Patriots Catch-22 2/9: Seven-Round Mock Draft and Senior Bowl Standouts

why your microphone? You know why every draft season you have to come at me with the running back, the the punter, the the guard and do they not usually end up making those moves? Yeah, but we're not here he doesn't. It doesn't mean that we should delight or we should applaud it. I'm not Robinson in the first round. Great, awesome, but here's what you mistake. I am not applauding it. But nobody cares what we would do because we're not

the ones making the decisions. They want us to tell them what we think, in our expert opinion, the team is going to do. It would be malpractice not to address it whether the move is right or wrong. Alex Barth back in studio, back from Vegas. We're not going to get into too many wild Vegas stories, but a couple of little tidbits about the lux Or, which was a beautiful you love the Luxor elevators that go at

thirty nine degree angles. That almost made me throw up multiple times because I was drunk, just because the elevator is Evan just can't handle an elevator. Not that elevator. That was kind of cool. Diabo Cantina, fantastic Mexican. I usually don't love Mexican food. That was really good, the great Mexican restaurant inside the lovely lux Or. But I've had some some moments where I've woken up since we've been back. I told you this that I thought I was still in the Luxe store, and then i wake

up and I'm like, oh good, I'm home. I'm not. I'm not in this hotel in Vegas anymore. I know that was your first time in Vegas. I hope you enjoyed yourself. But now that I've been to Vegas three times in like a seven month span, I am so Vegas out. I have no need for Vegas anymore. I've been there, I've done it. It smells it's hot, or this time it was it was not hot, this time it was cold. This time it was cold when it's

supposed to be hot. Like, I'm just out on Vegas and I love Vegas, but I'm out back, like that sign says when you're leaving, come back soon. That's the worst part. I think that's the worst part is that knowing that the Raiders are once again on the road team schedule for next year, so no matter what I do, I will be back in Vegas next fall. I know. This sounds like a first world problem. It tour Evan. It totally more. Evan has to go to Las Vegas and watch football. Oh no, it's how It's one of

those places that you go with your buddies. You go, you know, and have a good time for two or three days, but when you have to go over and over again and for a week at a time, it's not even just like that. We're popping in and leaving, right, I mean, we've been there for five six days straight. There. There's definitely a such thing as too much Vegas, and I've I've hit the Vegas quota and then some So that's our Vegas minute. We want to start the show.

I published my first mock draft today, as I know you have one coming shortly on the Sports Up, but I want to go through some of the picks that I made in the mock draft and explain some of my methodology here of why I got to some of these things. Then we're gonna do some Senior Bowl stuff that will segue us into some Senior Bowl stuff because we haven't been on the air since the Senior Bowl, so we'll get an opportunity to talk about some of the standouts and we'll see take some calls and see

where that takes us. Eight five five patch five hundred is the phone number you can email at web radio at Patriots dot com as well. Let's get into the mock draft, though, I think the biggest thing that when I went into this mock draft, so the first thing that I wanted to do was get through the top receivers, the top corners, and the top tackles in the draft to have a really good feel of the guys that realistically the Patriots might target in the first round this year.

In the draft, I think we can all agree that those three positions back to the rand at the beginning of the show, they're not I pray that they're not taking another guard. I pray that they're not taking Bijean Robinson or your boy Gibbs from Alabama in the first round of running back, is my point. We pray that that's not going to be I pray. I can't speak for you. Can I give you one more position that I could not be less interested in the first round.

And some people actually like the positions you named. I don't think anybody's really talking about that. The tight end in the first round thing, Yeah, that too when you stop because especially like Mayor in particular, I'm not saying I think he's a bad player. I actually think he's

a very good player. But a big issue for the Patriots offense really going back to Cam Newton year, has been they're not horizontal enough, right, Like, if you stack the box against the Patriots, you're pretty much gonna take away everything. I think Michael Mayer is a really good player, but he barely lines up in the slot. Forget out Why I mean you're lining him up in line? Everything is being played in a phone booth, right You're you're no more. You don't prevent teams from stacking the box.

You don't prevent teams from you know, taking players outside the numbers, right, So I just if you're gonna use that hive and investment on a pass catcher, either trade it for a guy like Tee Higgins right or at least draft And what's weird is the top receivers in this draft or all slot receivers. So they don't necessarily fix that problem either, at least not to the extent. But I just I see all these people who are all excited about Michael Mayer, you know as the US

but may or like a big guy, where's eighty seven? Like, yeah, it just it doesn't make sense. I'm not saying tight end in the draft doesn't make sense. We'll get to that, but if we're listening, the positions we're out on in the first round unless they do something spectacular in free agency, it with trades and whatever. For now, I am out

on sight end in the first round. So I think the biggest issue that I had is that every single time I came up with a reason to take a position other than the guy at the position I took, I still came back to this still feels like such a glaring hole that they absolutely need to address. And over the last couple of years, the Patriots have targeted major holes on their roster with their top picks in the draft. Coles Strange needed guards, They draft a guard,

need a quarterback. They draft Mac Jones. Patrick Chung is about to retire, They draft Kyle Dugger. Right, they have gone need based a little bit here. Well, so my and you've heard me do this rump before drafting for need versus drafting the best player available. And everybody always says, well, you don't draft for need, You never draft for need. Just take the best player on the board, and that's what you do. Okay, Well, what does that mean? What does the best player on the board mean? Are we

talking about like overall talent level? Because if that's the case, there should be kickers and punters going in the first round, Like you know, we're gonna get twenty twenty five picks into this thing. And if we're just going back, like Pier, throwout positional value, just who is the best at their position relative to everybody else at their position. Jake Moody's a top thirty player in this draft. Would you agree with that in that context? I understand. And then but

that's the thing. Then people come back and say always got to come up. But then, but then people are A running back Jimir Gibbs is a top thirty talented player in this draft, just just to John Robinson, I think is a top twenty guy. Okay, so, but so they're the best player available. So if you're gonna come at me and say, well, no, it's not what it means, well, all right, well now you're not taking the best player.

Now you're putting qualifiers on it, right. I also think that their approach has been pretty consistently the best player available at the biggest areas. They're trying to get those two things. And what does Bill Belichick always say? You know, we're gonna do what's best for the team. So if the best player available is the best player for the team, you are factoring need in. So best player available doesn't actually mean anything because you can make an argument that

a kicker or running back. How about all those years with Brady when they were passing on quarterbacks who were better players than the guys they were drafting in the first round, right, Well, that one you know later in his career, maybe you could argue taking a quarterback, but I'm talking earlier on right, Aaron Rodgers falls all the way to twenty. Whatever I believe they picked before the Packers that year, I'm gonna guess he's a better player

and whoever they took, but that one helps them. So best player available as a fallacy, best player available doesn't actually mean what you think it means. When you say best player available, the full sentence should be best player available for the football team. So don't come at me with, oh, you're too focused on drafting for need That's not what teams do. That's what every team does. It just sounds

sexier to say taking the best player avail. So I think that we can agree that corner, tackle, wide receiver are the three biggest spots where a significant upgrade on the roster would really move the needle. And we're taking quarterback out of it. I know some people would would say quarterback, but we're taking quarterback out of it because I think they're taking quarterback out of it right at least for this year and at that high in the draft. Right.

