Patriots Draft GRADES & 2024 predictions w/ Doug Kyed | Pats Interference - video Dailymotion

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The Boston Herald's Doug Kyed returns to hand out pick-by-pick grades for the Patriots' 2024 draft class and project each player's role for next season. Doug also takes us inside Christian Barmore's new extension after breaking the news Monday morning.  TIMELINE:  0:00 Doug also takes us inside Christian Barmore's new extension  17:00 pick-by-pick grades for the Patriots' 2024 draft class  17:20 Javon Baker Grade  21:50 Drake Maye Grade  27:33 Caedan Wallace Grade  37:00 Ja’Lynn Polk Grade  47:14 Layden Robinson Grade  50:26 Joe Milton, Dial & Marcellas Jaheim Bell  59:30 Draft Grade for NE  1:01:45 UDFAs  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!  Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.

Transcript

00:00:00 [MUSIC]

00:00:10 The man in the morning with us now,

00:00:14 Pat's Interference here on a Monday morning after the draft.

00:00:16 We are not gonna start though with any rookies, but

00:00:19 Doug Tide, the people's favorite guest and

00:00:21 man who broke Christian Barmore's extension with the Patriots four years.

00:00:25 84 million, but 92 if he does really, really, really well.

00:00:28 And coming out according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, $41.8 million guaranteed.

00:00:33 You and I were just talking out there and

00:00:35 Ed been texting about this deal for weeks, maybe a couple of months.

00:00:38 But you broke it.

00:00:40 Well, tell the people how you broke it, where you were, what you were doing.

00:00:43 >> I was at the gym.

00:00:43 My friend Brad Spielberger, used to work at BFF, now working with an agency,

00:00:49 texted me and was like, hey, good job on breaking the story.

00:00:52 I was like, I was literally sweating it out at the gym.

00:00:55 I was in the middle of doing hip thrust.

00:00:57 There's a hip thrust machine at my gym.

00:00:59 So I'm literally strapped in the machine, tweeting and publishing the story and

00:01:03 doing all that stuff.

00:01:04 Everyone's probably wondering why the hell this jerk is taking so

00:01:07 long in the hip thrust machine.

00:01:08 But yeah, that's what I was doing when I broke the story.

00:01:14 And then, yeah, Adam Schefter came in with a lot of the contract details, but

00:01:18 great to be the first one on the news that the deal was officially done.

00:01:22 The deal was officially done as of this morning.

00:01:25 So big news for the Patriots to get Christian Barmore's extension done.

00:01:30 And obviously, it just reiterates the priority for the Patriots this offseason

00:01:34 to resign as many of their own guys as possible,

00:01:37 many of those being their own draft picks.

00:01:39 >> It was officially done what, set three, rep four, five?

00:01:43 >> [LAUGH] >> I think that's the time that we need,

00:01:46 not necessarily the Eastern time zone.

00:01:48 >> Yeah, I think it was right after rep one, because I knew that it was close.

00:01:54 I was like, do I start this?

00:01:55 Do I not start this?

00:01:57 I thought I still had a few more minutes, but it is what it is.

00:02:01 But you gotta work from anywhere on this job, and that includes the gym.

00:02:06 I won't dox myself and say what gym I was at, but I was at the gym.

00:02:10 >> Good man, all right, so we are gonna hit Christian Barmore here for

00:02:12 a couple of minutes.

00:02:13 And then we're gonna get to what's promised in the title of this episode,

00:02:16 which is draft grades and projected roles for the eight new rookies.

00:02:20 It's a little difficult to hit a little UVFAs, but look,

00:02:23 the guys who were drafted were drafted for a reason, for multiple reasons.

00:02:26 So we're gonna dive into them and then get Doug out of here.

00:02:29 But staying with Barmore, like I said, you and I have been texting and

00:02:32 talking about this for weeks and months.

00:02:34 And it was my understanding, mostly through you,

00:02:37 is that this really picked up between Barmore and the team around the combine.

00:02:41 So take us as best you can, cuz these are always delicate for

00:02:44 the people listening.

00:02:45 When you go inside something, we write insider story.

00:02:48 There's always more that you know, that you can't share as to protect a source or

00:02:53 not betray something you would promise not to say, without, of course,

00:02:56 giving a partial truth.

00:02:58 But that's what this is, as long as it's representative of what happened,

00:03:01 that's what we wanna share with you.

00:03:02 That's the only thing we wanna share is the truth.

00:03:04 It's just not going to be every little detail,

00:03:06 because relationships are involved.

00:03:08 So with that as a backdrop, go.

00:03:10 >> Yeah, I mean, these talks really started at the combine.

00:03:13 Christian Barmore now exited the third year of his contract.

00:03:20 So that's when the Patriots and his agent could begin these talks.

00:03:24 They could not extend him before he finished up his three-year mark.

00:03:28 So really, this deal got done pretty much as early as it possibly could have.

00:03:32 But yeah, deals talk started at the combine.

00:03:36 And then there was some defensive tackle contracts that were executed

00:03:41 during free agency that might have pushed this contract extension

00:03:46 a little bit further out than maybe initially anticipated.

00:03:49 I think that all parties kind of thought that it might get done a little bit before

00:03:53 late April, but in the long run, it got done, and that's the most important thing.

00:03:58 Some other just key details on it, I think Barmore ranks, what,

00:04:02 11th now among defensive tackles in, is it guaranteed money or APY?

00:04:08 >> So he's 12th by total guarantees, according to SpotTrack.

00:04:12 And max value, he's eighth, along with average annual value.

00:04:16 But I think we're waiting for some of the base numbers to kick in.

00:04:18 And that's the numbers we care about, right?

00:04:19 The guarantees and the base salary.

00:04:21 >> An important note there, though, is that a lot of those other guys,

00:04:24 I'm not sure if it's all of them or most of them, were first round picks.

00:04:29 So a lot of the guarantees are baked in with that fifth year option,

00:04:32 baked into the contract.

00:04:34 Whereas Christian Barmore, a second round pick,

00:04:36 the only one of those guys who signed after the third year of his deal.

00:04:40 So he's getting paid early, which is certainly important for a defensive tackle.

00:04:45 But it also gives the Patriots credit to them for

00:04:48 drafting Christian Barmore in the second round.

00:04:50 Being able to get this deal done after his third year.

00:04:53 And maybe not getting a bargain on him, but

00:04:56 getting him cheaper than they probably would have if they had

00:05:00 drafted him at the end of the first round or somewhere else in the draft.

00:05:03 So it is a deal that works out for all parties.

00:05:05 And certainly a lot of credit to Christian Barmore for

00:05:08 the season that he had last year as well,

00:05:11 to earn this contract after just the third year of his NFL career.

00:05:16 >> All right, let's stay with Barmore the player for a second and

00:05:18 then go to the contract.

00:05:19 Cuz there's a lot of interesting little things that you just hit on there.

00:05:21 Number one of which is people underestimate, I think, on the outside.

00:05:25 And this is something I only came to learn more recently,

00:05:28 is how much draft status matters in the negotiation of the second contract.

00:05:32 That is held against you as if your report card in high school,

00:05:36 where you went to college regardless of the grades you had since then,

00:05:40 gives you a little bit of bump when you're applying for

00:05:42 jobs when you finally get out there.

00:05:43 So Christian Barmore, second round pick like you mentioned, he's still only 24.

00:05:48 Again, 24 years old, as old as some draft picks that were made over the weekend.

00:05:53 Eight and a half sacks last year, 13 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits.

00:05:56 This is from your story up on the Herald site.

00:05:59 Pro Football Focus's eighth highest graded defensive tackle at 83.8.

00:06:04 And if you wanna dismiss BFF, I mean, again, we have Ducky, he used to work BFF.

00:06:09 But what I would tell you about those grades is they don't miss on one end or

00:06:12 the other.

00:06:13 It's usually in the middle.

00:06:14 The guys highest graded are good.

00:06:16 The guys worst graded are bad, and we can all agree upon that.

00:06:20 So when you look at the deal again in that context of where he's at in his career,

00:06:24 his draft status, four years, 84 million, 92 million total,

00:06:29 with about half of this guaranteed.

00:06:31 Good deal for the Patriots, great deal, so-so deal, what do you make of it?

00:06:34 >> First of all, if you're watching this on YouTube and

00:06:37 being like, why is Doug sweating on this show?

00:06:40 It's a combination of factors.

00:06:45 First of all, it's unseasonably warm in Boston right now.

00:06:48 And during a podcast, you can't have air conditioning on.

00:06:50 So don't mind me if I'm constantly wiping my brow.

00:06:54 It's just really hot in here right now.

00:06:56 But I think it's a really good deal for the Patriots.

00:07:00 Because I mean, you're locking up, really, who's going to be,

00:07:05 if he's not already, your best defensive player.

00:07:08 I guess the argument can be made throwing Matthew Judon in there,

00:07:13 throwing Christian Gonzalez in there.

00:07:15 But if you add in everything, proven track record, plus age, plus everything,

00:07:20 Christian Barmore is one of your cornerstones of this team.

00:07:23 Lock him up for four years, $84 million,

00:07:27 not have him be the highest paid defensive tackle.

00:07:31 I do, I think it's a really good deal for the Patriots to get this deal done now.

00:07:36 It could essentially be a two year deal with the guarantees,

00:07:41 plus the length of the contract.

00:07:45 Obviously, the hope is that he's here for all four years, and

00:07:48 they're going to extend him even beyond that.

00:07:51 And that's an important factor too, is that if you talk about it from Christian

00:07:55 Barmore's angle as well, he's 24, he just signed a four year contract extension.

00:07:59 He could be getting a second big deal in free agency when he's 28,

00:08:04 29 years old, so that works out for him as well.

00:08:08 >> It really does, I'm with you.

00:08:09 I would give this a B plus, if not a little bit higher for the Patriots.

00:08:12 Because the other context, not just, he was drafted in the second round,

00:08:16 not the first, is that the defensive tackle market freaking exploded somehow,

00:08:23 even while Aaron Donald retired.

00:08:25 And so this money is really palatable.

