jonathan, right?
13:39 You have to argue about the tape, the quality, the talent, the impact,
13:43 what it feels like, what it looks like, what he sounded like in the interview.
13:47 And there's a strong case there.
13:48 Hell, I fully subscribe to that.
13:50 You can give me four first round picks and I'm turning you down.
13:52 I'm bringing Drake May to New England if I can with a third overall pick.
13:56 I don't wanna waste two seconds off the clock, just hand in the card, okay?
14:00 And there are numbers, right?
14:01 Like we've talked about the numbers to both these players.
14:03 It's not strictly a qualitative argument.
14:05 But at the end of the draft, it's still a single bet.
14:08 And we know that the Patriots believe, because Gerard Mayo has said this,
14:11 Bill Belichick has done this, and Jonathan Kraft has presided over all of this.
14:15 That you are more likely to win the more bets you have, even if inarguably,
14:20 the upside of just sticking and picking at number three.
14:25 Because of the value of that single selection, and the upside,
14:27 the potential of the players there, and the positions they play, quarterback,
14:30 is much higher than what you would find with later picks and more picks.
14:37 So that's the difficulty here.
14:39 If the Patriots do trade back, I'm not saying Jonathan Kraft made that decision.
14:44 What I'm telling you now, based on what we know, based on what's been reported,
14:48 is that it makes it more likely they do move back if he's more heavenly involved.
14:54 Because that's what he would want to do.
14:56 Okay, so I know we talk a lot about the draft in this podcast.
14:59 It's a football podcast.
15:00 It's a Patriots podcast.
15:01 What else are we gonna do until April 25th?
15:04 Well, let me tell you, soon enough, we are gonna turn our attention to the Celtics
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15:51 Okay, meal break time.
15:53 We're gonna breeze through these, then get to mock draft and get out of here.
15:57 Jordan, quote, I love Ricky Pearsall, Florida receiver, and
16:01 Ricky's route running, does he make it to the third round?
16:05 No.
16:06 Ricky, I also like a whole lot.
16:07 You hit it on the head, excellent receiver, well, route runner.
16:11 He played the X at Florida, was their leading receiver statistically for
16:14 the last two years.
16:16 Ran a 4-4 at the combine, played very well at the Senior Bowl.
16:19 Good body control, exceptionally strong hands.
16:22 Doesn't wow you, I would say, from an agility standpoint, like on tape.
16:26 He's not snapping off the breaks and kind of leaving you in the dust.
16:29 But he's a guy who can make an immediate impact,
16:31 I think, as a starter in the league.
16:33 Obviously, played against good competition, the numbers are there.
16:35 He basically had as good a process as you could have,
16:39 trying to break yourself free from these day two receivers
16:43 that we've been talking about a whole lot.
16:44 Roman Wilson's in that group, Michigan receiver, also went to the Senior Bowl.
16:48 Xavier Leggett's in there.
16:49 So for that reason, I don't think he makes it to 68 in the third round.
16:53 Could the Patriots trade back up from the third round into the second?
16:57 Yeah, possibly.
16:58 The Sports Fellow, on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely is it that the Patriots
17:02 trade down and take Michael Pennix Jr.?
17:04 Great question.
17:04 I wish I had a solid number for you.
17:06 Maybe Jonathan has a number for you.
17:08 I'm gonna go a two, though, because I'll just reiterate what we talked about in
17:13 our last episode, and Alex Barth put exceptionally well.
17:16 The Patriots' most likely outcome is going to be the simple one,
17:21 the one that we've been talking about all offseason, since the end of last season.
17:26 Take a quarterback.
17:27 It's an excellent quarterback class.
17:29 You have a top three pick.
17:30 You don't wanna make that pick again.
17:31 I think they're gonna stick it and pick it,
17:33 unless they are absolutely blown away.
17:34 And as someone who has been anti-trade back the last however many months,
17:38 if they were to say, let's, I don't know, six first round picks,
17:44 then it's a conversation.
17:45 But then you have to ask yourself, what team is gonna offer that kind of insane
17:51 draft capital, value, to move all the way up there?
17:56 And if you think that's low, on a scale of 1 to 10,
17:58 that's probably exactly how likely it is that the Patriots are able to take and
18:01 do take that type of offer.
18:04 Steve, quote, Jonathan Graff is said to be heavily involved.
18:06 That could mean anything.
18:07 Excellent point.
18:08 From being in the draft room to actually making the pick,
18:10 can you shed light on what exactly he's doing in this draft?
18:13 So, as I said earlier, Steve, I don't have any specific reporting on this.
18:17 I wish I did.
18:18 But again, I trust Diana on this.
18:22 Understanding, of course, that heavily involved could be something given to her
18:25 by other teams who, let's say, been on the phone with Elliot or Matt Grow or
18:28 lots of high Smith and, again, theoretical mapping out things.