So my other the way that I always go about this is that I try to eliminate guys before I pick a guy, right like, I try to eliminate options where I don't love this, I don't like that, and then I end up with the last man standing right at corner. I got admit, I've watched all of these guys, Christian Gonzalez, Joey Porter Junior, Cam Smith, Ringo from Georgia,

and who's the other, A Witherspoon from Illinois. I think all of them have first round caliber traits, but I don't think any of them are really the entire package. And that's why I don't think you're gonna have a Sauce Gardener right like, You're not gonna have somebody go in the top five at that position this year. Because of that. I think that a guy that could be available there that I would at that position is Joey

Porter Junior. But then you have some political things with his father and the Patriots that I think you have to bring up in this conversation when it comes to draft and fit. But based off the things that Joey Porter Senior has said about New England in the past, and you can just go look him up on your own time, I'm not necessarily sure that Bill's gonna draft his son. I just and even on top of that,

there's the Penn State thing he never takes. And I would also mention that as good as I think Joey Porter Junior could probably be in the protect in a proper role, in the proper scheme, he is a higher,

higher legged, or tighter hipped corner. He's somebody that when you look at him play, if he's not getting redirects or jams instantly early on in the route and guys are able to get up to top speed on him, he has a difficult time I think on film flipping his hips and then mirroring guys down the field right, being able to turn and run with guys even out

of press coverage. I think out an off coverage, smaller, shiftier guys are going to be able to break down on him, and they're gonna be able to change directions on him. So I'm not in love with any of the corners. We've talked a ton about wide receiver and I feel the same. And I would also mention that with both these groups, I think it's a really deep draft at both of these positions. So is there really

all three that the Patriots need. I know you're getting a tackle, but if there is there a huge drop off from Christian Gonzales to some of the corners that you might be able to get. I think this corner has the narrowest drop off I think in a lot of years. And we're going to talk about this, I oh, this guy's the first round picked. This guy's second round pick.

It's very important to remember that's all relative. Yeah, there are guys in last year's like they're guys in this year's class who aren't going to go in the first round, who would have been first round picks last year, like easy locked first round picks that this year might go in the second round. Might they might even go in the third. So it's all relative when you look at

it like that. And yeah, this is a year where I think at cornerback, you can there's gonna be one or two guys that go outside of the top sixty at corner that in an average year might be first round picks. Yeah. So the other position was wide receiver, and I love wide receivers. I love breaking them down, I love talking about them. It's the sexy position for them to draft. It's the most fun position. For them to take is to take a weapon. One punters can

be weapons. The problem that I have with this wide receiver class is one the vast majority of the guys that I think fit their system or inside receivers. I'm not touching Quentin Johnston with a ten foot poll for the page. Well, not just the guys that pick their system. I think the majority of the best receivers in this after inside receivers. Right, so we're talking about guys at inside receiver that also have flaws in terms of playing

obviously outside. I think speed, vertical speed, long speed is something that some of these guys like a Jackson Smith and Jigba is going to have a knock on unless he goes to the combine and runs a four four. If he even runs, I think that people are going to worry about play speed or you know, elite top

end speed with a player like that. Jordan Addison I think had a lot of struggles against press man when he went to USC He was better in that situation against when he was with Pitt, But he goes to a better conference and he struggled. I thought, getting off press coverage. Thank you for saying the PAC twelve is a better conference than the ACCT it is it was, and handling those types of things. I think size as a whole with some of these guys, right Zay Flowers

say Flowers, Tank Dale right, size issues. So all of these things, I think come back to what is how do you hit the ball straight down on the runway. I'll use a golf analogy for you, right, how do you split the fairway here? Or fairway? I'm gonna go with the fairway, that's correct, Yeah, how do you split the fairway? And I think that there's this is why I got the tackle, and I think number one, it's the biggest need. The season starts tomorrow. I don't even

know if they have a two starting caliber tackles. I think Trent Brown you can count, but they definitely don't have But he even Trent Brown's on the last year's contracts, So you gotta start planning ahead and you don't even you definitely don't have one. You have one starting tackle missing right because you just don't even have anybody under contract honestly to play right tackle at the moment or left if you know you're flipping Trent back to right.

So tackles the biggest area of need on the roster, and I think there's three guys that are Tier one tackles in this class that realistically one of them I think will be available at fourteen. Now, the guy that I pegged at fourteen was Kronsky, and the reason why I did that is because I think Paris Johnson is built in a lab to play left tackle in the NFL. He's the prototype, right He's He's a Tyre and Smith type. He's like the guy that's just you printed him out

and he's a left tackle. He's six foot five, good length, good balance, good all that stuff, like a good feet like just exactly what you want in a tackle. I think that that guy is too polished and in terms of his body type and his building his frame to not go top ten. Broderick Jones, to me, is going to put on an absolute show at the combine. You can see it when he blocks in space on film at Georgia. He can get out of his stance, he can run, he can really block on the move, screens, polls,

second level climbs like whatever. He can do all that. So that tells me that I think that he's going to run really well and test really well and Indie, and I think that he'll be a fringe top ten, like late like five to nine ten range, let's call it. So that leaves Scarronsky, who I think is the least likely to put up a huge onbine workout. I think there are some concerns about his arm length. I am not a big arm length guy, but that's gonna come

up in his draft evaluation. But ultimately, I think that the floor of him is extremely high. It's a safe pick. He's tackled Coal Strange. You are gonna I think he's

more polished than Coal Strange. And I think that when you draft him, you are drafting a player that and look, everybody could get injured every like all that, like all those types of caveats aside, you are drafting a player that is going to be your starting tackle on either the left or the right side for the next half decade plus if you actually pay him when the time comes. And that's a whole separate conversation. So at least for the rookie contract, you're not gonna you're gonna put him in.

He's gonna plug and play as a rookie, and you're not gonna move him right and that and that I think there's something to really be said for that. I understand that maybe some people want a higher ceiling, like they want that, you know, all pro maybe future type of multi all probe type of player. But I think at fourteen, you're really just trying to get a guy that is a plug and play player as a rookie, that isn't gonna miss and can really hold down a

position for you long term. And I think that that's Scarnsky's tackle. It's the most likely option I think at fourteen to fall to you amongst those Tier one tackles. And I would also mention lastly, he can play on

the left side, which I think is important. Yeah, as much as I don't think I don't think he's a right tackle, I don't think he's a commo tackle like that's just as much as I love guys like we've talked about them a ton, Dawn Jones, Darnell Right from Tennessee, I love those guys, but they're pure right tackles, and I think that it's more important for them right now.

Tayo address left. Maybe you flip Trent Brown back to right if Scarronsky is ready to go and you have that for next year, and then you were you maybe drafted right tackle later in the draft or another tackle prospect, which I did in this and double dip at the position to get two starters in one draft. So Scronsky was my first round pick at fourteen. I just think it's too easy of a projection for them. Give you an interesting hypothetical, not a hypothetical, I don't know what

this is. Let's say they didn't need a tackle. Let's say it's like last year, right where you're set for the position for one year. You know you're gonna need a tackle next year. I almost wish they could draft to Wan Jones, red shirt him, and like teach him left tackle behind the scenes. I don't think there's a way where I think there's a way that you could play him at right tackle. And then let's say he's absolutely balls out at right tackle. You could flip him

at some point. And I know that that scares some people because of what it see. I wouldn't flip him if he has to play immediately. That's the thing. I think it's possible. Look, it's risky though, that's and you're talking about that. That's the thing. It's not the safe pick, it's not I love to want Jones, man, he's so freaking good. I like to want Jones a lot too. And I'm not completely ruling out making you know, I didn't take another tackle on the top one hundred. I

took Steen in the fourth round. So maybe they do go and take two tackles in the top one hundred and really solidify that spot. But even still they're not If they don't take Dwan Jones at fourteen, I don't think you're getting no. And no, I don't think so either.