00:08:27 Again, when you look at the maximum value,

00:08:28 which is not always indicative of what he's paid, hey, that doesn't sound great.

00:08:32 I don't think anyone would consider Christian Barmore the eighth best defensive

00:08:34 tackle in the league, but you might in a year or two, which is this is what-

00:08:38 >> He was my PFF anyway.

00:08:40 >> Right, yeah, I forgot those numbers lined up.

00:08:43 The total guarantees have him at the 12th highest.

00:08:46 That's really comfortable for me right now.

00:08:48 And that will feel great in a year or two, which is again,

00:08:50 what you're projecting, particularly when the cap goes up every year.

00:08:54 But we're continuing to see these large, this year was an unprecedented spike,

00:08:59 as the continued influx of new TV money.

00:09:02 And I think you'll see international money with all these different marketing

00:09:04 rights and yada, yada, yada.

00:09:05 The point being, I think this is a great deal given his age, his production,

00:09:10 where he's at within the market.

00:09:11 And yeah, I would probably put the higher end outcomes for

00:09:14 Matt Judon and Christian Gonzalez ahead of Barmore.

00:09:17 But again, if he's in the top three, and you're paying one of your top three

00:09:20 defenders, a deal that's gonna end up outside the top ten for his position.

00:09:24 That's great, great value.

00:09:26 Anything we missed on here?

00:09:27 >> No, I mean, one other point that I would add on that is that this is a deal that

00:09:31 could look even better as time continues.

00:09:34 I mean, I know it's gonna take a while before Jordan Davis signs a contract

00:09:37 extension, but I'm assuming that he'll wind up getting paid more than Christian

00:09:42 Barmore, Jalen Carter as well could wind up getting paid more than Christian Barmore.

00:09:46 So it's gonna look better with time as well, as long as Christian Barmore

00:09:51 can continue the ascent that he had, or even just maintain the ascent that he had

00:09:56 last season under Gerard Mayo and under DeMarcus Covington.

00:10:01 And he's gonna be playing in the same defense.

00:10:03 He's got some players, coaches around him.

00:10:05 So it seems like sky's the limit for Christian Barmore.

00:10:09 And I mean, the reaction I saw from Patriots fans was overwhelmingly positive

00:10:13 about this as well.

00:10:14 So I do think that this is a smaller point, but Elliott Wolfe is kind of

00:10:19 beginning to turn the tides a little bit for some Patriots fans.

00:10:23 To be a little bit more on the side of the new regime, because I do think that

00:10:27 Patriots fans like what they're building, like what they're doing, especially after

00:10:31 the draft, which that's a good segue because now we're gonna be getting into

00:10:34 the draft.

00:10:36 >> Well, we're gonna throw on the brakes for a second because I can never make up

00:10:39 my mind. I wanna check on you.

00:10:40 You're still good.

00:10:41 How's the heat check over there?

00:10:42 You look okay, but a little pale.

00:10:44 >> I know, I am looking pale right now.

00:10:46 I don't know why that is.

00:10:48 I actually don't have a light on in this room.

00:10:50 I think that that's why I'm looking pale.

00:10:51 >> Okay, well, I'm gonna throw on the brakes.

00:10:53 I'm gonna run through three quick points, two of which just hit my mind, and

00:10:56 one of them you inspired.

00:10:57 And the other thing I'm gonna get to, and

00:10:58 then we're gonna dismount and go straight to the draft.

00:11:00 And so the first one is this.

00:11:02 Christian Barmore, if you remember, in 2021,

00:11:05 was one of these prospects that was hit very vaguely with an off-field

00:11:10 character issue type of tag, concerns.

00:11:14 And I would not just say that was irresponsible because of the way things

00:11:18 have played out.

00:11:19 Those were irresponsible and unfair at the time, as I said,

00:11:23 after talking with some people closer to him and around the scouting process.

00:11:28 Because it did not differentiate from a guy who's at risk for

00:11:30 getting arrested or beating someone or breaking the law,

00:11:33 versus the dude just needs to learn how to do his own laundry and

00:11:37 live his life outside of a football field in a very structured program.

00:11:40 Particularly someone who just jumped into football in high school in Philadelphia

00:11:43 and then go straight to Tuscaloosa.

00:11:45 There's a lot of culture change going on there for a dude who, again,

00:11:47 at the time, was just 21.

00:11:49 He's just 24 now.

00:11:51 He's grown up.

00:11:52 He's matured.

00:11:53 I'm not saying he's done maturing.

00:11:55 But you remember that the guys who get hit with this tag at this age, 21, 22,

00:11:59 you're immature.

00:12:00 Shocker, a lot of us were, and that's okay.

00:12:03 As long as you learn to grow and the Patriots obviously hit that.

00:12:05 Number two is Elliott Wolf winning people over, obviously,

00:12:10 probably people who are still entrenched in the Bill Belichick's,

00:12:12 and so be here, Pam.

00:12:14 And I would just say, no one's coming to rescue you.

00:12:18 The infantry's not coming over the hill.

00:12:21 Just move on.

00:12:22 But I heard it on the radio when you broke this story about, another play that

00:12:26 Bill Belichick couldn't draft.

00:12:28 You are smarter than this, if you believe that, okay?

00:12:31 We can deal in nuance in that largely Bill Belichick had bad drafts over his

00:12:36 last 10 years.

00:12:37 It doesn't mean every player was bad.

00:12:39 It means relative to the rest of the league, the Patriots underperformed.

00:12:42 That largely explains why they were 29 and 39, and I'll leave it there.

00:12:46 He drafted some good players.

00:12:47 Those players are staying.

00:12:48 The rest, obviously, are not.

00:12:50 And to dismount transition to number three.

00:12:53 The Patriots have gotten all these new contract extensions done.

00:12:56 Kyle Duggar, Mike Gonwenu, Christian Barmore, new deals or re-signings.

00:13:01 And the next one is arguably more important than all of them,

00:13:04 because it's Elliott Wolfe's.

00:13:06 His contract is up in a couple of weeks.

00:13:09 And what I would say to the crafts, to ownership, who chose him over macro and

00:13:13 anyone else over available in the market, even on a short-term basis.

00:13:16 He's done exactly what he told you he would do.

00:13:20 Extend core players, spend wisely in free agency, draft the quarterback, and

00:13:25 weaponize the offense by drafting receivers around him.

00:13:28 If you are unhappy with the job that Elliott Wolfe does,

00:13:31 you have not been paying attention to his own words.

00:13:34 And I would give the overall offseason a B to a B+.

00:13:36 I think a solid, really good start, laying the foundation.

00:13:39 You missed it, Kyle Ridley.

00:13:40 Ridley, it happens.

00:13:41 But overall, this man has lived up to his word, and

00:13:44 this franchise in a better place than it was four months ago.

00:13:48 And it's mostly because of him.

00:13:50 Extend him next, and keep this ball rolling.

00:13:54 >> Yeah, 100%.

00:13:56 And yeah, I mean, there are still a lot of Bill Belichick defenders out there.

00:13:59 And yeah, he deserves credit for

00:14:01 drafting the guys that the Patriots did resign.

00:14:04 But I mean, listen, Bill Belichick was the greatest,

00:14:07 among the greatest things that's ever happened to the Patriots.

00:14:12 It's him, Tom Brady, Robert Kraft, and some sort of order.

00:14:16 And he's the greatest head coach of all time,

00:14:18 one of the greatest GMs of all time.

00:14:20 But there was a reason why they went 4-13 last season.

00:14:23 And when he was the guy who was in charge of everything,

00:14:27 it ultimately falls on him.

00:14:28 I would still maintain that, I mean,

00:14:31 we'll see if it was the best decision to move on from Bill Belichick.

00:14:35 But there's only so much that you can defend when the team has been poor

00:14:40 over the last three or so years.

00:14:43 And yeah, no, I mean, Elliot Wolfe, certainly,

00:14:47 if this was a trial period for Elliot Wolfe, he's done everything right.

00:14:51 I even think that we'll see how the Calvin Ridley deal winds up working out for

00:14:55 the Tennessee Titans.

00:14:56 Like, yeah, it would have been fun to bring in a legitimate veteran wide receiver

00:15:02 who could potentially be a number one.

00:15:04 But that doesn't mean that he's going to wind up being worth the money that

00:15:07 the Titans gave him.

00:15:09 And only time will tell on that.

00:15:10 And I don't know, I was never 100% fully on board with the idea of

00:15:15 the Calvin Ridley deal.

00:15:17 I just thought that there were some risks involved there.

00:15:21 He's an old prospect or older player.

00:15:24 He has had the gambling issues.

00:15:27 There was other, I don't know,

00:15:29 there was just a lot of risk there to be giving him that much money.

00:15:32 >> Well, it was one beat, right, at his peak.

00:15:35 There was a lot of statistical comps between him and Mike Williams.

00:15:39 Obviously, the difference is Mike Williams' ACL is not whole yet, and

00:15:42 the man can't run at full speed or wherever he is in his recovery.

00:15:45 Calvin Ridley was healthy, granted just a bit older, but they were comfortable.

00:15:49 No one would call Mike Williams even a one B, which is what Calvin Ridley is.

00:15:52 All right, let's look forward though,

00:15:53 because we're here mostly to talk about the draft.

00:15:55 I would give the Patriots overall draft, kind of like the rest of their offseason,

00:16:00 a B or a B plus.

00:16:01 And we're gonna go pick by pick to explain how we arrived there.

00:16:04 But for the crowd again, who would say draft grades, my God,

00:16:08 no one knows what these prospects are gonna be in two to three years.

00:16:11 First of all, you're right.

00:16:12 Second of all, we're giving you more credit than that to say you're smarter and

00:16:16 we all understand this.

00:16:17 But what we can do is assess what the Patriots did based on what we know about

00:16:22 these prospects, right, their athletic profiles, their tape, and where they fit

00:16:26 in the historical trends of, hey, receivers who are really statistically

00:16:30 productive in college and can separate tend to do pretty well in the NFL, okay.

00:16:34 And then you look at their team needs and

00:16:36 their other options at the time they make their pick.