18:32 That they heard, we have to run it by Jonathan, or
18:38 maybe they spoke directly with Jonathan.
18:39 Or maybe it's someone close to ownership or
18:41 someone within the Patriots front office, right?
18:43 It could be any number of people,
18:44 which then opens it up to a wider interpretation.
18:48 I will say at least the history of this, when Robert has been in charge, and
18:52 there's no indication he's completely given that up.
18:54 But let's just look back the last 30 years when we know that was the case.
18:57 They were in the draft room.
18:59 You see him on the phone after every pick.
19:01 Welcome to New England.
19:02 I heard great things about you.
19:03 You got a great GPA or wherever you're from, yada, yada.
19:06 And they kind of sit back and let Bill make the picks and make the decisions.
19:10 Obviously, they want to talk about it.
19:11 It's a huge investment, okay?
19:14 They're business people.
19:14 They want to know what that investment's upside is,
19:16 the likelihood it's going to get a return, and
19:19 what that return might look like in the range of outcomes.
19:22 So I would expect him to be perhaps a little bit more opinionated because these
19:27 are new hires, right, who don't have as much leverage as the greatest coach of all
19:30 time who had roster control and could tell them basically to F off.
19:33 Like, few people can do their bosses and get away with it.
19:37 So we will see.
19:39 But as far as my thoughts generally on this, I outlined them earlier.
19:42 You're just going to have to sit with us.
19:44 Two more.
19:45 Nick, any chance the Patriots package Matt Judon with their second or
19:48 third pick to move up?
19:49 If so, do you see Detroit or Green Bay as possible partners?
19:53 If not, do you expect an extension before camp?
19:56 I do not expect an extension before camp.
20:00 Now, he could have an extension before the season because I think at that point,
20:05 right, you're in training camp, you're in the preseason, you're seeing him in pads.
20:10 What does this look like?
20:10 Right now, he's just still, he's basically recovered, which is great.
20:14 But he's an older pass rusher.
20:16 He's someone you want to see.
20:17 How motivated is he to get that extension?
20:20 Like, so long as the carrot's dangling, don't give it to him.
20:22 Let him chase it a little bit and see where that's, how far he can go with it.
20:26 Now, obviously, I don't think he's going to be happy with what I believe off the top
20:29 of my head is a $6.5 million base salary.
20:32 And so that might work the other way.
20:34 Instead of chasing carrots, he's going to kind of sit back and be on the lower field
20:37 doing one of these for the folks on YouTube as I lean back and try to speak
20:41 louder that he was doing last year and that led to the extension.
20:44 So as far as packaging him with the second or third pick, I don't like it,
20:50 but I would understand it because I think at some point while they are going to play
20:54 the young kids and while he is someone, as we know, is on the back end of his prime
20:58 here, you still need adults in the room to say, "This is how we do business,"
21:03 to carry out Mayo's message, to be a sounding board for Mayo from the locker
21:08 room and to be that kind of intermediary that goes both ways, right?
21:12 And there are a few players who can do that.
21:13 Matt Slater is not one of them anymore.
21:15 He's just...he's management.
21:17 He's Mayo's right-hand man.
21:18 You need people in the locker room that coach can relate to,
21:20 players can relate to, and brings everyone together, particularly in tough times.
21:24 I think they missed Matt Judon last year.
21:26 I know we did at the podium when there were losses upon losses upon losses and he was
21:30 saying the things that we just got to push forward.
21:32 This isn't good enough, right?
21:33 But we can do it.
21:34 We have enough here, the things you want to hear in tough times because more tough
21:37 times are coming.
21:38 I would keep him, but if they did move up, let's say, into the back end of the first
21:42 round and he was part of that trade, I do think Detroit and Green Bay are excellent
21:47 possible trade partners of Ulysses Nick.
21:49 I would understand it.
21:50 I just want to know who's going to be that person that I just detailed because Dietrich
21:54 Wise doesn't have as much sway even though he's been a captain, I think, as a Matt Judon.
21:57 Just look at the resumes.
21:58 Everyone knows in the locker room what their teammates are paid, what they've done on the
22:02 field, their stats.
22:04 Like Matt Judon's got that juice I think the Patriots are going to need for every reason
22:08 I just detailed.
22:09 Okay, flailing away.
22:11 This is the guy's actual handle or name or chosen identity on the internet.
22:15 Quote, better package, Drake May, Somata Ia, Kingsley, Somata Ia, the offensive tackle
22:20 from BYU, Ricky Pearsall we just talked about, or so three of them, the offensive tackle
22:25 and receiver, Michael Penix, JC Latham, offensive tackle from Alabama, Brian Thomas Jr., receiver
22:31 from LSU, and Minnesota's first round pick next year.
22:35 So I would understand people picking the latter package.
22:39 Michael Penix and JC Latham and Brian Thomas Jr.
22:43 Oh, and another first round pick around Michael Penix.