And the other thing that I didn't do trades in this one because to me, sometimes I think we get lost in the sauce with the trades, Like you're all you're moving on and you're like, oh, I'm gonna trade this, and i'm gonna trade that, and I'm gonna trade a future pick. Like I'm just trying to get guys that make sense, right, Like, and if if Joe, you know, Skrotsky ends up getting picked in the first thirteen picks and they don't have a chance to draft them, then okay, whatever,

But we need to talk about Skarroski. Yeah, Like he's somebody that they could easily target in the first round. So my second round pick was Josh Downs from uncom preseason some people. For some people can't. The feedback that I got was that it's too low, right, that he's gonna go higher than this. I don't really like that. Are those discussions either, because somebody always falls, like somebody

we're not expecting always falls. Somebody that we're not expecting we think is going to go in the thirties goes in the forties, and so on and so forth. So we don't know for one hundred percent fact that jo Down is gonna go higher. What I like about Josh Downs compared can I Can I just make one more point on that before you get into the player himself. Yeah, this is a class. We're at that position. Jordan Atison, Jackson Smith and Jigbaze, Flowers, k Shawn Boutet. There's so

much talent at that very specialized position. Somebody in that group's gonna fall. Yeah, somebody in that group's gonna fall. And by the way, on the board we use so you took him forty six, Yeah, they've Josh Downs forty four, So that's not a stretch at all. Yeah, So Josh Downs. The reason why I like him over a guy like Isa Flowers in particular, or our guy Tank Dell, who we both really like, yeah, is that he's a little bit more girthy than those two guys. Right, he's five

foot teine five. I think he's built to a stand getting targeted one hundred times in the slot, little bit more than those two guys are. And he's got that list five seventy five. I think he's bigger than that. I think you look at the the Edelman or the Welker comparisons, I think that he's a thicker build. I think he's got sort of that running back type of

frame where he's a little bit thicker. He's got a low center of gravity, can change directions really well, can pick up yards after the catch with the football in his hands. This is Mac Jones's jitterbug, right, Like this is his slot receiver, his Welker, his Edelman, his get open in his foam booth, catch the football, add five six yards to it after the catch when he's got some breathing room, and keep him to chains moving. That's that's who Josh Downs is. And I'll say they have

to hit on that skill set in this draft. Josh Downs from everything and I haven't talked him personally, but from everything I understand about him. So day of Drake may come in last year unc Drake may I believe he was a true freshman or was he a redshirt freshman? Either way first year as a starter. I mean, he's a high ranked recruister richer freshman and like he tore it up and Josh Downs was that guy that kind of you have this young, inexperienced quarterback that he felt

he could go to. Now Mac Jones is gonna be more experienced than Josh Downs. The roles kind of flipped there. But this is a guy who kind of knows how to carry a quarterback along. Yeah, and that's certainly something to Patriots. Yeah. I talked about, you know, potentially replacing Jacoby Myers. That's something Jacoby Myers is excellent with kind of just helping Mac Jones along. There's a guy that third down, he's gonna be your first read all the

time and he's going to deliver more often than not. Yeah. So Dante Skarneck has been on various shows and stuff like that, and he's talked about needing to get mac Jones his binkie, Like, who's this guy when he's third and five and he needs a first down? Who can he immediately look to. I think Jacobe Myers has has tried and at times elevated to that status, but I think they need somebody that's a little bit more dynamic and more consistent in that role. And I think Downs

can do that. And I just think that in general, whether it's Downs, whether it's Flowers, whether it's Jackson, Smith and Jim there's so many options of that skill set in this draft that it seems inexcusable to me to not come away with one. They have to draft one of those guys. It does, but we've also done this before. We did it at linebacker last year. We did a

wide receiver yere. But just because they don't do it doesn't mean that it's the right I know, I know, I just and look, I think they're again, They're three biggest needs are so far, in a way, the three best positions in the traft. And maybe you could argue their fourth biggest need is tight end and that's another excellent position in this draft. Yeah, Like I'm trying to temperate my expectations because they never attack these strong classes.

But I'm almost kind of agreeing with you in different way. Those other years, it's not like they went out and took players they didn't need, right, But it's so it's gonna be so hard for them this year to not pick from the strongest positions, just given the way the board sets up in everything. And I last year and I we're gonna get to talk to him again, and I'm looking forward to having his answer about this again.

Last year Macro talked about having to attack the receiver position a little bit differently, and now it's a position of great premium value that you need to go out and get these guys. You can't just sit back and hang out and wait for somebody in the seventh round to turn into Julian Edelman anymore. So I look at it, and I say, with receiver, especially because it's so much cheaper to find them in the draft than it is to go out in free agency or out in the

veteran trade market. In the choir one like, let's say they go out and they I don't think he's getting moved, but if they trade for T Higgins, now you're gonna have to give T Higgins a five year, one hundred and twenty five million dollar contract salary cap, and he traded a first round pick for him, right, in all these different things, So the best and easiest way, well, I shouldn't say the easiest, the best way in terms of a cost and just in terms of a value.

I guess the best way to put it. It's a draft these guys, and my inclination is then to take that and say, well, then you should keep taking stabs until you find it right. Like they took Tae Quad in the second round last year. If they take one of that group that we've been mentioning a bunch here today in the first or second round this year, like this is what, you should keep taking stabs at it and bites at the apple until you get it right.

They can also, they can do both too, right. They can use a second round pick on a guy like Josh Downs and then double up with Tamario Douglas later in the draft. And I'll say this too, Bill O'Brien's offense. At times they could run two slot receivers. Yeah, I mean Edelman and Amndola did it right, Welker and sort of Edelman even at Alabama that would kind of get weird with it with Mechi and Slave Bolden. Yeah, so

I'm not a post of doubling up at the position either. Yeah, I just think you need to keep taking swings there because these wide receivers in the draft. Every draft class, I know the Patriots haven't had the best luck, but every draft class, it seems like there's a half a dozen guys that come out that end up being starters and maybe even stars even in later rounds. Like it doesn't necessarily need to be a first round pick. There's guys in the day two that have been coming out

for years now that ended up being hit. So the round out the top one hundred, I took Julius Brents with my third round pick here at a Kansas State. Both of us have talked a little bit about him. I don't know if we've talked about I've talked about on air together, but Julius Brents is the day two long athletic outside corner right six foot three, two hundred pounds.