00:16:38 So basically, did the Patriots more often than not,

00:16:41 take the best player available who fits into historical trends for

00:16:44 success while they prioritize premium positions.

00:16:47 And made sure that of all their options, trade up, trade back, stay in pick,

00:16:51 they did the best thing.

00:16:53 Easy enough?

00:16:53 No, of course not.

00:16:54 But we're gonna pretend like it is to give these trades.

00:16:57 So the way we're gonna go this is not first to seventh round or seventh to first.

00:17:00 I want you to lead off with the pick that you felt the strongest about.

00:17:04 So this grade either got one of your highest marks, an A plus or an A, or

00:17:08 wherever you landed at the bottom, my lowest grade was a C minus.

00:17:11 And we'll come up and we'll alternate and go back and forth.

00:17:13 So the player in the pick you felt most strongly about was what?

00:17:16 >> I don't think this will come, and maybe it'll come as somewhat of a surprise, but

00:17:19 fourth round pick, 110th overall, UCF wide receiver, Javon Baker.

00:17:24 I'd give it an A.

00:17:26 I think that there, I mean, who knows?

00:17:28 There's some risk here just because Javon Baker

00:17:31 was somewhat inconsistent during his college career.

00:17:34 I mean, everyone saw in his interview after the draft that he might be a little bit of

00:17:39 a wild card with the media.

00:17:40 We'll see how he is in the building.

00:17:42 I think he'll be a good guy in the building.

00:17:44 But I mean, this was a four star recruit, started his career at Alabama,

00:17:48 learned a lot from Jalen Waddell and Devontae Smith, went over to UCF,

00:17:52 had an extremely productive last season there at UCF.

00:17:57 Was very good as a junior, was second among FBF wide receivers in yards for

00:18:02 catch, big play threat.

00:18:04 Sure, he ran like a 4-5-2-40, whatever it was, but he was a proven playmaker at UCF.

00:18:10 He's a big wide receiver.

00:18:12 He can compete for that X wide receiver role, but

00:18:14 he also said he's comfortable playing in the slot.

00:18:17 He's comfortable playing at the Z wide receiver spot.

00:18:20 And I think the one thing, and we'll get into, obviously,

00:18:23 the Patriots' other wide receiver pick in a second here.

00:18:26 But the thing that I like about these young wide receivers is that

00:18:32 as much success as the Patriots had with their previous offense,

00:18:35 there was always the fear, and it was well documented,

00:18:40 that young wide receivers struggled when they came to the Patriots.

00:18:44 Whether that was Tom Brady's fault, Josh McDaniel's fault,

00:18:48 the offense's fault, or Bill Belichick's fault,

00:18:50 almost every young wide receiver had a hard time adjusting.

00:18:54 I don't think that will continue to be the case.

00:18:56 I think this could be a situation where you see,

00:18:59 like with the Packers over the last couple years, young wide receivers come in

00:19:03 right away, flourish, can compete right away, can play right away.

00:19:07 And that's my expectation for Javon Baker.

00:19:11 And like I said, we'll get into Jalen Polk in a second here.

00:19:13 But I think that these guys can play right away because

00:19:15 the wide receiver depth chart is wide open too.

00:19:18 Like there are spots open for these guys to play.

00:19:21 I think that they are probably the two most talented players

00:19:26 on the Patriots' wide receiver depth chart.

00:19:27 We'll see if they're ready to play.

00:19:28 But I have high hopes for both these receivers.

00:19:32 I have higher hopes given the draft position for Javon Baker with his pedigree,

00:19:38 with his skill set, with everything that he was able to do at UCF.

00:19:41 So yeah, like I said, A on that one.

00:19:44 >> I don't have much to add.

00:19:46 I also gave it an A.

00:19:47 I made myself think though for a second because we get to the start of the fourth

00:19:52 round, right?

00:19:52 And I don't know where you were posted up, but I was in one recliner here in my

00:19:57 apartment, lean back, watching pick 103.

00:19:59 And I don't remember who had it first, but you see Leighton Robinson comes in.

00:20:03 Spoiler alert, has my C-grade, the only one I gave out.

00:20:06 It's not really his fault.

00:20:07 It's just where the Patriots went with the available players on the board.

00:20:10 And one of the players was Javon Baker.

00:20:12 And so I asked myself later, not in the recliner, somewhere far away,

00:20:16 probably taking a walk finally after three days of sitting and watching the draft,

00:20:20 is okay, if Javon Baker had gone 103 and Leighton Robinson had gone 110,

00:20:24 how differently would I feel about those picks?

00:20:27 >> Right. >> The answer is Baker still would be an

00:20:30 A, right?

00:20:30 He was on everyone's list of best available on day three.

00:20:33 Leighton Robinson, I probably would have been a lot kinder to C-minus,

00:20:36 which again, it's not his fault.

00:20:37 I still don't love the profile, but I felt very sure about Baker.

00:20:41 And I'll leave the rest for a Robinson discussion.

00:20:44 But again, a guy who averaged 21.2 yards per catch,

00:20:48 two first downs worth of more than a fifth of the football field every time he

00:20:54 caught the ball, and yeah, there's a lot in the UCS offense that's not gonna

00:20:58 translate to the league.

00:20:59 And his comments, as much as I was amused as a media member,

00:21:02 has me a little concerned for a guy who thinks in and he's just going to revive

00:21:06 the Patriots organization and championship equity with him and

00:21:09 two other rookies, like crazy talk.

00:21:11 But I love the bravado, I love the moxie.

00:21:13 I'm not going to tamp that down.

00:21:14 I'm not going to pee in his parade.

00:21:17 I'm going to encourage Javon Baker to be himself and

00:21:19 the Patriots to play him because the talent is there, A plus grade for me.

00:21:23 Real quick, another A that I gave out, Drake May.

00:21:25 I'm all in.

00:21:27 I had an whole episode describing why I'm all in.

00:21:30 I don't have much more to add.

00:21:31 The profile the Patriots should have bet on, the upside potential,

00:21:35 the attitude, the more I hear him speak, the more confident I am in him.

00:21:38 A little bit different from Javon Baker, but it's just a guy who's got,

00:21:42 and scouts love to say this, a little shit to him.

00:21:45 He will do whatever he needs competitively and say F you in the process,

00:21:51 which is not a prerequisite for winning, but is the fourth brother out of four,

00:21:56 the youngest out of just a championship sports family who grew up with that tough

00:22:00 love and that competitive environment and those fires.

00:22:02 I discounted it a little bit in the pre-job process.

00:22:05 You see it come through now.

00:22:06 And this is a dude who, again, turns 22 in August,

00:22:09 is going to be expected to command an NFL locker room at 23.

00:22:12 You can't do that if you haven't had to fight for your way in college,

00:22:16 in high school, or even in your own backyard or in the driveway.

00:22:19 He's ready.

00:22:21 I think he's made of the right stuff.

00:22:22 Doesn't mean it's gonna be smooth, but that's all that I got on Drake.

00:22:26 >> Yeah, he would be the second most, I don't know,

00:22:29 what was the exact word that you used?

00:22:31 >> The strongest feeling.

00:22:33 >> Strongest feeling.

00:22:33 He'd be the second strongest feeling for me.

00:22:35 A, A minus, somewhere around there for Drake May.

00:22:40 It was the obvious pick.

00:22:41 It was the right pick.

00:22:43 It was exactly what the Patriots should have done.

00:22:45 It would have been a reach at that point to try to draft J.J.

00:22:47 McCarthy as the draft unfolded as well,

00:22:50 because he wound up being the fourth quarterback taken.

00:22:53 Certainly would have been a reach for Michael Penix or

00:22:55 Bo Nix who went right afterwards.

00:22:57 >> Well, he would have been the fifth.

00:22:59 Well, I guess, well, McCarthy was the fifth.

00:23:02 >> McCarthy was the fourth.

00:23:04 >> No, fifth. >> Fifth, no, you're right.

00:23:05 Yeah, fifth, fifth.

00:23:06 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:23:07 Yeah, McCarthy wound up being the fifth.

00:23:09 >> You're having a heat stroke on me, are you?

00:23:11 Those mistakes are normally my domain in our working relationship.

00:23:15 Real quickly, though, we forgot the roles.

00:23:17 Where do you see Baker fitting in?

00:23:18 I'm gonna call him wide receiver four for next year, I think,

00:23:21 is the way this plays out, maybe five, because I think there are just some

00:23:24 rougher edges that need to be smoothed out before that potential comes forth.

00:23:28 And I think they're gonna lean on guys like Bourne and

00:23:31 Osborne to be just a little bit more ready.

00:23:34 But I think he could get in the mix.

00:23:36 >> Yeah, I think that's probably the safe way to say it is wide receiver five.

00:23:41 But I also kinda think that one of these rookies winds up starting.

00:23:47 I just think that that's the way that this is gonna unfold because they are the most

00:23:50 talented players in that wide receiver room.

00:23:54 And I don't think it's a guarantee that it's gonna be Jalen Polk over Javon Baker,

00:23:58 just given their pedigree, given how good they were last season,

00:24:02 given the expectations for these players.

00:24:04 So yeah, the floor and the reality is probably gonna be wide receiver five.

00:24:10 But there's also a non-zero chance that he's wide receiver one for

00:24:14 the Patriots in 2024.

00:24:16 And yeah, for Drake May, obviously, I don't know,

00:24:20 I'll let you talk first on Drake May on what the role you think is gonna be.

00:24:24 >> I think people are underrating how ready, how soon he could be ready.

00:24:29 Because we've talked about things like mechanics and people are like,

00:24:32 you have to strip it down to the studs, you're banking on the potential.

00:24:35 It's footwork, quarterback experts have identified footwork as the most

00:24:38 easily fixable flaw in a quarterback.

00:24:40 He's also someone who you and I know thoroughly impress the Patriots on

00:24:44 the whiteboard in their interviews with them.

00:24:46 Like knows ball, talks ball, is all about ball.

00:24:49 And the Patriots dismissed the offense that he was in at North Carolina,

00:24:52 not because of a lack of talent, but because things just didn't marry up.