22:46 Brian might have a starter, an offensive tackle, a receiver, and more draft assets.
22:51 Let's go, baby.
22:52 No, I'm taking Drake May.
22:55 The difference between May and Penix in my mind, and Penix I think honestly at this point
22:58 has been a bit overrated.
23:01 He is just too great, not just right now as prospects, but I think down the road, the
23:07 upside, the ability, everything the Patriots should be chasing right now, that's the guy
23:12 I want.
23:13 I'm not willing to sacrifice that for what really amounts to in your scenario here, two
23:17 extra first round picks because you're moving back.
23:20 It might even really, let's call it one and a half, right?
23:23 There's an extra pick in there and then slightly better player because I really like Pearsall
23:26 and a lot of those day two receivers that we've talked about for months.
23:29 Kingsley, Somata Ia, talked about him last episode.
23:31 I'm in on those guys and I am especially in on Drake May.
23:34 I just can't turn away the Drake.
23:37 All right, onto our mock draft.
23:40 I was surprised when I looked back through my notes that it had been so long since we
23:44 did one of these.
23:45 It was another solo episode and the Patriots picks actually weren't the same.
23:49 The draft order changed in the time, last two, two and a half months that I did this
23:53 and what we're doing right now.
23:55 What I also discovered was one of the better ideas we've ever had in this Pat's Interference
23:57 podcast.
23:58 The music, you hear that?
24:04 It's mock season, baby.
24:05 It's the end of mock season because draft season is about to be upon us.
24:07 Let's roll through my final Patriots mock draft, which I will say comes a year after
24:11 I nailed four picks, four picks last year when the Patriots met a 10 member rookie class
24:18 in 2023.
24:19 So keep these names in mind.
24:21 Understanding also, since the last episode was called our most likely Patriots draft
24:25 picks and Alex Barth and I had a great conversation, I am intentionally spicing these up now.
24:29 I stand by everything I said in that last episode.
24:31 We'll hear a couple of names, not all of them, but those guys again, I stand by even though
24:36 they might not make this list.
24:37 Okay, starting in seventh round.
24:38 Here we go.
24:40 Mark Perry, safety at a TCU goes at pick number 231 overall, the last Patriots pick right
24:46 now as it stands.
24:47 Six foot one or six foot flat, 213 pounds around the four four.
24:51 He's versatile.
24:52 He's not a great playmaker.
24:53 He's not good in man to man, but he is one of the few and you can count them on one hand.
24:58 He's expected to be drafted who runs in the four fours.
25:02 So he fills that free safety role.
25:03 Reportedly had dinner with the Patriots after his pro day and a couple of zoom since pick
25:07 him up in the seventh round.
25:08 Add your depth.
25:09 Maybe he's a special teams player or he just gets caught because he's a seventh round pick
25:12 in the sixth round.
25:13 Number one 93 overall.
25:15 Come on down.
25:16 Travis Glover, Georgia state offensive tackle, and you were going to feel the earth move
25:20 underneath your feet as he comes on down six foot six, 317 pounds.
25:25 Travis took a 30 visit, no longer a top 30 business because that's not cool anymore.
25:30 To Foxboro Patriots also saw him at the hula bowl.
25:32 They saw him at his pro day, massive developmental player who played left tackle at Georgia state.
25:37 They need bodies there and they need big bodies down there.
25:40 There's a lot that's interesting about Travis.
25:42 Even if we might look back in a couple of years and be like, okay, we thought he was
25:45 going to develop like a starter.
25:47 Did we forget he was a projected six round pick going right in the sixth round for now.
25:51 We're not there.
25:52 I don't care.
25:53 We're going to be right there to add a little bit of depth.
25:55 We're going to have an offensive tackle coming up also in the sixth round.
25:58 This team you'll remember if you'd listened to our last episode at number one 80 overall
26:02 to Cameron Richardson, Mississippi state six foot two, 188 pounds, another 30 visitor,
26:09 big athletic corner.
26:11 This is an upside pick, right?
26:13 Patriots look at his tape and go say with better coaching, he doesn't finish with zero
26:16 interception, which was a real thing to happen despite playing as many games as he did as
26:20 a starter in Mississippi state.
26:22 But they bet on the athletic traits, the ability stuff you can't find here and try
26:27 to bulk up what is a very small cornerbacks room.
26:30 All right, moving into the fifth round, number one 37 Houston Christian edge.
26:33 Jay looks hunt six foot three, 252 pounds.
26:37 This is a dude who started his college career as a hybrid safety linebacker Cornell.
26:41 And I know bill is gone, but man, when you have someone who has played literally all
26:46 three levels of the defense in college transfers to Houston Christian where he had 13 and a
26:50 half sacks the past two years over 21 starts, he's versatile again, provides depth at a
26:56 key premium position.
26:58 You will excuse me, we'll be able to develop him behind judan, Joshua J.
27:03 Dietrich, wise and Anthony Jennings.