I thought what really stood out at the Senior Bowl in one on one drills and the film that I saw from practices was his ability to flip his hips and get out and run right, And that's not something that a lot of guys at that size can do. Can you transition your hips? Can you get out and get off a press coverage and then flip and run with a guy like That's not easy to do at six foot three. He's not leggy, He's not He doesn't stall out of his transitions. He's really quick and smooth

out of the transitions. And I think when you look at learning from past mistakes with that skill set, like a Juan Williams, Juan Williams ran in the four sixes, Juan Williams couldn't transition, flip and run right like that was the biggest issue that he has. I think that a guy like Brands, at least at least from what I've seen, can do that a little bit more consistently.

He was also in a system at Kansas State where he was just asked to be on an island, like, yeah, most of the game, you got this guy right man coverage on an island. So he went up against Quinton Johnston at TCU twice. It was a back and forth battle, I think in the big the regular season. Yet I can't remember which one it was one of them. Quinton Johnson put up some numbers against Quintin Johnston. So he had in the Big Twelve championship game, he had four

for one fifty six. Yeah, but he had like an eighty yard catch seventy eighty yard like catch and run that was just on a I think it was on zone because it was like at the end of the half. Yeah, that might have not been Brenton coverage on that one. So he got bee. He got called for a couple of DPIs in that game, but does get he does get a little handy. That's my one. Yeah, I think that he'll need to refine that. I think he needs to refine being able to track the football in the

air a little bit better. I think that's what happens is that he loses the ball a little bit and then the receiver stop to go up and elevate for the football and he's on top of him right and then against the flags. So I think that there's going to be some elements of his game that need to be seasoned, that need to be worked out. But if there's one thing that I think I'm confident in them being able to do, is to coach up those elements

of cornerbacks, right, like the details. Yeah, I think when they've missed in the past, it's they've missed on the athlete, right, they've missed on the actual movement skill of the player, not necessarily that they can't coach him up. And this goes back to like what we were doing last year with Tarique Woolen. And I don't think he's Tarique Woolen, but he's six three two o two. He can move.

Just get him in the building and you'll figure it out after that because you do have a good, great coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball and whether it's tim and a good track record developing that position, right, any one of these big corners, I think Brent is that he's my favorite of the like non obvious first

round pick ones. But just get him in the building and figure out because boy would have six three corner When you got to play the Bengals with t Higgins and Jamar Chase, when you got to play the Raiders with Devanta Adams, when there's all these teams with big receivers in the AFC, right, when you gotta go play those teams, you have a guy that look, Marcus Jones going against both DeAndre Hopkins and and Devanta Adams was

so much better than anybody could have expected. But at the end of the day, he's going to be five eight, And there were times when that came up like there was nothing. They're just throwing jump balls and six four te Higgins is going to be able to get up higher. So having a guy like Julius Brents would just completely change the way they can operate against some of these

elite offenses. Yeah. I think we're talking to people at the Shrine Bowl sizek corner and tackle or the two biggest things that kept on coming size of tackle, just like tackled right, Yeah, it kept on coming up at in conversations, and I think that you you said, oh, what do you think about this guy? What do you

think about that guy? And a lot of the time when you when you pointed out one of these Jack Jones, Marcus Jones type of corners, a guy you know like Keetroll Clark we really liked and practices out of Louisville. You got, well, we got Keetroll Clark, right, we got three Keatroll Clark. So did see another thing I would love them doubling up and taking a guy like a Keetroll Clark or a Miles Brooks later on in the draft. But hey, that can't that can't be all you come

away with. Yeah, so I'll just ridele off these. Yeah, I was gonna say, we're thirty five minutes in, We've done three picks. Trey Dean in the fourth round, trading U Shrine Bowl State, like the the player of the Shrine Bowl, I think. And he was on the West team with the Patriots coach. And we heard some guys that really on the coaching staff that were really high on Trey Dean and he was. He was really high on the coaching staff too. I think that does matter here.

Yep uh Tyler Stein from Alabama. They're left tackle who I think is a tackle and I think can play either side most likely. I love that he played in the SEC his whole career, went to Vanderbilt first and then he transferred Alabama. So a very good tackle prospect. I think from where you're gonna get him. Here's just a quick thing on seen. Yeah. I always look at and Alabama doesn't do transfers as much as everybody else,

just because and this is kind of changing now. But you don't transfer out of Alabama, right, so there aren't as many guys coming in. But when Nick Saban takes a guy who he's played against multiple times and says I've got to get him, especially from a program like Vanderbilt, that tells me a lot. So Steen I think can start in the NFL. Also, I think he's got st

start right away though starting caliber traits. I don't know if you can start right away, but if you assume that Trent is going to start for a year, and then maybe Steen is the guy that in two years, because you're gonna start Gronsky in this instance, Yeah, in year one, last fourth ground pick a lot to Cameron Latto from Alabama. The tight end we talked, you talked about it briefly. Loaded tight end class, one of the tight end classes in recent memory. I think you have

to pick someone out of that hat. Yeah, and I took a lot to for obvious reasons. The Alabama connection. If you look at his stats under Bill O'Brien the last two years, that's when his career really took off at Alabama, was playing under Bill O'Brien. I think is a really solid route runner. I think he's somebody that's a very crisp and sharp out of his cuts and doesn't drift and doesn't, you know, do those little things that allowed defensive backs to get back in there. I

think he can block a little bit. I think he can move around a little bit. I don't think he's got the ceiling that some of these other guys at the top, because he doesn't have that top end athleticism. But I think that he's just a solid, well rounded player on his ceiling though, And when you talk about his route running, I feel like we don't talk about these guys like he's a smart route runner. You watch

him against zone like he knows where to go. And part of the reason is he actually was recruited as a defensive end and then switched to tight end after his first year. So when I see a guy like that, I don't know that he is a ceiling of like Musgrave or Kincaide, but like I think he actually has sneaky ceiling. You're right, he doesn't have the athleticism. He's

never gonna run like a four four. But the fact he's only been playing the position three really two years, and he's gotten this far leads me to believe it, like he's a guy that can pick things up quickly in all of that, especially in this system. I think he knows the system like they sneaky upside for him. Sixth round. I know you told me this was too late for Jake Moody, but I took too late for Jake Moody, the kicker from Michigan. I think that they're

gonna come away with a kicker or a punter. They're gonna draft one of them. They have these these sixth round picks. Maybe they package the two sixth round picks and move up back into the fifth round for their special teams round they don't currently have. They're a fifth round pick. They don't round pick get one. Some places are projecting the Kerass comp pick could come to the fifth,

not a six yet it's possible. The next guy here, Tyrius Wheat from Misissippi State, another Shrine Bowl guy that they absolutely loved on the West team. Edge defender two sixty two sixty five, can play with his hand in the dirt or stand up linebacker on the outside, someone that just sets the edge the way that they want people to set the edge. He's not gonna be super flashy. He's not gonna jump out at you with all that

kind of stuff. But he's just a sturdy, rock solid, strong side edge defender, which we know they desperately like three down defensive end, which I love. He kind of reminds me of Teatrick Wise a little bit. And there's another guy they worked with the Shrine Bowl, Haba Cookball Donado. He was in here originally and I swopped him out for a week. Hey yeah, I also took Wheat in the same spot in my mock draft, and I had

a really tough time between the two of them. So I think Habba is a little bit more upside with his athleticism. He's somebody that really can jump off the film on that first step right now, first step explosiveness that get off is really impressive from Haba. But I think that Habba to them will be like a situational rusher, right So I think Wheat is that early down run. I say, though we only overlapped. I saw your draft thirty.