00:24:55 And as I'm watching snap after snap after snap, and these very basic route concepts

00:25:00 or the pass game they wanted to keep with their old offensive coordinator in 2022.

00:25:04 And this new run game and protection set, he's in the gun the whole time.

00:25:06 It's mostly empty or 10 or 11 personnel.

00:25:09 Like, he didn't have a whole lot of answers for a lot of these three rushers.

00:25:13 So they say, we will keep this simple.

00:25:14 We'll protect you with boots, a running game, some other moving pocket stuff, and

00:25:19 let you flourish within a simple offense that at least complements each other well.

00:25:23 He can handle that mentally.

00:25:24 I don't have any doubt about that.

00:25:25 It's just a matter of when do you wanna introduce him.

00:25:27 So I will say he's the starter.

00:25:29 I'm gonna go conservative here, but Thanksgiving.

00:25:32 But if he was the starter in October,

00:25:34 I think something probably happened to Jacobo Percet.

00:25:37 But I think they will be comfortable at that point putting him on the field.

00:25:41 >> Yeah, I published a Patriots depth chart on Sunday.

00:25:45 And I had May number one right now, but

00:25:49 that's not necessarily my expectation for the start of the season.

00:25:53 I'm just thinking like, okay, we're entering OTAs here in a couple of weeks.

00:25:58 Like, no one's done anything to prove that they should be the starting quarterback of

00:26:03 the New England Patriots.

00:26:03 So I would expect Jacoby Percet and Drake May probably to be splitting first team

00:26:08 reps early in camp, just because it's like, why would Percet be getting those over

00:26:13 Drake May?

00:26:14 If it was like an incumbent starter, but it was someone who was starting last year,

00:26:17 then yeah, that guy might be the bona fide number one when camp starts.

00:26:21 And then Drake May has a chance to pass him like it was with Cam Newton and

00:26:24 Mac Jones back in 2021.

00:26:26 But for these guys, Drake May was the third overall pick.

00:26:29 Jacoby Percet signed a one year $8 million deal.

00:26:32 So I do think that they're gonna have a chance to compete and

00:26:36 beat one another out for the next few months here.

00:26:39 And I think that they'll probably have a pretty even chance.

00:26:42 And it wouldn't shock me if Drake May was the week one starter.

00:26:46 I personally would probably sit him until everything's settled out,

00:26:49 find out what the offensive line looks like,

00:26:51 find out what the wide receivers look like.

00:26:53 But if Drake May looks significantly better than Jacoby Percet in training camp and

00:26:57 preseason by the end of the summer, then yeah, he should be the starter.

00:27:01 And I don't know, development is important, but I also think that if he's

00:27:06 gonna be the starter moving forward, there's not a point to some degree in

00:27:12 holding that off.

00:27:13 So I'd probably push it a little bit earlier, I'd probably say October.

00:27:17 But yeah, I don't think that there's a, once again,

00:27:19 non-zero chance that he's a starter week one.

00:27:22 >> Yeah, for sure.

00:27:23 Okay, so May was my number one, Baker was my number two.

00:27:27 You had that flipped.

00:27:27 Who's your number three strongest feeling about as far as these draft picks go and

00:27:31 when you're grading them?

00:27:32 >> I would, this is close for me, but I think I would go with Caden Wallace.

00:27:37 The Patriots third round pick, number 68 overall.

00:27:41 I think I'd give this, I guess, C plus.

00:27:45 And we talked about this during the draft.

00:27:47 >> Yeah. >> All right,

00:27:48 right before Caden Wallace was drafted, number 59 overall,

00:27:53 Blake Fisher, an offensive tackle on Notre Dame.

00:27:56 Number 62 overall, Roger Rosengarten out of Washington.

00:27:59 63, Kingsley, can't pronounce his last name, out of BYU, not even gonna try.

00:28:04 >> Suamaita.

00:28:05 >> 67, Brandon Coleman, TCU to the commanders, and then 68, Caden Wallace.

00:28:10 So there was a run on offensive tackles right before Caden Wallace was drafted.

00:28:14 And at the time, I said to you, Patriots should have traded up.

00:28:19 They should have traded up at this point to get either Roger Rosengarten,

00:28:24 Kingsley, Suamaita, or potentially Brandon Coleman.

00:28:29 But after they took Javon Baker, this is why the entire draft is important here.

00:28:37 If the Patriots had traded up from 68 to 62, which is where the run really

00:28:41 kind of started with Rosengarten and Kingsley.

00:28:45 They probably also would have had to flip their fourth round pick for

00:28:49 a fifth round pick, which means that you probably don't get Javon Baker.

00:28:53 That's the way that the draft trade chart shakes out,

00:28:56 is that you're gonna wind up losing one of those fourth round picks to trade down

00:29:00 a little bit later.

00:29:02 And based on how they drafted, it probably would have been Leighton Robinson

00:29:07 that the Patriots were prioritizing over Javon Baker.

00:29:10 So would you rather have Javon Baker and Caden Wallace, or

00:29:15 would you rather have Roger Rosengarten and a fifth round wide receiver?

00:29:20 I don't even know who that would have been.

00:29:21 That would have been like Jacob Cowing or Anthony Gould.

00:29:28 I think you'd probably rather have Javon Baker and Caden Wallace.

00:29:33 So while I have strong feelings about the fact that the Patriots'

00:29:37 top two left tackle options right now, at least on paper, are Chukwuma Okorafor,

00:29:43 who's played almost exclusively right tackle in the NFL, and

00:29:46 Caden Wallace, who exclusively played right tackle in college.

00:29:50 There's just a lot of projection there about protecting either a rookie

00:29:55 quarterback's blind side or Jacoby Perset's blind side.

00:29:58 But the Patriots seem pretty confident that Caden Wallace can do this.

00:30:02 It certainly helps that, or it helps the perception of this, I guess,

00:30:07 that Olufesanu was playing left tackle over Caden Wallace at Penn State.

00:30:11 Olufesanu, number 11 overall pick in the NFL draft.

00:30:14 But there's just a lot of projection here.

00:30:16 I think I would have preferred them to take someone who had actually played left

00:30:19 tackle in college rather than a guy who was a right tackle only.

00:30:22 But at the end of the day, I do think that staying put rather than trading up was

00:30:28 probably the right move just because they did wind up with a guy that I have

00:30:32 the strongest feelings about, you have the second strongest feelings about,

00:30:35 and Javon Baker.

00:30:37 As far as a role for Caden Wallace,

00:30:39 I would say probably starting off the season as the backup left tackle.

00:30:42 But once again, he'll have every opportunity to prove himself during

00:30:45 the training camp or preseason to win that role.

00:30:47 >> So the point about the opportunity cost or the cost analysis of trading up,

00:30:52 right, is such a good one.

00:30:54 Because it's easy for us, it's easy for fans to say, okay, go and get Somati.

00:30:59 As we were texting, as I realized in kind of retrospect putting together,

00:31:04 I think it was my grades were Polk or whatever else was going on at the moment.

00:31:07 And then seeing Brandon Coleman, oops, somehow it's not closer and

00:31:10 closer to my heart all the way from Texas as the draft process went on.

00:31:13 Because I just said he's a versatile left tackle, he's tough as nails,

00:31:17 he meets their athletic benchmarks.

00:31:18 That's a guy, go get him, plug him in.

00:31:20 He's got long arms, silly six-four, who cares?

00:31:22 The commander's taken, which then of course made me feel more suspect about my own

00:31:26 opinions because who really wants to be aligned with the Washington commanders?

00:31:29 Come draft time, but there I was.

00:31:31 So here's the simplest part about this, because I gave it a C in print.

00:31:37 If I got the chance to do it over, I would give this a C plus,

00:31:41 because the Patriots did draft the position they needed to draft to.

00:31:45 My issue is, I want my projected left tackle to have played left tackle

00:31:52 since high school, and Gabe Walsh has really not done that.

00:31:55 And I know that Scott Peters is convinced, I know that Alex Van Pelt is convinced,

00:31:59 I know that Elliott Wolfe is convinced based in his athleticism.

00:32:01 I pressed Mayo about this yesterday, the final post draft, or

00:32:05 two days ago in the post draft press conference.

00:32:08 It's just, there are a lot of guys athletic enough to switch positions, and

00:32:11 for some reason they just can't.

00:32:13 And the Patriots were so convinced whether it was the East West Shrine game that he

00:32:15 could do it.

00:32:16 And if he can't, then you're in the same position you were a year ago.

00:32:19 Let's throw all these low level free agents at the wall,

00:32:22 let's throw all these late round draft picks at the wall,

00:32:24 City South could play right tackle.

00:32:25 He hasn't done that since high school, or 2018 in college.

00:32:28 That doesn't matter.

00:32:29 Well, where did he go back to?

00:32:30 His original position at right clock.

00:32:32 It's not a one for one.

00:32:34 It's just, again, the opportunity was there ahead of them to move up for

00:32:37 a guy where if the draft starts, Drake Bing, Jalen Polk, and Kingsley Suomata-Ia,

00:32:41 or Brandon Coleman, we are all going, okay, who cares about the rest of the picks?

00:32:46 >> Right. >> Like that, and

00:32:48 that was there for them.

00:32:49 And they took Wallace, who I will just say texted an executive about him later,

00:32:52 and opinions vary.

00:32:53 He was also the highest reach on the media consensus board.

00:32:56 But you can poo-poo the media evaluators.

00:32:59 The people or prospects atop that list of the biggest reaches,

00:33:02 according to everyone's rankings, all pulled together on average,

00:33:06 over the last few years, Cole Strange and Taekwon Authority.

00:33:09 So the company he's joining is not great.

00:33:10 But back to the executive.

00:33:12 He had said I have him as a right tackle only, and

00:33:14 the character was a little questionable.

00:33:15 Which I just assailed everyone for saying the same thing about Christian Barmore.

00:33:20 And for similar reasons, where my understanding, having covered Penn State and

00:33:23 still have friends and contacts back there,

00:33:25 said he didn't really commit until last year.

00:33:28 And good for him for figuring it out at 23.