27:04 I like this pick for the Patriots, someone who also, if you look at hunt over the last
27:08 couple of weeks is one of those risers of draft boards.
27:11 Daniel Jeremiah has him in his top 70 Patriots here again in the one 37 because that's really
27:16 where he is on the consensus draft expert boards.
27:19 Moving into the fourth round, starting day three, number one Oh three tight end cage
27:24 Dover, Ohio state.
27:25 This is a copy and paste from my original Mac graph, uh, two and a half months ago,
27:29 six before 251 pounds.
27:31 He is a strong dude who fits the traditional why mold in line next to the offensive tackle,
27:39 pinning, pulling, blocking at the second level, but he is also athletic enough to play in
27:44 space and has excellent body controls.
27:46 So the stats are fun.
27:47 That's it.
27:48 Lowercase F, but 41 catches 576 yards last year, five touchdowns.
27:53 And he was first team all big 10 and he was first team all big 10 just two years after
27:58 flipping from defense to tight end.
28:01 That's a player who might not have dangerous long speed, but it's fluid enough as an athlete
28:05 and raw enough at his position.
28:06 Then in the fourth round, I go, he won't start this year.
28:09 When Austin Hooper leaves him for agency next year, I feel comfortable with him as our tight
28:13 end number two and they land him here at the start of day number three.
28:16 Okay.
28:17 Third round late Friday night, the Patriots are picking at number 68.
28:20 It's gotta be a tackle.
28:21 It's gotta be a receiver, which is it.
28:23 It's a tackle Blake Fisher, Notre Dame six foot five, 310 pounds.
28:27 He had a 30 visit.
28:29 He met with Patriots at the combine.
28:31 He is athletic.
28:33 He started his college career at left tackle, which we know the page really care about because
28:37 when Elliot will was asked about Chuck's a core for possibly being the starting left
28:41 tackle, he said, well, he did in college.
28:44 Nevermind that Chuck core for was drafted before COVID.
28:46 Um, anyway, Blake Fisher, the last two years started at right tackle for Notre Dame.
28:51 He fits the Packers mold when it comes to athletic prototypes in terms of quickness
28:55 and short shuttle.
28:56 I, I don't think he fits just based on his playing style and his tape.
29:00 Scott Peters, again, we've talked about here is just grabbing people in meetings.
29:05 That's the kind of dude that he is.
29:07 And I think Fisher again, from a long-term developmental standpoint, they look and go,
29:12 he can play left tackle.
29:13 He's got the traits.
29:14 He's got the pedigree.
29:15 We'll bring them in, pick them in the third round, second round.
29:19 I know Kingsley, Sue, my CEO is my top pick in the Patriots.
29:22 We'll draft this dude draft that we have with Alex, but here, I think it's, I think it's
29:27 going to be receiver.
29:28 I think they might even trade back from 34, but for our purposes, now we're going to go
29:32 with draft.
29:33 So that's draft Twitter favorite, Xavier Leggett, South Carolina, six foot one, 221 pounds.
29:39 He is exceptionally strong.
29:40 He is an immediate accelerator.
29:42 He only had one season of production down in South Carolina.
29:45 Go Cox.
29:46 I say again, go Cox.
29:48 But he had 1,255 receiving.
29:52 This is the dude you could put into just sweeps, into handoffs, into screens, and let him continue
29:58 to develop with a skillset that again, speaks to the Packers ideals, run after catch, returnability.
30:04 He again is not a burner, but he can be a deep threat the way that he is able to accelerate
30:10 immediately and I think could learn to tempo his route.
30:13 So he attacks all three levels.
30:14 He's good in space, grades on his own.
30:16 I thought about A.D.
30:17 Mitchell from Texas, but to me, you want Leggett as someone who can play all three positions
30:23 of receiver.
30:24 X, Z, Y, Ladd McConkie, I bet is gone at this point.
30:27 He's been a favorite.
30:28 He was my old pick here at number 34.
30:31 For now, Xavier Leggett.
30:33 Also loved by Field Yates, plugged into the Winglin to the Patriots at number 34.
30:37 And that leaves us at number three.
30:38 Do they stick and pick?
30:40 Do they trade back?
30:41 Who's it going to be?
30:44 You know if you've been listening to the show, the name I'm about to say.
30:49 And it is Drake May, quarterback North Carolina.
30:52 I spent a whole episode on Drake, so we're just going to leave it here.
30:55 I think it's time to make the pick.
30:56 I think it's time to draft your new face of the franchise.
30:59 There are no guarantees of course.
31:00 It's the draft.
31:01 All the drafts at Casino.
31:03 Every pick is a bet.
31:05 Hits and misses.
31:06 Wins and losses.
31:07 The win you have here with Drake May, and a new coach, and a GM, and a quarterback.
31:12 A timeless prospect who has fixable issues with footwork is a bet you make every single
31:17 time.