We only overlapped five picks this year only, and I think only four of them are taken in the same spot. So I just look at their their edge group and Ch and Jennings are gonna be free agents. Their rookie deals are coming up next offseason. But they also have guys like Judean who's on the TVs right now talking. That's a nice sweatshirt. There you go, Judean Ch those guys to our pass rushers, right, they need somebody that I think is gonna hold up a tight end and

a combo block on the outside. Right, that that could be. I think that's what they want Jennings to be as well. But I think that we would join that mix here in the sixth round. Still Travis Die from USC the running back. This is where I think they should take a running back somewhere on day three, three years ago, when we started working together, you would have never made this pick. You would have been so annoyed when I suggested it. I am so proud of you for putting

this pick in it kind of paying me. Still, You're he won me over talking to him. So I think that Die would have went a little bit higher if he was healthy and he could do all the people would have infringed on the showcases and stuff. But he injured his ankle towards the end of last season, so he's been held out of all these types of the Shrine Bowl. He was there just for interviews and to be with the team. He was out there at practice though.

He didn't participate though, but he was like standing out there with the coaches, taking the coach and that's something they're gonna notice. Yeah. So Travis d Usc I think has a chance to be a James White, right. I think he's got that change of direction. I think he's got that aciman in the passing game. He can pass block, really good pass block. Smart kid. I think he understands his role in the passing game and all those types of things. So he's been working with Shane Vereen actually

a little bit. He told me, there you go, change of direction at the top of the route, that type of stuff. All right, h next sixth rounder forsythe from Oregon, Alex Forsyth. So I went back and forth on this one too, because they have that tackle that was at the Shrine Bowl that I'm not gonna try to pronounce his name. Well, they also have t J. Bass, right, he's the left tackle. Um, but uh Malisila, I'm not

gonna do. Just do the initials M A. L. L Are the initials right tackle right, Yeah, the right tackle from Oregon. He was at the Shrine Bowl on the East team. He's an NFL caliber player. TJ. Bass. You mentioned their left tackle is probably gonna move inside the guard in the NFL. He's an NFL caliberlier A caliber player. Forsyth is their center, who's an NFL caliber player for the starting center for the last two years. I think

they like Cody Russi a lot. I do, but I think once you start to plan for post David Andrews, it would be nice to have multiple guys that could potentially fill the center role moving forward. And the reason obviously that we take an Oregon guy here is because of Adrian Clem reportedly coming on board. I think that he's going to be somebody that he's gonna have one of his guys, whether it's a UDFA or it's a late round pick, Like if I took forsythe he's gonna

get one of his guys. I just think Bass is interesting because there's some three positional versatility. Yeah, he could he could move around. I think like that. Yeah, so that I went with Bass in that spot, Yeah, that's not bad. Okay. Seventh round another Shrine Bowl stand out, Anthony Orgy from Vanderbilt, the linebacker. I really liked what

Eric Gaalco had to tell us about him. The first thing that he mentioned is that he's a downhill player, right attack the line of scrimmage, take on blockers, play the run well. And then I thought from all that, I actually thought that his passing coverage stood out a little bit in Vegas and he was a much better player in space or player in coverage than maybe he was getting credit for from some of the people coming in.

So that was the mock draft. I really thought that the biggest thing for me was trying to dip into some of these stronger classes this year. Tackle, corner, receiver, tight end. Like I thought that you really needed to come away with a player at each one of those positions. Before we wrap up this and take some calls. What's your biggest gripe with my mock draft, Alex that I need your biggest gripe that Jake Moody's not going in the in the sixth ride, No, um, I it is

that don't you don't don't change your stance. It is that honestly, so I think it's a Forsyth pick. They're so just the numbers, like, not even the depth in terms of talent. Okay, so let me explain it a little bit further because it's a fair gripe. Yeah, so Forsyth can play center. He's listed at six foot three, three hundred pounds, it's a little bit thin to be a guard, but I think that he could play guard. Okay,

and we're getting to that point now. I hate, I hate to do this, but like with Mike on Winny, like, are we paying Mike on winning or are we not paying Mike on winning? Like, yeah, I just what's the If you're gonna do that, you've got to invest a little more than a guy who's because he's never played guard. I don't think Forsyth. I think he I think he played clearly on in his career. He played a little bit.

It's like significant snap. It's at that point, go get go get a guard or like I just I either want positional versatility there or I just want raw sizes like Dalton Wagner. Right, that's kind of where met I'll tell you where we're both wrong though. Okay, So as I go through your draft here, you have big ten acc Big twelve, SEC, SEC, Big ten, sec, Pac twelve, Pac twelve sec. I'll tell you by for mine right now. Spoiler alert SEC Big twelve, AAC SEC, SEC Pac twelve,

Big ten, SEC, Big twelve, Pac twelve. There's no Chattanooga. There there's no I forget where Sam Roberts went. Northwest northwest Missouri state. There's no South Dakota state. As much as I love the defending National Champion jack round, it doesn't And this is maybe wishful thinking on my part, and I guess on your part two for your future mock draft here, but this has got to be they have and I understand that Kyle Dugger is a good player and they got him from the D two level

and it doesn't always work not work out. I get that, but it just feels like, especially in the first round at fourteen, is a premium pick. That's not that's not twenty eighth, right. I know they traded down, but so so so what I'm saying, let me give you last year FC. I don't know any that most of the conferences beyond uh FBS SO FCS Big twelve, AAC, Pac twelve, FCS, Sun Belt SEC D two SEC, Big ten that's painful.

But let's go the year before SEC SEC Big twelve, Big twelve, Big ten, SEC PAC twelve and then AAC SO and that went in twenty twenty one, might be the best draft they've had in a decade. Yeah, so, like we're kind of both projecting them. And now, look, you you know my thing I want. I want name brand players. I want guys that played at big schools, like I can go and watch Peter Scronsky against legitimate

pass rushers in that conference, the Ohio State guys. I went and watched them against Aidan Hutchinson the year before this, right, like guys that are playing in the league at a high level, Like I don't need Chattanooga and there's another guy offensive lineman from Chattanooga in this draft, by the well, so let me bring this one a Cody Mok who I think you you really actually like more than me.