00:33:30 I need to pour my whole life into this thing that is gonna reward me potentially

00:33:33 with generational wealth by playing the league longer.

00:33:36 And help my friends and my family and me, whatever else I wanna do.

00:33:39 But it also feels like, in addition to a reach, in addition to a position switch,

00:33:44 drafting a guy or signing one in for agency, who's coming off a contract here,

00:33:49 then just gets paid, and I don't know how he's gonna respond to that.

00:33:53 And that's not saying that Caden Wallace will not continue to invest and commit,

00:33:56 and I hope he does.

00:33:57 There are a lot of late bloomers out there, light just turns on.

00:34:00 But given all those things I just listed off, it just,

00:34:03 it feels like more hope than a plan.

00:34:06 And in the third round with that big hole that left tackle,

00:34:09 I just, I need something a little more solid.

00:34:12 >> Yeah, no, I agree with that.

00:34:15 And yeah, that's why it is the pick that I feel the third most strong is about,

00:34:19 because it was the third round pick.

00:34:21 It was gonna be tough to come out of the draft with a bona fide starting

00:34:26 quarterback, starting X-wide receiver, and starting offensive tackle.

00:34:29 Kinda did their best, given the situation that they were in.

00:34:32 This is getting deep in the weeds right now, but

00:34:35 it's a good opportunity for me to talk about it.

00:34:38 Caden Wallace has prototypical arm length at 34 inches,

00:34:44 but his hands are 10 and three quarters inches, which is really,

00:34:49 really, really, really, really big hands.

00:34:52 I feel like that should be factored into, this is something actually Austin Gale,

00:34:54 my friend, used to work at BFF now at the Ringer.

00:34:57 I think it was him, either him or Danny Heifetz we're talking about.

00:34:59 I feel like we need to subtract hand size from arm length somehow,

00:35:04 because that's a factor in it, right?

00:35:07 If your hands are really long, then your arm length is shorter, right?

00:35:11 So that is one deep concern I have about Caden Wallace.

00:35:16 Very big hands, as far as the hand to arm ratio here.

00:35:20 >> Okay, so the draft is behind us, but that means the best is still ahead of us.

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00:36:56 [MUSIC]

00:37:00 >> But let's get into the fourth pick that I feel the most strongly about, and

00:37:03 that is Washington wide receiver Jalen Polk.

00:37:06 He was my second round pick in my last Patriots mock draft.

00:37:11 So obviously, I considered him an option there,

00:37:15 even higher at the 34th overall pick.

00:37:18 Patriots traded down from 34 to 37.

00:37:21 >> Sorry, let me interrupt you.

00:37:23 What's Kane Wallace's role next year?

00:37:25 >> I think I said it already, starting off as the back up left tackle.

00:37:29 >> Okay, I agree.

00:37:30 I think he makes a couple of starts.

00:37:31 I don't know how they go, but I'm with you, continue.

00:37:35 >> Jalen Polk, they trade back from 34 to 37.

00:37:38 They flipped a fifth for a fourth in the process,

00:37:40 which allowed them to take Javon Baker.

00:37:43 So that was ultimately what seems like on paper a good trade for

00:37:46 the Patriots to wind up with their two wide receivers this way.

00:37:49 Jalen Polk, even before the draft, I asked a source like, hey,

00:37:53 who are the X wide receiver options in this draft?

00:37:55 And Jalen Polk was one of those, which I found somewhat surprising,

00:38:00 just because I did watch a lot of Washington last year.

00:38:02 I'm a big Washington Huskies fan.

00:38:04 And I thought like, hey, this guy has the size and the speed and

00:38:07 the physicality and all that to play X.

00:38:10 But in the offense last year in Washington,

00:38:13 Romo Dunze was the Huskies X wide receiver.

00:38:16 And Jalen Polk was like that kind of like hybrid Z slot, played some X,

00:38:21 played a lot of slot because Jalen McMillan was hurt.

00:38:24 But it's another guy who didn't necessarily play X wide receiver in college.

00:38:30 And now the Patriots might be projecting him into that role in the NFL.

00:38:35 But based on his skill set,

00:38:37 someone called him a second round version of Romo Dunze.

00:38:41 So it's once again a similar situation actually to Caden Wallace,

00:38:44 where Caden Wallace wasn't the left tackle because Olufoshano was the left tackle for

00:38:49 Penn State.

00:38:49 Jalen Polk wasn't the X wide receiver for the Huskies last year because Romo Dunze,

00:38:53 who's the top ten pick, was the X wide receiver for the Huskies.

00:38:56 Jalen Polk probably would have been X wide receiver and

00:38:59 number one option on almost every other team in college last year.

00:39:02 He's a contested catch guy, like I said, strong, physical,

00:39:06 you can move him around the field.

00:39:08 I think that this is also just a very safe option for the Patriots.

00:39:12 Someone that you know is gonna work hard.

00:39:15 Tyler Hughes, the Patriots wide receivers coach, worked with him last year.

00:39:19 He's a quality control coach at Washington.

00:39:21 So they know exactly what kind of character that Jalen Polk has.

00:39:24 I feel like there's a very low percentage that Jalen Polk is going to bust in

00:39:29 the NFL.

00:39:30 I think that there's a good chance as far as role goes,

00:39:33 that he could be the Patriots leading wide receiver next year.

00:39:37 Just based on the draft capital, his talent level,

00:39:40 the talent level of the rest of the wide receiver group.

00:39:43 That he will start the season as their X wide receiver.

00:39:47 That he'll mesh well with Drake May and Jacoby Perced and

00:39:49 all these guys who haven't worked with the other Patriots wide receivers.

00:39:53 So I have high hopes for Jalen Polk.

00:39:55 I wonder if he winds up being the Patriots best wide receiver out of this draft

00:39:58 class in the long run.

00:39:59 Because I actually think that Javon Baker has a higher ceiling than Jalen Polk.

00:40:04 But it was a safe pick.

00:40:06 It was someone that he knew well.

00:40:08 And there's a clear role for him to play for the Patriots in 2024.

00:40:12 >> So just like the Caden Wallace pick, if I had to do this over again,

00:40:16 I gave it a B minus in the moment.

00:40:17 And I don't think that's unfair.

00:40:18 Again, it's taking into account what else could you have done.

00:40:21 The ceiling of the player may, it gets an A plus as much for

00:40:24 the upside as what he's shown already right now.

00:40:26 What could you be in the league?

00:40:28 And Jalen Polk, the reason I went B minus, and

00:40:30 I'll explain why I changed it to a B, this makes C change.

00:40:33 Congrats, Callie, and you really changed my mind.

00:40:36 Is Jalen Polk, as I watched him and studied him,

00:40:39 just is he changing my life as an offense?

00:40:45 And that's not fair, probably, for a second round pick.

00:40:48 But when you're the New England Patriots with one of the worst receiving cores

00:40:51 going on, possibly you're three now.

00:40:54 And you have a high top 40 pick when you traded back from 34.

00:40:58 And that kid can come in and play.

00:41:00 I want him to have a chance to be able to hit all these home runs.

00:41:03 And Jalen Polk is 6'1".

00:41:04 He's over 200 pounds.

00:41:05 He's a very natural receiver, great hands, good body control,

00:41:09 incredible catch radius, tracks the ball well.

00:41:12 The toughness is there, according to people on staff,

00:41:14 as far as you read about.

00:41:15 And I liked a lot of what I saw on tape.

00:41:18 I just wonder, third down red zone, how much extra attention do I need to give

00:41:22 this guy? Cuz his pro cops were, most commonly, Jacoby Myers, Tyler Boyd.

00:41:26 Very good NFL receivers, who are about number two or number three, and

00:41:31 whatever offense you wanna put them in.

00:41:32 The Patriots are loaded with number twos and number threes.

00:41:35 So then the question is, okay, what would you have done differently?

00:41:37 Right, again, your options.

00:41:38 Ladd McConkie was there when they traded back at 34.

00:41:40 The Chargers move up to get him.

00:41:42 I had heard that morning, shared this with you, and

00:41:44 I think a couple other people in conversations were waiting for

00:41:47 Drake May at Gillette Stadium.

00:41:48 Someone told me that he was flagged for two bad medicals.

00:41:51 So two different teams basically said thanks but

00:41:53 no thanks because of issues with his back, okay?

00:41:55 I have back issues.

00:41:56 I'm nowhere near playing the NFL, but definitely because of those, that's bad.

00:42:00 A.D. Mitchell fell to 45th, I think it was, with the Colts.

00:42:03 And those are the only two receivers I think you go,

00:42:06 I would have rather had him than Jalen Polk.

00:42:08 And Mitchell's drop, I think,

00:42:10 spoke to things that you heard, scuttlebutt, maybe about an attitude thing.

00:42:15 His analytics certainly weren't good as far as yards per reception and per target.

00:42:19 But I felt comfortable enough here with Jalen Polk, and I'm with you.

00:42:23 I think he starts week one.

00:42:24 I think it's him, Pop Douglas, and KJ Osborne,

00:42:27 as Kendrick Moran worked back in his pitch count.

00:42:29 He's a guy who's reliable, who can fit, and

00:42:32 is gonna reward that second round pick investment.

00:42:34 But again, going into this draft, especially after 4-8,

00:42:37 didn't you want someone who just kinda shocked you?

00:42:40 Into if I'm a defense, I go, shit, that's Jalen Polk.

00:42:45 And there wasn't a ton of that on tape, even if, again,

00:42:48 he's a very natural receiver, he's a good football player.

00:42:51 >> Yeah, a couple things on that.

00:42:54 First of all, yeah, Jalen Polk and

00:42:58 the next wider seer off the board was 52 with Adonai Mitchell.

00:43:02 So that's a long drop.

00:43:05 >> Yeah.

00:43:05 >> If Jalen Polk wasn't drafted 37th overall,

00:43:09 I think he would have gone within the next five picks.

00:43:13 So this was not a reach for the page.

00:43:16 There was another team that would have taken Jalen Polk

00:43:19 within the next five picks of the Patriots.