31:18 Let's just hope he's here at three.
31:19 And if he's not, Jayden Daniels I think should be the pick for the same reason.
31:23 He is a rare quarterback prospect.
31:25 He fills the need into someone that can take you to new heights.
31:27 So I like him as much as May.
31:29 No.
31:30 And that's why Drake May is the final pick for my final mock draft.
31:33 Okay, last segment here.
31:34 Mail fan with Carlos.
31:35 You can follow him @LOSTalksPat.
31:39 Great 10-15 minutes here with him.
31:40 And if you want to join the show, again you've got to email me, or DM, or receipt from your
31:45 recent donation to Boston Children's Hospital.
31:47 And then just ask a mailback question.
31:48 And we'll have you on the show.
31:49 Thank you to everyone for listening.
31:51 I hope you have enjoyed the pre-draft process.
31:53 This episode is about to end with Carlos.
31:55 And then we will be back on Friday.
31:57 I promise.
31:58 I promise this time.
31:59 Friday, recapping what the Patriots did in the first round.
32:04 And then what to look forward to.
32:06 Probably more on Saturday.
32:07 We're going to skip day two because there will be a quick turnaround.
32:09 And then we'll be back next week with a full breakdown of the Patriots draft class.
32:13 And we'll see you then.
32:14 All right, we are double dipping for a second straight week here at Mail Fan.
32:17 We go from Joe Asciati back to Carlos from the Bay Area.
32:20 Not from the Bay Area last week, though.
32:22 Carlos flew out for Pads and Pints, our draft party at Vitamin C Brewery.
32:26 It was great to meet you in person.
32:28 We sent you home with some memorabilia.
32:29 You had a long flight home, but you're back on the show.
32:32 So I imagine life is pretty good.
32:34 Yeah, it was really, really cool being out there meeting all of you.
32:38 Like you said, some memorabilia.
32:41 I have it right here.
32:42 I have it behind me, too.
32:43 So I didn't come back empty handed.
32:45 And yeah, it was an experience I won't forget for sure.
32:49 Good man.
32:50 You know, and I said last week on that episode, all the money went to Boston Children's.
32:54 And to update the folks who didn't get to go or haven't seen any tweets since, we've
32:58 raised over $8,000.
32:59 And Carlos is back because he has given more money to Boston Children's.
33:02 Again, you can, too, if you want to join the Mail Fan segment.
33:05 We've answered every other Mail Bag question except for his today.
33:09 And then we'll get out of here.
33:10 But this is going to be the longest Mail Fan segment in podcast history, which I don't
33:13 think anyone really cares about except maybe you and a few other people.
33:17 But we'll keep this thing going and growing and start here.
33:20 Your question was this, quote, "Do you expect some of Belichick's draft strategies to remain
33:25 the norm or do you expect Wolf to have a totally different game plan?
33:28 For example, leaving the draft, having made more picks than they came in with, reaching
33:32 on players, or drafting small school guys?"
33:34 Okay, so as always, your answer to your own question is what?
33:38 So to begin with, I do think that there will be some overlap with the way that Wolf ran
33:44 things compared to how Belichick ran things.
33:45 I think, like how I said, them having made more draft picks than what they came in with,
33:51 I think that's still Elliott Wolf's MO.
33:54 I might be completely wrong, but that's the idea I get, that they're going to be trading
33:58 back or accumulating more picks and pretty much just building through the draft.
34:03 So I do think that will stay the same.
34:05 I personally question whether or not they're going to still look at small school guys.
34:09 That's like the big one for me.
34:11 Both small school guys and reaching on some small school guys, as we know from the draft
34:17 with Colstrange.
34:18 But yeah, so I do think there will be some overlap, but I personally feel like it's going
34:25 to be a different vibe.
34:27 So the whole reason that I asked this question was because everyone says like, "Oh, that's
34:32 not the way the Patriots draft," or "That's not the Patriots draft strategy."
34:36 And in reality, no one really knows what it is anymore.
34:39 It's not going to be the same thing that it's been for the past two decades.
34:42 So I do think Wolf will have his own game plan, but it won't stray away too much as
34:48 far as accumulating draft picks or pretty much just getting the best value dependent
34:57 on what their needs are.
34:58 Yeah, it's interesting, right?
35:00 Because we've heard so much this offseason about the value of trading back.
35:04 Like Jarrod saying, the best way to draft is just have more picks.
35:07 It's like we're open for business, though we would want a quarterback.
35:09 And honestly, I don't know if it's just because it's the week of the draft, but I feel like
35:14 I don't hear divergent strategies anymore.
35:18 Everyone's throwing the same bleep at the wall to see what sticks, whether it's we're
35:20 open for business or we want to get more picks or we're willing to trade up if the price
35:23 is right, obviously.
35:25 So what I would say is this, I think you are going to see the Patriots operate more towards
35:29 the consensus board.