I would have no where. This is the most surprising development on the DRAFTIC guys, this is this is the North Dakota State converted guard that is missing his two front teeth and that plays with the jersey rolled up in his gut out that Evan just loves. This is the player Evan is hated for yet in Vegas, horrible for you. You're drafting running backs, you like the North Dakota State guards. But my point close of out of his stance, he generates movement. He plays with nastiness, like

this is like the type of like that's offensive. But here's my point, Cody Mock, you like neither, like you wouldn't be upset if they took him in the third round. I don't think I'd be upset in the first round because well, but here's my point, Like that's the Summit Conference where like there's smaller school players in this draft that we like, but this feels more like, you know, they've done this in the past, they've overcorrected, right, even

when things work, they will overcorrect away from it. So how do you overcorrect from Chattanooga in South Dakota State, in Western Kentucky, in Northwest Missouri State. And it's nothing against the players, it's just it's a different approach. You go big sec big, big twelve when the big twelve is maybe as good as it's ever been this way,

Unfortunately it's on the way up. Let's another story. You know, you go, I didn't go big on the big ten you did, but like you go big into those big conferences. If I'm not a big, big ten guy, but if it's in the trenches, the big ten gets the trenches, correct, Big ten gets the trenches right, like the SEC. If you if you're gonna draft defensive players, skill players, corners, receivers like, I definitely go SEC all day, but when it comes to tackles and offensive linemen like those guys

get that type of play and I love the mentality. Oh, the big ten is a line. We could do a whole show on which positions you draft from which conference, but we gotta take some calls. All right, We're gonna take some calls now. Thanks for hanging on on the phones. We appreciate shade us our deliberation back and forth on mock draft. One point now that's on Patriots dot com right now, Patty and Aga on what's up Patty, Look guys, Heyton,

First thing, First things first, great job last week. Thank you. We're in formative and entertaining. I loved it. Um So I want to kind of peeback off of Alex's situation where let's pretend that they they fixed the offensive line at least for this coming year. There's three guys I'm I would like to see them possibly take in the

first round at wide receiver. And I just want to get sure, guys that you know, if you can do a quick sum because I know you probably get other calls moeting just the pros and cons of these three guys in this system and Bill O'Brien's system, Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison, and Keishan Boutier. And I'll hang up and listen. Guys, thanks, Patty. All right, three guys that we both are pretty familiar with. So this is the second tier of the slot receivers

after Jackson Smith and Jacob pretty much. So he said, Zay Flowers, right, Yeah, Addison was in the Kee So you're throwing Josh downs and that's the second tier of slot receivers JS and I think is in his own tier. So Zay Flowers, electric player, electric with the football in his hands, can go vertical, right, can do all that he is from a movement standpoint, one of the more exciting players in the draft, like just an absolute jitterbug,

explosive guy, rocked up all that. But five to nine one seventy, right, I think is what he's at right now and he I that part of it does have some hesitation for me because in this offense, in Bill O'Brien's offense, that guy's gonna be targeted one hundred and twenty times, and is he going to be able to take the wear and tear of being targeted one hundred and twenty times in the slot in the NFL going

over the middle, that type of stuff. I don't look at his body type and see, you know, when Edelman used to walk around here, Edelman was like a UFC fighter, Like that guy was rocked up right. And I stand next to Zay Flowers, I'm like, you know, he's a little bit slighter framed. And that's why I like Downs a little bit more for this mock was because I think he's a little bit stift. Flowers also won't be there at forty six, and that's part of it too.

Um yeah to me, so just real quick with Flowers. The pros is obviously how well he moves. I mean, he just looks natural gliding around the field. He's explosive with the ball in his hands. I would be really worried about his durability. Jordan Addison teams are gonna figure out very quick if you get in his face. He pressed him at the line. If you start kind of hitting him early in the game, you know, really make

him feel it. He can fade a little bit, and that's not something you can have from that position at all. If anything, you get stronger the more you get hit. Julian nedelman Us talk about the more he took hits, the more fearless he get. I don't know if I said this to you on or off the air, if I said it on another show. Kashawn Boutet is the gem in this draft. Now there's the exact type of guy that they picked though and he and he's an

absolute bust because he's such a projections though. He's one hundred ten percent project Actually he didn't play, but he played in twenty twenty one. He was excellent. Yeah, but like you're, I think you're. He was the consensus number one receiver in this class for almost a year for a reason. He's a great talent. I just think that you are. You're fully hoping that you can capture that twenty twenty one season lightning in a bub. But don't

they do this a lot? Remember they did this with Barmore. I'm not saying that they haven't done it. I'm just saying how much success have they really had doing it. Barmore was a guy who had a better you know, I don't remember the exact year of class, but like two years before the draft, Barmore is better than his last year in college. Um who, I just did this the other day. Romandre was another. Ramandre was suspended, Yeah,

most of his last year at Oklahoma. Right, you're swaying, and he came back and and um again, I wish I could remember the other names of these guys, but like they've done this before, Jack Jones, it's a you gotta go like all the way back, Like he was better as a freshman. Dissatified of the guy that Boote to me is like a ball of clay right, Like he's he's exactly what you want at a receiver. Like he's super talented, explosive, I can do all sorts of

different things out on the field. Six foot two oh five. You can probably play him on the boundary a little bit if you really like you could. He's not just a spot receivers Flowers and George Best on film. He's a little bit Odell like, but when he's at his best, who's better than him in this draft? I don't know if anybody is. And the other thing is like everybody wants, oh, just draft to number one receiver, Like just draft that guy's not there for them in this draft. Yeah, it's

the fourteenth pick. That guy's not there. Quinn Johnson isn't going to be that guy in this offense. And Flowers and Addison have their limitations. They do they can be a guy, but they can't be the guy. The one guy in this draft I think can be the guy for them, not will be, but can be. But in the second round, it's like, it's not that first round risk. How's he Honestly, how's any different than Tai Kwon last year? Was Taekwon on massive swing. I'm not saying it's any different.

I'm just saying that in form my opinion because they took that swing on Tai Kwon, which is based almost basically a traits pick, right like fast guy, great, forty blazing speed. I just I gravitate towards the safer pick because I think that that is a guy that a reliable guy I think would do better in this style

of offense than the high the high ceiling guy. And so I look at a guy like js N Jackson Smith and Jigbe from Ohio State, and I know for a fact watching him that all thirty two teams are going to be kicking themselves because they pass on him in the first round this year. But it's still really JSS not gonna be a first round pick. I don't think so. Really, I don't think so. Yeah. I mean, if you can get Jsen at forty six, I don't

think six. I think he'll be a thirties pick. I think I think he'll be early second round unless he runs. If he runs, and he puts up a good number. But there's a lot of people that I think are really concerned about his play speed, Like he's not a fast receiver. He doesn't pop off the film when watch him run, and I think that's gonna be a concern

for a lot of teams. But I know for a fact that we're gonna come back to it in three years and jays End is gonna be like Michael Thomas in this draft right, and everybody we're gonna be like, well, what the heck, Like, why did you know it was a little better than Michael Thomas. And I mean Michael Thomas was awesome for for one year. I don't know. I just I look at Boutet and it's like debt. Yes,

it's a risky pick. That's also the pick outside of last year, And that's the pick they haven't made that we've kind of been waiting for them to make. They keep making these safe picks at wide receiver and they don't pa. I don't think Taekwon was a safe pick.

That's the one exception, but like going back before that, it is just a lot of safe picks and and Boutet is the you're talking about the athlete, the guy who's rocked up, like the term you like to use, right, the guy that can can jump out of the gym and explode out of the gates. Bill O'Brien's going to figure it out with like this isn't this isn't the mat Patricia Offensive. I just don't. I don't know who he is consistently, Like I know what he could be.