00:43:21 So drafted within the range, Ladd McConkey clearly,

00:43:25 since the Patriots were willing to trade from that 34 spot down to 37,

00:43:29 probably weren't gonna be drafting Ladd McConkey.

00:43:32 Not the greatest fit for the Patriots offense in 2024,

00:43:35 since he's so redundant with a lot of the other wide receivers that the Patriots

00:43:39 already have.

00:43:40 The other factor that we do have to throw in here though,

00:43:43 is that Xavier Leguette goes 32nd overall, Keon Coleman goes 33rd overall.

00:43:48 I don't know this for a fact, but I certainly would not be surprised

00:43:54 if Leguette or Coleman was still on the board at 34,

00:43:57 that the Patriots maybe don't trade back at that point and take one of those guys.

00:44:04 Once again, I don't know for sure.

00:44:05 The Patriots said they would have taken Jalen Polk 34th overall,

00:44:08 they wound up getting him three spots later and

00:44:09 picked him an extra fourth round pick.

00:44:11 So great deal there.

00:44:12 But it does feel a little bit like that trade down was related,

00:44:18 potentially, to the players that came off the board right before they traded down at

00:44:22 34 overall.

00:44:23 And I didn't give my grade before, I'd agree that it's a B for Jalen Polk.

00:44:28 And quite honestly, Xavier Leguette, he had concerns as well.

00:44:34 Xavier Leguette was only one year, he was only productive for one year, and

00:44:38 it was his fifth year, senior year at South Carolina.

00:44:42 Certainly more explosive than Jalen Polk, but that's a concern to me.

00:44:45 Keon Coleman, 462, 40 yard dash, that's a concern as well.

00:44:49 That's significantly slower than Jalen Polk.

00:44:53 And one thing I will say just for, like I said,

00:44:56 I watched a lot of Washington football over the last, throughout Jalen Polk's career.

00:45:02 This isn't meant to shit on Michael Penix at all or anything like that.

00:45:08 But I was of the opinion, at least by the end of the season,

00:45:14 that Romo Dunze, Jalen Polk and Jalen MacMillan were helping out Michael Penix

00:45:18 maybe more than he was helping them out.

00:45:21 They were making contested catches, they were getting open,

00:45:26 they were making life easy for their quarterback.

00:45:28 We'll see how that winds up for the Falcons.

00:45:31 I still like Michael Penix as a prospect, but he was thrown to three very,

00:45:35 very, very good wide receivers last year.

00:45:38 And Romo Dunze was clearly the best of the bunch.

00:45:41 And then I had Jalen Polk and Jalen MacMillan, pretty even actually,

00:45:45 as far as that goes.

00:45:46 Jalen Polk definitely the better fit for

00:45:47 the Patriots in 2024 than Jalen MacMillan would have been subsequently.

00:45:51 I view him as kind of like a slot only type of wide receiver.

00:45:54 >> Yeah, and MacMillan super crafty, both of them have a really good sense and

00:45:58 feel and some of the knock on Polk too.

00:46:00 I saw this last year that you didn't get a ton of press in the Pac-12s.

00:46:04 How are you gonna escape physical jams, one on one coverage,

00:46:07 which you saw a little bit more against Michigan.

00:46:08 But who didn't look worse against the eventual national champions,

00:46:11 including the Dunes, as Washington and some other people did.

00:46:14 The last thing I'll say is this, Jalen Jeremiah had Jalen Polk 73rd,

00:46:19 Mel Kiper Jr. had him outside of his top 50.

00:46:22 It's not just me, and I would trust that everyone listened to this podcast,

00:46:25 particularly 45 minutes in, when we were trading three minute monologues.

00:46:29 And we're gonna go faster here, and this is my fault.

00:46:31 We trust that we're speaking and acting in good faith.

00:46:34 None of this is to get a ruse out of you in the way the talk radio would.

00:46:37 If we're down on a player, that's just generally how we feel.

00:46:39 And we understand that we could be wrong, right?

00:46:43 You have to make your bets, but

00:46:44 just like whenever you make a bet, you understand you could lose.

00:46:47 That's just part of how this goes.

00:46:48 The grade is not something I'm gonna cling to.

00:46:50 If Jalen Polk goes off for 150 in three touchdowns in week one,

00:46:53 I'm gonna put up a white flag immediately to anyone who gave him higher than a B.

00:46:58 Because you were right, and that's an incredible debut,

00:47:01 which would also be a lot of fun to see and cover.

00:47:03 Moving on, I gave him a C-, I wanna hit on this quickly.

00:47:06 I don't know where he is in your list.

00:47:08 Lane Robinson, 3'2", 3'2".

00:47:10 God, that would be the tiniest offensive guard in history, if time.

00:47:14 He's 6'3".

00:47:16 >> Low man wins.

00:47:16 >> Two pounds, super long arms, right guarded at Texas A&M,

00:47:21 multi-year starter, right guard only.

00:47:23 13 penalties the last two seasons, issues in pass protection,

00:47:27 pressure rate around 4%, I think it went down to 3.6 in his senior year.

00:47:33 Not great, palatable, I think they're betting on a bully,

00:47:37 who again has more athleticism to switch positions.

00:47:39 It's just given where they were at 103, started the fourth round,

00:47:43 started day three, and going take a tight end, take another receiver.

00:47:47 And they get Javon Baker, so I feel better about this, but just I didn't love it.

00:47:52 And clearly they love him.

00:47:53 So hopefully he's a guy that I see as an interior backup,

00:47:57 probably available, but doesn't play in the case of injury.

00:48:01 And they just see as better apparently than Sidney South,

00:48:04 and probably Antonio Maffi.

00:48:05 >> Yeah, I mean, I think that he could be a starter.

00:48:07 We have no idea how this offensive line is gonna shake out in 2024.

00:48:11 Cole Strange coming off a knee injury, Sidney South was a fourth round pick,

00:48:14 Antonio Maffi was a fifth round pick, Jake Andrews, Nick Leverett.

00:48:18 All these guys are just gonna be thrown in the mix, and

00:48:20 they're gonna figure out who the two best guards to start the season are.

00:48:23 And that very well could be Leighton Robinson.

00:48:25 One thing I wanna say about Leighton Robinson, I thought it was messed up.

00:48:30 Everyone talks about all the pre-draft nonsense from anonymous scouts and

00:48:34 everything, and there's a lot about Adonai Mitchell and some other things.

00:48:38 An NFL scout told go longs Bob McGinn on Leighton Robinson,

00:48:42 the quote was everybody's gonna say he's dumb, right?

00:48:46 But this mother effer went to the senior bowl and

00:48:48 kicked all these guys' asses, is he powerful?

00:48:51 When we talked to Leighton Robinson,

00:48:52 there was 0% of me that thought that Leighton Robinson was dumb.

00:48:55 I think that's such a messed up thing to put out there about a player.

00:48:59 And it's like, I don't know, I don't wanna get on a soapbox and be like,

00:49:04 we need to be better, all these things.

00:49:06 All these evaluations and everything like that matter, but

00:49:08 it's like, can we use some better verbiage in that,

00:49:11 especially if we're gonna publish it?

00:49:12 I don't know, I don't know if we need to sugarcoat things, but

00:49:15 I do think if you're not gonna put your name to something and call someone dumb,

00:49:18 it's just, it's a messed up thing.

00:49:20 And I think that for that reason alone, I'm rooting for Leighton Robinson.

00:49:27 And yeah, I think there's a decent chance that he could wind up being a starter for

00:49:31 the Patriots, just given the situation that they have there on the interior

00:49:35 offensive line with so many question marks.

00:49:37 >> Well, and let's say this too, he's making the team, right?

00:49:40 >> Yeah. >> Top 100 pick.

00:49:42 >> Yeah. >> He's not going anywhere.

00:49:43 He's gonna be on the roster.

00:49:44 And we are rooting for all of these kids in their early 20s to have success and

00:49:50 do well.

00:49:51 It's just what the Patriots decision was, given their other options and

00:49:55 the positional value of a right guard who's only played right guard was why

00:49:59 we're not high on it.

00:49:59 So yeah, I'm with you, we don't need the soapbox thing.

00:50:02 If you want more of that content though, Chris Ballard, I'll say this,

00:50:06 probably one of the more overrated GMs in the entire league,

00:50:09 just given the Colts a lack of a division title as you've seen the last seven years.

00:50:14 Well, everyone else in the AFC South goes up and down and passes the Colts.

00:50:18 Had a great rant though.

00:50:19 >> Yeah, I did. >> DD Mitchell and

00:50:20 how it's a bunch of bullshit and he's sorry, but he's not sorry.

00:50:24 He dropped a few F-bombs.

00:50:25 Anyway, it was excellent and it gets to Doug's point,

00:50:27 which we just don't have more time for here.

00:50:28 Three more picks, Joe Milton, Marcellus Dial, both six rounders,

00:50:32 then Jaheim Bell goes in the seventh round.

00:50:34 I'll just skip ahead.

00:50:36 I had a B+ for Milton, I had a B for Dial, and a B- here for Jaheim Bell,

00:50:40 which is to say I was fine, pleased with all of these picks.

00:50:44 And because they're sixth and seventh rounders, man,

00:50:46 if we're weighing these, weighting these properly in a GPA scale,

00:50:51 the first round pick is an eight credit course that you took.

00:50:54 The Jaheim Bell in the seventh round is a one credit flyer about that you meet once

00:50:58 a week and it's 30 minutes, who really cares?

00:51:01 If you got an F, you can still get an A- for the whole report card.

00:51:04 Which of these did you feel most strongly about?

00:51:07 Cuz we'll largely skip over the next two.

00:51:08 We'll hit them quickly.

00:51:09 >> I probably felt the strongest about Jaheim Bell.

00:51:12 I just like taking athletic tight end there.

00:51:14 I think that with the new kickoff rules, he could wind up playing a pretty

00:51:18 significant role on special teams early in his career.

00:51:20 And then the hope is that he'll develop as a runner and

00:51:23 then potentially be a tight end contributor later in his career.