35:31 We understand already they're not going for players that fit specific roles, that bring
35:35 the system to life as Belichick built it in offense and defense.
35:38 What they're looking for are just good football players that will build the system around
35:41 them, which everyone claims to do, but doesn't always execute.
35:45 And so to that end, there are tendencies when you look at some of Green Bay's draft history
35:50 for certain positions.
35:51 I've said this about offense alignment.
35:53 They're versatile.
35:54 They're quicker than average.
35:56 They're often more experienced.
35:57 Receivers want some returnability there.
36:00 Ty Montgomery obviously was a high pick out of Stanford for them.
36:03 He played a little bit of running back, but is a perfect example of that.
36:06 As far as a small school, big school delineation, I think it's a bit of a broad stroke, right?
36:12 But if you prove yourself to a level like at the Senior Bowl or the East West Shrine
36:15 game, that's when you get more attention because as we knew from Mike Reese, and there are
36:19 other examples of this as well, Elliott was really high on Greg Jennings very early as
36:24 a scout coming out of Western Michigan.
36:26 Brett Favre went to Southern Miss to go way back when his father, Ron Wolfe, traded for
36:30 Favre, didn't draft him, but traded a first round pick in his first year for a guy who
36:34 won the second round.
36:36 And so it's a matter of a lot of things, but what they're going to do is trust their eye
36:39 test, which to get back to my original point, is what everyone largely does.
36:44 It's not an analytics friendly, I would say front office now, and really wasn't before.
36:49 But I will ask you this then, because we've heard so much about Jonathan Kraft, right?
36:54 The variable there is unknown.
36:56 How are you feeling just as a fan about that part of this as we get closer to the third
37:00 pick?
37:02 As a fan, I honestly feel pretty confident.
37:04 I think it's just because of the optimism that there's change happening in the building.
37:11 We can't say that the past couple drafts have gone well with the old regime.
37:16 So just the fact that there's going to be a new regime running things, running things
37:19 their own way.
37:21 And even if it is Jonathan Kraft, who knows?
37:25 No one really knows what his mindset is behind the picks, the players in the draft, or just
37:31 prospects in general.
37:32 So I think because of that, there is sort of an optimism, at least for me personally,
37:39 because of the change that's coming.
37:41 I think that's a healthy attitude generally, Carlos, right?
37:44 If you want to live your longest, if you want to be your happiness, choose optimism, choose
37:48 joy.
37:49 Granted, it's been a little bit more difficult around these parts for quite some time, C4
37:52 and 13, eight and nine, and before that, seven and nine.
37:55 But as I said at the top of the episode, I think Jonathan's presence would...
38:00 And it depends on how heavy, heavily is, right?
38:03 If he is involved at the top.
38:05 There's wanting input, there's I'm the boss, keep me in the loop.
38:08 And then there's, we're going to do this, and you're going to listen to me because I
38:12 cut your checks.
38:13 And I think if it leans towards the latter, because he's a little bit more analytics inclined,
38:18 as someone who speaks at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference every year at MIT, they
38:23 own a sports analytics company that operates adjacent to the Patriots football operations
38:28 headquarters, that that might make it more likely.
38:31 But it just gets so toxic.
38:33 You might have a better perspective out there in the Bay Area, not listening to local sports
38:37 talk radio and TV, just to be like, "Exactly what you said.
38:41 Whatever will be, will be, and it has to be an upgrade, right?"
38:44 Yeah, exactly.
38:45 And we can't, it's not much harder to improve than what's been happening the past couple
38:50 of years.
38:51 I think that's pretty much the way I view it.
38:54 It hasn't been a good track record.
38:56 I don't remember which classes, I don't know if it's 2021, that we only have like one or
39:00 two players left from that whole draft class.
39:03 So if you're building off of something like that, I don't see how you can get much worse,
39:08 pretty much.
39:09 So that's why, that's where the optimism comes from for me.
39:12 But I do think that as far as the whole new strategy, how pretty much everyone's been
39:18 saying they're going to go for athletes, they're going to go for pretty much good football
39:22 players.
39:23 Upside, upside, yes.
39:24 Yeah.
39:25 I don't understand why that's an issue or why people wouldn't like that.
39:29 At least give them one shot, give them one or two years.
39:33 You never know, they're not always going to draft your favorite player.
39:36 That's pretty much the way I've been viewing it.
39:38 So even if they don't get your favorite player and they do get someone that you've never
39:42 heard of, but it's a hit, how can you complain about that?
39:45 Yeah.
39:46 I mean, look, people here, because you didn't spend that long on the East Coast, will complain
39:50 just to complain.
39:52 This isn't to totally dismiss concerns that are warranted by ownership involvement.
39:57 I've categorically disavowed any ownership involvement, and that covers Jonathan Kraft
40:02 because he's heavily involved.
40:03 That's a bad thing.