I know what his ceiling is, I know what his elite traits are, but what is he like, what is he consistently that he's going to develop into an eighty catch guy in the NFL, Like, what is well, what do we have to hang our hats on? Where his explosive? His explosiveness is route running? But he's never done it though he has done it. Well, what did he put up two years ago? It wasn't like anything crazy? So

he's first of all, he's playing a horrible LC. Don't don't make the excuse I was playing at He in six games, so we can double these for a full season of production. Why was the only it was the only healthy for six games? Was this the COVID year? It was the I don't remember why he didn't play look it up, but like hypothetically, this is my point. All right, I'll tell you why, I'll tell you what. No, but like I don't, no, not no, he he only played six games in the year where they played double

digit games. He sat because of the drafts. I don't know, thirty eight catches for five hundred nine yards and nine touchdowns exactly. He in nine touchdowns in six games, even in the SEC. But that's college like that, that's not a SEC. All right, we're gonna go back and forth on this, all right, Sean and Vancouver, what's up? Sean, and I really liked your mock draft. I agree with it completely. It's correct, right, Sean. Well, the one thing I noticed is the three players that really stood out

for me in the Shrine Bowl. Uh, you have two of them on this draft of guys from the West team that that I really liked. One guy who I also like, and I want to talk to you about this because of Bailey, is Michael Turk. Oh, yeah, I know you probably Alex. This guy, Michael Hunter. Michael Turk loves Alex, Barth loves Yeah. Well, Alex, how do you feel about him? He the ball explodes off his foot.

He's very accurate, now, he was, He was incredible. He was m He kind of reminded me of like rookie Jake Bailey, where just when he punts the ball, everybody was watching. That's not normally how goes these events? Even Bill like when he punched at the ball. Yeah, he can ply He's going to be a punch in this league for a long time. Don't look at his Twitter though. Okay. Now, the other thing I want to talk about is free because that's going to change the way the Patriots look

at the draft. And there isn't a lot of wide receiver. A lot of people say that Jacoby is the number one guy, But someone that I'm looking at really going under the radar is DJ Chark. I think he has the size and the speed as a deep thread. He didn't have as many opportunities with Detroit, but when he did he came through. He did get injured, which has been a problem with him, but he looked good after the injust so he's healthy. Now, what do you think

of J Chark? Yeah, thanks Sean, thanks for the call. And h Yeah, Michael Turk, we both really were impressed by him. You mentioned Chark. I still feel like Chark is in that tier of receiver that they've had to come through here in the last couple of years, like Davante Parker, Kendrick Boorne, Nelson Aglor like right, like it. I don't mind Chark as like a member of your offense, right. I don't think he can't play. I just don't think he really changes the complexion of anything that you don't

already have. Like I think he's just redundant in terms of skill set or not non terms of skill set, in terms of talent level to what you have. Like I think he might bring a little bit of a different downfield element than some of these other guys do. But I don't know. I just feel like from a skills a skill level standpoint, he's kind of the same, right Like, I don't think he's a number one. I think he's kind of a complimentary guy. They need somebody.

Like the only receiver interested in paying is the guy who comes in is instantly on top of the depth chart, right right, DJ Chark is He's right there with Kendrick Bourne, DeVante Parker. By the way, Kay shan boutet in twenty twenty one, before he got hurt against the SEC in three games before he got hurt, before he got hurt, and then he got hurt again. This year, he didn't get hurt. This year. He was done with that team. That team was a mess. How does that make it

any better? I just just okay, Kay Shuil against the SEC, eighteen catches two hundred and eighty five yards three touchdowns in three games. Against two games against AP top twenty five teams in two games, fourteen catches two hundred yards in a touchdown. He's been talented. I don't I've never denied that he's incredibly talented, but just off of sheer reps, he's not a guy that has a lot of experience.

Isn't this what we said about like DK though, And like yeah, it is what we said about DK duty And everybody's still so miserable that they didn't make that pick round. He was the number one receiver in the class. He ka fell to the second round, So okay for the receipts to prove that I had him. So here just for everybody I know you do. So here's here's your shot at redemption. Yeah, we'll get into it more down the road, but my shot at redemption is boote. Yeah.

I think it might be. I think it might be. I reserve the right to change my mind after the combine if he wants something bad, but that I am standing on Jackson Smith and Jigba. I think that he's the guy in this draft that I look at that everybody's gonna overthink because they're gonna say, oh, he's not that fast, doesn't run that well. I don't think that that. I think that Jason is gonna end up being the

best receiver out of this. I think you're creating a fas I think most people think he's the best receiver in this card. I think there's a lot of people though that don't see him as like that tier one receiver, like when you relative to other drafts. Right, I'm not talking about that guy's not in the strafts. I don't know. I don't. I don't think he gets passed the first round. I really don't. Does he fall out of the top twenty, Yeah, I could see it. I don't think he gets passed

the first round. All right, last call here, Eldred, what's up? Hey? So, but I don't like your sentiment. Oho that slot receiver. Okay, I'm with Paul, you can't win that much. And Quentin Johnson it's gonna be the steel of the draft. I know he's six five, he got speed. He's on the outside because you're gonna need the outside threat. You know, if anybody else they didn't side of stuff. It's not

gonna got on outside. Just get a defense. And like you said, like you said earlier in the championship game, both catches one touchdown. Who do that? Well? I think the idea that I the reason why I come at it with the inside receivers and where I guess I differ with with Paul, who I've heard had this take, but I haven't really sat down and talked to him

about it. I think where I differ is the quarterback, right, because if Mac Jones is your quarterback, and you're building your offense around Mac Jones at quarterback, then drafting the outside receiver that you have to throw bombs too down the field, Like, is that really the skill set that you want to draft a pair with Mac Jones Like Quentin Johnson did Wilson, he did with Williams, he did with Yeah, he did it with great players in college,

but this isn't college. But this isn't like but he didn't throw deep though, right, he threw deep at Alabam's still a hundred yards Evan. I just I personally think that for mac Jones, the middle of the field is where I think he's the most comfortable throwing the football in the NFL. I know what he did it in college, like I know what he did at Alabama, but I think that he did that in a much different environment.

I think here in the NFL he's got to be that guy that dominates with the quick release, with the accuracy underneath, get the football and guy's hands and let him run with it. And I think that's the skill set that they have to target. I I look at the blueprint that they've had with Brady as a blueprint that they should be funny. But he's not. But he's not Josh Allen either, Like I just don't think he's gonna be thrown by but he's not Brady. You know,

Brady committed doing that. But I'll with you with DKA because doing that draft and what they got Harry, I called him a buzz That's one I wanted with DK metcam and I was, don't wait before they throw a draft. I'm like, that's the guy. What should get about thought he was a one tickton if they know he's not, and he proved out he wasn't a one trick pony. So so Eldred, I would just asking before he let you go. So do you think Quentin Johnston is you have him in that same DK category in terms of

everybody's got him wrong? Is that what what I'm hearing? Yeah, okay, that's fair. Thanks for the call, Edward, we appreciate you. I think that that's an interesting conversation with Quinton Johnson. I think I'm so nikkil Harry PDSDD by this situation that I just don't know if I can draft another six foot four wide receiver early, right, Like, I just have so much anxiety over that because of their ability to get that guy to translate at the NFL level.