00:51:27 He was someone who was regarded as a fifth/sixth round prospect to get him late

00:51:31 in the seventh round, I thought it was good value.

00:51:33 And then yeah, with Joe Milton, big surprise for

00:51:37 the Patriots to take a fifth quarterback, second quarterback in the draft.

00:51:40 But that's another one that I just thought was, it's a smart pick.

00:51:43 There's a lot of tools there.

00:51:45 I think Den Bruegler in the athletic, in his beast draft guide said that

00:51:49 he's got first round skills.

00:51:51 It's just about developing those.

00:51:53 So certainly, in a worst case scenario,

00:51:55 Joe Milton somehow winds up being the Patriots starting quarterback.

00:51:59 But if he's a developmental backup, if he's someone that you can eventually trade or

00:52:03 something like that, which the Patriots have done in the past with Jimmy Garoppolo and

00:52:07 Jacoby Bursette, I just think it's a good idea to draft quarterbacks.

00:52:12 Someone that can help Drake May, someone who can help out the defense on the scout

00:52:16 team because he's got such a big arm, because he's such a big body,

00:52:19 because he's so athletic.

00:52:21 He said himself, there's no chance he moves over to tight end.

00:52:25 So I'm glad that we've got some clarity on that so

00:52:27 we don't have to write more Malik Cunningham wide receiver quarterback stories

00:52:31 this offseason.

00:52:32 But it's gonna be fun to watch him and I thought that was just a fun swing for

00:52:38 the Patriots to take on someone who's got a lot of skills.

00:52:42 >> Yeah, I'm with you.

00:52:44 I love the Milton pick, mostly because of fun, not any real football analysis.

00:52:48 But I think, and you can answer this better than I could.

00:52:52 Because my first training camp was 2018.

00:52:54 And I've been following the team very closely, coming up high school,

00:52:57 college a little bit after and then go to work and lose touch with the team,

00:53:00 come back and cover it.

00:53:01 But this has the chance because of May and Milton, and let's just say J.

00:53:06 Von Baker somehow, [LAUGH] to be one of the most exciting training camps we've

00:53:10 watched offensively at least, in how long?

00:53:13 Like I would go back to 2018.

00:53:15 >> Yeah, yeah, since the Tom Brady days, absolutely.

00:53:17 Just because, I mean, yeah, you've got two rookie quarterbacks.

00:53:21 All eyes will be on Drake May quarterback and like, yeah,

00:53:24 2021 was pretty fun with with Matt Jones, just because it's like,

00:53:28 it's a rookie quarterback.

00:53:30 But there's so much more upside in this rookie quarterback and Drake May.

00:53:35 Plus you throw in the two young wide receivers who should be making plays on

00:53:38 the field.

00:53:39 Yeah, it's gonna be a really fun training camp.

00:53:41 And we'll see if Patriots fans come out in droves the way that they used to back in

00:53:46 2017, 2018, the crowd's been a little bit lighter over the last few years.

00:53:50 But I do think that Drake May and these young wide receivers are the type of

00:53:54 players who could bring out the fan base in rally,

00:53:57 some more support around the team than they've had over the last couple years.

00:54:00 >> Well, J.

00:54:00 Von Baker thinks they're gonna do that.

00:54:02 And it's gonna be that winning mindset that everybody in Boston like.

00:54:06 >> He's gonna perform miracles out there.

00:54:07 >> I'm still, I'm still not, yeah.

00:54:08 [LAUGH] Yeah, to not cite the quote exactly.

00:54:11 Still not over that experience over Zoom.

00:54:14 Not to mention we should say the Instagram live where he's calling,

00:54:16 where the liquor at and everyone's gonna pay.

00:54:18 He's gonna kill people across from them.

00:54:20 Great confidence, love the confidence.

00:54:21 You just wanna channel it the right way.

00:54:23 Joe Millen, 64% career completion percentage split between Michigan and

00:54:27 Tennessee, very quarterback friendly.

00:54:29 Offense in Tennessee, a spread, extra splits outside the numbers for

00:54:33 the receivers, defined reads.

00:54:35 And look, his NFL stock didn't really go up down there, despite that.

00:54:39 A little slow to process, all the arm towel in the world.

00:54:42 I think he's on the practice squad.

00:54:44 But just to change it up, man, I've watched enough six, one or

00:54:49 under, weak arm but accurate QBs come through New England.

00:54:52 Bailey Zappi, Nathan Ork might be a touch taller.

00:54:55 Just like guys, talk about not changing your life.

00:54:58 Joe Milton is not going to improve the winning of the football in my life, but

00:55:02 he's absolutely going to change the excitement around watching that.

00:55:04 And I think also, if you're gonna take a second quarterback,

00:55:07 make it an upside play.

00:55:08 Like Alex Van Pelt, I don't think we'll get much more to Joe Milton than we saw

00:55:12 in college.

00:55:13 And again, rooting for the kid, rooting for all the kids.

00:55:16 Based on what I saw over a couple years now, I just think he is what he is.

00:55:21 And so, who knows?

00:55:22 Maybe he's like the tush push package with Joe Milton.

00:55:30 Cuz he's a big, strong freaking dude.

00:55:32 Marcella Stile, anything stand out to you?

00:55:34 >> One last thing on Milton.

00:55:35 I actually, I'm putting together a 53-man roster projection, and

00:55:38 I actually would have Milton making the 53-man roster as of now.

00:55:43 Listen, this is not a very deep Patriots roster, okay?

00:55:47 I'm glad that I went through this exercise of putting together this 53-man

00:55:51 roster projection, because it's a pretty easy one to do.

00:55:55 There's not a lot of crazy omissions on this 53-man roster projection.

00:56:00 So I do think that with the talent of this roster right now,

00:56:03 there's definitely a way to fit Joe Milton on there to be that third quarterback.

00:56:08 I don't have a ton of takes about Marcella Stile.

00:56:11 I will say that if they do plan on using him as that safety/cornerback

00:56:16 hybrid, somewhat similar to how they used Miles Bryant,

00:56:20 I actually like this pick more because there were some needs there at safety for

00:56:26 the Patriots, and if they believe that Marcella Stile can play both positions,

00:56:30 that just raises his value.

00:56:32 >> Yeah, I agree.

00:56:33 He had great straight line speed, 4'4" 6", guy who checks in just under 6 feet tall.

00:56:38 Bad three-cone, 7'2" 9", so quickness is not great.

00:56:41 But over his three years as a starter, three picks, 31 pass breakups, and

00:56:45 he's got reputed strong man-to-man skills.

00:56:46 I can confess, I did not watch a ton of Marcella Stile.

00:56:49 He was projected to be a priority for agent, basically.

00:56:52 But plays special teams, positional versatility is gonna be key.

00:56:55 I think he makes a team sticking his kind of CB5.

00:56:58 And again, they're gonna play the kids.

00:56:59 So these guys get an edge in a way that I think some late round draft picks as

00:57:03 Abella Jaguera.

00:57:04 Better teams, more veteran-laden teams, and

00:57:06 really one of the oldest teams in the league.

00:57:08 And that was not just Tom Brady and Matthew Slater weighing everything down with how

00:57:12 old they were.

00:57:13 It was, that's what the Patriots preferred under Belichick.

00:57:15 And that's another stark change we'll see here.

00:57:18 Bell, I think it's a good point about the change in kickoffs,

00:57:21 going bigger guys, not necessarily faster ones.

00:57:23 He's fast for a tight end, 4'6" 1", in the 40.

00:57:26 Good yards after catch player, but not a good blocker.

00:57:29 Didn't play a ton of teams at Florida State, where he transferred and

00:57:31 was a one-year starter.

00:57:33 Loose, a very loose John O. Smith comp, which is not to send everyone listening to

00:57:37 this, jumping in front of a moving vehicle, cuz he's a seventh round pick.

00:57:42 You know what I mean?

00:57:43 If you get a B or above on a seventh round pick, it's hard to screw these up.

00:57:46 I don't think they did.

00:57:47 I think these were fine selections and reinforces what I thought of the whole

00:57:50 draft.

00:57:51 I thought this was just a solid double into the gap.

00:57:53 >> I wanna say something real quick about Jaheim Bell.

00:57:57 The word H-back is used so often in pre-draft coverage and

00:58:02 in scouting reports for a position that is almost never utilized in the NFL.

00:58:07 >> [LAUGH] >> That's true.

00:58:08 >> How often do you hear, he's an H-back type, that guy.

00:58:11 When are we seeing H-backs, honestly, in the NFL?

00:58:15 So rarely.

00:58:16 So he is one guy who got that H-back.

00:58:19 So maybe the Patriots throw in some H-back looks for Jaheim Bell.

00:58:23 But no, I think that he actually was used very often in the backfield

00:58:28 back in 2022 with the Seminoles.

00:58:32 I think he scored four rushing touchdowns that year.

00:58:34 The majority of his snaps actually came in the backfield.

00:58:37 So he is a kind of tools he player that they can have some fun with.

00:58:41 >> So he is an H-back.

00:58:42 >> Well, he was in college, but in the NFL, I don't know.

00:58:45 Who's the best H-back in the NFL right now?

00:58:48 >> News check.

00:58:49 >> I know, but I guess, but he's also- >> He is a one of them.

00:58:52 >> Straight up fullback, right?

00:58:53 >> Cuz he's more H-back than fullback.

00:58:54 I don't know, I'd have to come back to that.

00:58:56 I was thinking of the, what are the positions you call on a triple option?

00:59:00 You have your quarterback, you've got your halfback, there's the,

00:59:04 we'll come back to that.

00:59:06 But yeah, again, Jaheim Bell might change things.

00:59:09 He's just got one path to getting there on the roster of sticking.

00:59:12 And that's trouble for me as far as guys who dial could be on special teams.

00:59:15 He could play safety, he could play corner.

00:59:17 Joe Milton could be your quarterback sneak guy or Hail Mary specialist.

00:59:21 It's just gonna bring a lot of fun and upside, that's about it.

00:59:23 So I said BP plus overall for the draft for the offseason.

00:59:26 Where did you land on that?

00:59:28 >> Yeah, I put a solid B plus.