40:05 What I will say though, is as far as the players and the upside being too much of a risk, just
40:09 get good, decent players, the Patriots have been playing with red ship players, white
40:15 ship players for too long.
40:17 How long has it been?
40:18 Is it really 2018?
40:19 Gronk, Edelman, the defensive coordinators were like, "I got to stay up an extra 20 minutes
40:24 to make sure my game plan is intact because this dude might hurt me even when we have
40:27 the perfect play called."
40:28 They just don't have those players.
40:30 So if you're going to take a swing, and especially a swing at three, 34, 68, go to the fourth
40:36 round, 102 at the top of day three, it might as well be for players who, yes, carry a lower
40:41 floor, but you really can't go slower.
40:43 Again, you're picking third that will get you back to the top faster, even if they come
40:47 with a "little bit of risk."
40:49 Because all the draft, as I said, is a casino.
40:52 It's bets and bets and bets.
40:53 It's hits and misses.
40:54 You understand the rate of success is so low.
40:57 I didn't believe this when I first started covering the team and dive into the draft,
41:00 but I lean more towards that, especially in the position they're in, these high risk,
41:05 high reward type of players.
41:07 Yeah, exactly.
41:08 And it seems like such a basic thought, but on my drive to work today, I was just thinking
41:13 to myself, "What if both Jaden Daniels and Drake May are busts?"
41:17 I've really been operating under the whole assumption that one of them's going to hit,
41:22 one of them's going to bust.
41:23 And we have to pick, or we have to hope that the correct one falls to us.
41:27 But in reality, both of them might not work out.
41:32 I do believe it's a much better draft class compared to Mac Jones's draft class, but look
41:36 at that draft class.
41:37 Trevor Lawrence is the only first-round quarterback that's still on his original team.
41:41 So it's not a guarantee.
41:44 Why not just take the risk, especially when you're picking this high, and you're hoping
41:48 that you would never pick this high again, at least not in the next decade or so?
41:52 Yeah, and I will say, too, the bet that I just referenced, making these picks, will
41:57 these players pair now or won't they, is also a bet on yourself.
42:00 And there's no team that's going to take a player and say, "Yeah, we won't get the best
42:03 out of them, but we'll get something close and that'll be good enough."
42:06 They believe in themselves.
42:07 That's why all of these men have these jobs, coaches, GMs, scouts, et cetera.
42:11 But the dynamic of a player going into an environment, and whether or not that environment,
42:16 from the coaching, from the protection, from the weapons, gets the best out of him, like
42:21 I've said this before and others have, too, I find more often teams fail quarterbacks
42:24 more than quarterbacks fail the team.
42:27 And that might not be the case with Zach Wilson, who I was not high on.
42:30 The Jets took second.
42:31 I count that as a win for me.
42:32 Another long list of Ls for the Jets.
42:35 But maybe there was a world in which he went somewhere that had an offensive coordinator
42:40 that wasn't fired after a couple of years and then replaced by a Nathaniel Hackett,
42:43 an offensive line that's still not looking to seek talent and starters and not latching
42:48 on to 36, 37-year-old Tyrone Smith.
42:51 The point being, even if they do draft the quarterback, it's not only that we won't know
42:56 if they're a hit or a miss, a bust or someone booming.
42:59 It's that that will be dependent on the Patriots to surround him.
43:02 And this brings us back to, I think, the idea of whether or not you believe in them and
43:06 their strategy.
43:07 Elliott Wolfe's on record saying what about how he wants to support a quarterback?
43:11 >> That's like a question for me.
43:14 >> Yeah, it's a question for you.
43:15 Yeah, long-winded, as always.
43:18 >> Just weaponize the offense.
43:19 Is that what you're asking?
43:20 >> Yeah, I want to do everything possible to support this guy.
43:24 >> Yeah.
43:25 >> Everyone in the building to make sure that he is supported.
43:27 And what did we see the last couple years to bring it up for the final time before we
43:31 get this new draft when it was Mac Jones, right?
43:33 Did he get that support?
43:35 >> I don't believe so, and I don't think anybody else would think so either.
43:38 >> Right, and that can be not a binary thing, right?
43:42 Mac failed the Patriots, Patriots failed Mac, it was both.
43:44 But the point is, I think with this change, it's not only that this is something new,
43:48 I think that they're, I don't wanna say holistic, that's strong and a little bit different.
43:53 But their mindset going into this, the type of players we're gonna look at are just good
43:57 and will chase upside.
43:59 But are also guys that we will support and we will devote and sacrifice for, as opposed
44:04 to constantly asking that of them for us and the sake of the system, if that makes sense.
44:09 >> Yeah, it definitely makes sense.
44:11 I even think back to backtracking a little bit how you brought up Jonathan Kraft being
44:15 more heavily involved as Diana Rossini reported.
44:19 But I was watching Rob Ninkovich's podcast the other day, and I was looking at his old
44:25 clips and I can't remember who he was interviewing.