00:59:33 I'll go with B plus on the offseason.

00:59:35 Might be a little bit generous, but they did a good job of sending their own guys.

00:59:41 They're building a culture here.

00:59:42 I think they did a good job in the draft.

00:59:44 As far as how their picks ranked against the consensus, they didn't rank that high.

00:59:48 But as far as draft grades among draft experts,

00:59:51 I think that they were 12th in a consensus thing that I saw sometime this morning.

00:59:57 So lots of Bs, B pluses, some As mixed in there for them.

01:00:02 And spoiler alert, in that 53 man roster projection that I was putting together,

01:00:07 all eight draft picks made the 53 man roster in my projection.

01:00:10 And I think that that to some degree speaks to the talent of the roster, but

01:00:15 I think that they were drafting for need this year.

01:00:19 Also, there's just gonna be fewer special teams only guys on this roster in 2024.

01:00:26 We saw that with our moves this offseason.

01:00:28 And it was a weak undrafted class.

01:00:33 We'll see how these guys wind up playing and training camp or preseason.

01:00:37 Maybe someone surprises us.

01:00:39 But the majority of the guys that they signed were not players who even had

01:00:43 scouting reports and Dane Bruegler's beast draft guide.

01:00:48 It was guys who were listed later on.

01:00:50 There was really only I think one or

01:00:52 two who actually had legitimate reports written up about them.

01:00:55 So this was a draft without a lot of depth.

01:00:59 Later in the sixth, seventh round, it got pretty light.

01:01:02 So I think that if they were going to go a little bit cheaper on undrafted free

01:01:06 agents, this was the year to do it because there wasn't a lot of talent left

01:01:09 after the draft.

01:01:11 >> There was Tariq Owens,

01:01:13 who I will not explain how I lucked into that scoop.

01:01:15 Going to the 49ers, son of Terrell Owens, Missouri State receiver.

01:01:18 I heard the Patriots had liked and kind of kept on that for obvious reasons.

01:01:22 He stays in the West Coast.

01:01:24 But as far as the other UDFAs, you're right.

01:01:26 A lot of people talk about that, the NIL money, you can stay in college,

01:01:28 develop a little bit more, not at the expense of future earnings.

01:01:31 Because you're making that money now when you're in college.

01:01:34 It's kind of, I think, fragile, or maybe even chaotic,

01:01:37 the whole college team might be.

01:01:38 But let's wrap on the rookies with UDFAs.

01:01:41 I gotta be honest, I don't have strong feelings on these.

01:01:44 I think if you have strong feelings on these, you better be willing to die on

01:01:47 that island because these dudes have been undrafted for a reason.

01:01:50 And the whole league said none of these guys were worthy of being drafted.

01:01:55 It doesn't mean the whole league's wrong.

01:01:57 It just means you have to be right in the face of that.

01:01:59 I will say, from a positional standpoint, and

01:02:02 you reported on him signing, John Morgan from Arkansas,

01:02:07 he's got an edge 6'2", 270, 2-2 edge, 16 sacks.

01:02:11 Granted, those are over, I think, 64 starts.

01:02:13 And some more tackles for loss and some force fumbles in there.

01:02:16 I think he'll have a chance, you talk about the special teams overlap and

01:02:20 some defensive impact on the edge.

01:02:22 I don't think he's special, again, but someone I'm keeping an eye on.

01:02:29 >> Yeah, I mean, based on what I was hearing as they were kind of in the midst

01:02:33 of signing a lot of these guys, I was told that Charles Turner,

01:02:36 the LSU center, was the most notable player the Patriots signed.

01:02:40 He's not the greatest athlete, but you don't necessarily need

01:02:45 a center to be a great athlete, only ran a 5'5", 940.

01:02:51 But some decent agility drills, 6'4",

01:02:54 303 start for the last two years at LSU at center.

01:02:58 So I don't know, it all kind of depends on how the Patriots feel about Jake Andrews,

01:03:02 how the current regime, the new offensive coordinator,

01:03:07 the new offensive line coaches, Jake Andrews was someone who was very undersized

01:03:10 as a center, so maybe there's a world in which Charles Turner and

01:03:15 Jake Andrews compete for that backup center role, but at this point, I have no idea.

01:03:19 But he was one guy who actually had a scattering report, and like I said,

01:03:23 he was a guy that as they were signing players,

01:03:25 someone told me that he was their most notable UDFA signing.

01:03:29 >> And he played for a freaking great offensive line at LSU.

01:03:32 So that dude who's surrounded by good talent and

01:03:35 some that will be supposedly drafted in the first round next year, kept it all

01:03:39 together, didn't go drafted, didn't get drafted, but obviously now here in New

01:03:42 England, and that'll lead to my final thought here, because, and

01:03:46 this could be about any player, it could be about any draft pick, position,

01:03:49 whatever you want, it's the most boring thought you could have after a draft like

01:03:52 this when you fall the quarterback, but we've just talked Drake May to death, and

01:03:55 we'll write more about Drake May, we're gonna have a lot of good stuff on their

01:03:58 website, I think it's important to keep in mind that as I contrast this draft,

01:04:03 or we can continually put what the Patriots are doing now versus the backdrop

01:04:07 of Belichick, okay, you're next compared to your ex.

01:04:11 A lot of these draft picks are gonna be made partially because

01:04:15 of the disagreement that Elliott Wolfe had with Belichick at the time about past

01:04:20 draft picks, so I might be here, and just was, giving a C- to Leighton Robinson.

01:04:24 Well, you already have Sidney Sal.

01:04:26 Elliott Wolfe might look at Sidney Sal and go, no, God, I didn't want that.

01:04:30 Why are you penciling him at right guard?

01:04:31 I think my guy is gonna start.

01:04:33 And so this is, we all know it's a regime change, but

01:04:36 you have to understand that there's a lot in this draft.

01:04:39 Starting with Javon Baker, for sure, who would have been traded for

01:04:42 a future fifth as soon as that Zoom call that Belichick had taken him.

01:04:46 He was shipping him out of Fox Pro to Siberia in the Russian League,

01:04:49 it doesn't matter, he's gonna offload him as soon as he drafted him.

01:04:52 Belichick would not have drafted Drake May.

01:04:54 And so this is just to say that as they rebuild,

01:04:56 you might see some redundancies or feel that way.

01:04:58 It's just because they disagreed in the moment, and

01:05:00 now Elliott has the control in the same, probably will move it forward.

01:05:03 So that's just something to keep in mind where I see it and

01:05:07 I'm not happy with it and I explain why.

01:05:08 But that explains the apparent redundancy of some of these picks and

01:05:13 the decisions that they'll be making.

01:05:14 Because I know if Elliott had been judged earlier,

01:05:17 wishing to say this is the right call, the Patriots would have not made all of

01:05:21 the same moves that they did in Belichick's last couple years.

01:05:24 >> Yeah, absolutely, and I would argue that my point about hand size to arm length

01:05:27 was definitely much more boring than that.

01:05:29 >> [LAUGH] We end on the interior offense line.

01:05:31 We have to get out of the guard center guard area.

01:05:34 We need a final thought, where are we gonna go?

01:05:35 >> I don't know.

01:05:40 We got rookie minicamp in two weeks, that'll be fun to watch.

01:05:42 Drake May and Jalen Polak and Jayvon Baker and all these guys.

01:05:47 That's not really a point, it's just something that'll be fun to watch.

01:05:49 Because we haven't watched rookie minicamp in a long time.

01:05:51 >> We, yeah, never since I've been on the beat, and

01:05:54 I don't think you have ever either.

01:05:55 >> I mean, I think that we could, the first year I was on the beat,

01:05:59 either 2013 or 2014, I think that we were allowed to watch them stretch, but

01:06:03 that was it.

01:06:04 So I mean, if we're getting a full practice, that's pretty wild.

01:06:08 And it's gonna be a good first glimpse at this draft class as a whole and

01:06:11 see where they stack up.

01:06:12 >> So you're telling me that Belichick broke a rule that he could let the media

01:06:20 watch Jimmy Garoppolo and apply a little bit more pressure on Brady in that 2014?

01:06:25 >> I actually think it was 2013, but I don't know.

01:06:28 I mean, I was, what, 11 years now at this point.

01:06:31 >> Yeah, the Jamie Collins show, okay.

01:06:33 >> Yes. >> Well, this has been fun.

01:06:35 Congrats again on the Chris Jabbar-Moore scoop.

01:06:37 Patriots continue to do good business around what we think is a largely good

01:06:40 draft, and I hope you do too at home.

01:06:42 The key now is gonna be patience, but

01:06:44 you can fill the time with rookie minicamp coming up in a couple of weeks.

01:06:47 You will have coverage there.

01:06:48 I don't know if I will be there with you or in Orlando or

01:06:51 Cleveland as we patch together some Celtics coverage.

01:06:53 But we will make it work nonetheless and have tons more on thebossinnero.com.

01:06:57 And of course, follow Doug, and we'll be back later this week, more draft talk.

01:07:02 And yeah, that's about it.

01:07:03 I need another nap.

01:07:04 I don't know how you knew this draft was so long.

01:07:07 >> It was a long draft.

01:07:08 It's, yeah, by the end there, it really, I will say that the break between

01:07:13 the fourth round pick and the sixth round pick was kinda nice.

01:07:16 I was able to get out of the house,

01:07:18 watch my daughter play softball, so that was good.

01:07:20 It made the draft go by a little bit quicker, but yeah, there's a lot of

01:07:24 sitting, waiting around, and then rushing once they actually make picks.

01:07:27 So I'm glad it's over.

01:07:28 >> We were covered for everyone at home going, my God,

01:07:30 how are you leaving the house when you have the one draft to cover?

01:07:33 We were prepared, had things pre-written, and

01:07:35 your boy was here at home in the recliner hanging out.

01:07:37 All right, that's enough.

01:07:38 Thank you, sir, as always, for the time.

01:07:40 >> Absolutely.

01:07:41 [MUSIC]

01:07:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Patriots Draft GRADES & 2024 predictions w/ Doug Kyed | Pats Interference

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