44:28 But he was telling somebody that he was in the suite with Jonathan Kraft and Robert Kraft
44:32 watching one of the games.
44:34 And when I believe it was like Mac threw an interception and Jonathan Kraft was just absolutely
44:39 livid and he was very vocal about how upset he was.
44:45 Part of that just having him watch the game from afar rather than, or seeing it as from
44:50 a fan's perspective, I guess you could say, seeing that the offense was dysfunctional.
44:54 That's kind of where my hope comes from too, just that he sees our offense was not good.
45:00 For lack of a better term, it sucked.
45:02 So I do trust that he will give that input in the draft room.
45:08 >> Yeah, and I think too people who wanna detract from Elliot Wolfe, and I had a long
45:13 story come out today just about him and his process and some of the, I don't wanna say
45:18 arguments, but disagreements he had with the previous regime.
45:21 They would say now, well, he told us last week that they have NFL receivers, they have
45:25 NFL tight ends, they have NFL offensive linemen.
45:28 What is he looking at?
45:30 I don't care if this guy's dad is in the Hall of Fame, what is he looking at now?
45:33 To which I would say, as I wrote last week after Elliot delivered those comments, he
45:37 wasn't talking to you.
45:39 His goal was not to be as honest as possible with the fans.
45:41 His job was to support his new players and his new underlings in the front office, and
45:45 to tell everyone else in the league, yeah, we might do anything at three, just in case
45:49 you're willing to do something exceptionally stupid.
45:51 So I get why people are not as optimistic as you are, or I would say trusting, maybe
45:57 not optimistic that I am.
45:58 I wanna see how the draft goes.
46:00 They've said a lot of things this offseason, the Patriots, from the Crafts to Mayo to Elliot
46:03 Wolfe, that have not come true, and in fact, been the complete opposite.
46:07 But what really matters is these picks coming up, whether they take the quarterback or not.
46:11 So I'll get you out on this.
46:12 I didn't prepare you for this, but sometimes it's how that goes here on the show.
46:17 Just a draft prediction, not what you want to happen, but something that happens.
46:20 It could be at number three, it could be a position, it could be a player, it could be
46:24 a trade, something you think will happen for the Patriots over the next couple of days.
46:30 >> I think the lock in my mind, again, I might be completely wrong, but I think the lock
46:37 in my mind is that they will draft an offensive tackle in the third round.
46:43 I've been thinking, okay, second round, cuz there's gonna be a run in the first round.
46:47 But I do believe that they trust Chooks.
46:50 I do think that they are comfortable starting him at left tackle.
46:54 So I think because of that, the need kind of gets pushed back just a little bit.
46:58 And I understand that the wide receiver class is deep, but I can't imagine them thinking
47:02 that, we'll just wait until the third round to get one of our star receivers, or hopefully
47:09 a receiver that's gonna be in the organization for the next ten years.
47:13 So I do think that they will try their best to pair up a quarterback at three, which that's
47:19 my other lock.
47:20 But a quarterback at three with the receiver in round two, and then a tackle in either
47:25 round three or round four.
47:26 But I'm guessing it's round three.
47:29 >> Okay, I like it.
47:31 >> Yeah, multifaceted breakdown prediction of exactly what the Patriots are gonna do.
47:36 I happen to agree with you, I won't go as strong.
47:38 But it's also funny going through our day three locks, right, that we're publishing.
47:42 We're writing about mock drafts, this and that.
47:45 Different versions of the same old bleep, if we're being honest.
47:47 But you can watch more tape, you get a better feeling about it.
47:50 Got Blake Fisher from Notre Dame starts to stand out to me.
47:52 Patrick Paul might be around there.
47:54 Kingsley Suamata, probably won't be from BYU, but we'll see.
47:58 And that's the beauty of the draft, is nobody knows.
47:59 We all have such certainty going into it and coming out of it.
48:02 And then everyone's gonna throw up their hands and be like, yeah, no, this guy actually stinks
48:05 in camp.
48:06 And we'll go on from there.
48:07 But follow Carlos, @los, L-O-S, @talkspats on X/Twitter.
48:14 The best to follow as far as aggregating all of the news, putting it out there.
48:17 One Stop Shopping from me, from Mass Life, from the Globe, from ESPN, Sports Illustrated,
48:21 wherever you find your news.
48:22 Follow Carlos.
48:23 Thank you again for coming on the show.
48:24 Thank you for donating.
48:25 And I hope you enjoy the draft.
48:26 I will be working, but I hope you were at home kicking your feet up, getting exactly
48:30 what you want, quarterback, receiver, and offensive tackle.
48:33 Hopefully, hopefully.
48:34 I'll be on Twitter a lot, trying to see any types of rumors or any news that gets put
48:41 out.
48:42 So I'm excited.
48:43 I'm looking forward to it.
48:44 And thanks for having me on, though.
48:45 You got it.
48:45 Thanks.
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49:01 you
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