He's not a route runner like you watch him. Even in his good games, he runs an under or a slant or something and he's smothered. Right, there's guys all over him in man coverage. He's not a great route runner underneath the defense. He gets better as he gets further down the field. A lot of his wins are on verticals, a lot of his wins are at the catch point. Like that type of guy. I just don't know. Is that what's best for this offensive Bill O'Brien, is

that what's best for Mac Jones? Like I still come back to with Mac Jones that I think that he's the best at his best when the ball's coming out quickly, he's attacking within twenty yards and he's getting the football out over the middle of the field. And that's why I've gravitated towards the inside guys, right, because I think you have to if you have a dominate, dominant slot receiver. I think that you can still win like that. And I think people hear that and they think checkdowns, and

that's maybe it's what you mean. Like when I look at it, I agree at the middle of the field thing. But Max said is best in the intermediate yea that eight to fifteen yard range. So who are the like Johnson is not an intermediate receiver down The best intermediate receivers in this draft are in Jigba, Josh Downs, and Sea Boute. Yeah, so those are the three guys. And like Zay Flywer, I don't even know Zay Flywer's an intermediate receiver. He might just be a pure slot. Yeah

he might. He might be like a quick hitter or a deep guy like he might be like you know, in that that those types of those two zones, like I think you take the intermediate the field, those those are the three guys I look at if like, if they want to truly maximize Mac Jones, who are the three best receivers for Mac Jones in this class in

no particular order, in Jigba, Downs, Boute. I also just look at you know, he mentioned the teams recently, the teams that are still alive, like a team like Kansas City. And look, I know, Patrick Mahomes is totally is a cyborg. He's his own thing. I totally understand that. But still, their passing game is built around a tight end. It's built around Travis Kelsey. Travis Kelsey is not a vertical threat in an offense, right like they they don't have

great outside receivers. They have good outside receivers, you know, MVS and those guys are solid outside receivers. But they are winning in the passing game with Travis Kelsey over the middle, with Travis Kelsey at the short and intermediate levels, and obviously with Mahomes's magic. So I still think that there's a place for an offense to be built inside out like that. I don't think it's totally impossible to build it that way. I just don't want Mac Jones

throwing bombs. They tried that this year with him he was a turnover machine. It just wasn't It's just not what's what he's built for. It's just not. So they got to get back to playing to his strength. And I just don't think that a downfield receiver plays to that strength. All Right, we didn't we didn't get to everything we wanted to get to today because Alex has got to go host over at ninety eight five tonight, right, six to six to ten, ninety eight five Sports. So

we'll do some football talk. We're probably gonna be heavy basketball. Yeah, big trade hire. NBA traded all of their second round picks today. It was fascinating. Well, well we'll get more into a Senior Bowl. We we can do some senior like ten minutes, all right, we got ten minutes, ten minute all right? Uh, we want to do Senior Bowls standouts like who are a couple of guys who mentioned brands? We mentioned some guys already that we're Senior Bowl guys

that Alabama kids were at the Senior Bowls? Stein and a lot too. Who else stood out to you in mobile? I mean, I gotta mention my guy to Wan Jones again because he's just so good and he was one day a practice, practice, one and done. He's solely real. I'll give you another tight end. I really like for them. Payne Durham from Purdue. Yeah, I had a good week. So first, hang on, I think I got a sneeze. No, I'm good, all right, Paynt Durham. First off, pro didn't

play high school football till the senior year. What sport did he play? Instead? Lacrosse? Lacrosse player only for he played like Pop Warner football. But three years of lacrosse Scott and football senior year still got did not walk on still in that one year, got a scholarship offer to Purdue. Has been developing his game kid a couple of years ago. Well, no, what about he was here for like a minute. What about who was the guy

last year that the falcons Um Bernhard? Jared Bernhard? Who was that he won the lacrosse highsman and then he went played D two quarterback and won a Natty Um. No, so pan Durham was. It was a high school acrosse player switches to football, gets the scholarship to Purdue. Really great size six five, two fifty eight and that's the seat, that's the real number, that's the senior number. Um excellent blocker, plays with a great motor. But he really came along

as a receiver this year. He made some great catches in that that Big Ten championship game against Michigan. He's expected to go way later than I thought, Like I'm thinking He's probably like a fifth sixth round guy should like sneak into the top one fifty, not gonna be outside the top two hundred. A lot of places have him sixth round, seventh round undrafted. Even so, maybe I'm missing something. I don't know how much you watched of him, but you talk about a project player. I don't know

how much he helps you in twenty twenty three. But you take him in the sixth round. They got what four five sixth round picks, You take him in the sixth round. You just kind of let him work for

a year behind the scenes. I think his upside is tremendous. Yeah, he's a great inline blocker two, which I think if you start to look at what they want at that position, I think they would ideally like to get back to that a little bit more of somebody that can really be an extra tackle, so to speak for you, in

the run game. I don't know if Johnny Smith and Hunter Henry have blocked as well as they were hoping they were going to block for them at that position, So I think that would be something that they would really like. You mentioned Dwan Jones just dropped the mic first day. I'd senior practices didn't come back, kind of like a Zay Flowers. Can I give you my weird comp for Duwan Jones. I don't know if I've done it on the show. My comfort Duwan Jones in terms

like as a draft prospect is Tyrek Wolin. He's just I think people are gonna what Tariq there was a totally different position. Well no, not even the same side of the ball. So let me explain. Tariq wool In six four two fifteen ran a fourth three like low four three forty, and he still went in the fourth round. Yeah, because I think people sort of looked at him in thought, it's too good to be true. There's no way he's this big, in this athletic and it's gonna play at

this skill level. And they were just they were almost scared off by, like how perfect of a prospect he was. I think there's gonna be teams. This is why Duan Jones initially was projected as a third round pick. I think people looked at him and said, he's sixty eight three seventy, is an iron man, like doesn't get hurt, Like there's got to be some catch, and he comes

out and he shows the footwork and everything. I think there's gonna be team is that just assume there's some catch with Dwan Jones and are turned off by him? Now does that comp make sense? Like a little bit? So with Dwan Jones, I think, what's what could you tell? You? Tell me why Tariq will And went in the fourth round last year. I know he wasn't super experienced, but the fourth round six three four two four three two four, I'm not because I was right about this is your

dk Metcalf? Yeah, okay, So so that's my comfort Dwan Jones. So Dwan Jones, I think what stands out about him is so his foot speed isn't isn't great, right, because its a bigger guy. So his ability to you know, pick up his fee, move his fee, change directions, that type of stuff is a concern on his projection. But he's so long, and it's not just about being big, right, it's the lank ninety in wingspans a record. It's like

an adult grown crane, like a bird. He's so long that he can be he can get you know, he can be in the wrong spot, right, he can he can be in the wrong spot and still be able to punch out with his hand and w and kind of buy himself some time to change directions. Right, So he's somebody that is a little bit different. I agree.

I really liked Darnell right from Tennessee also, like he's like sort of in this big right tackle tier for me as well for the Patriots and early day towo, maybe they trade back or trade up in second round whatever. What I love so much about Darnell Wright is that he was nails against top competition like Will Anderson against Georgia, against Clemson last year and then in the in the Senior Bowl in Mobile. He every single time he went

up against like NFL caliber players, he was excellent. I think he was probably the best tackle against Will Anderson that Will Anderson maybe ever faced in college. Like he totally shut down Will Anderson in that Tennessee Alabama game last year. And that's maybe the number one overall pick in the draft, right, So that was really impressive about him. I think we should mention two other guys. Tyreek Stevenson right from Miami. He had a really good week down there.

His ability to just basically run the route for the receiver. Yeah, he's extremely smooth, really good. He had one rep in one on ones. I don't think I've ever seen this. The quarterback didn't even throw the ball because the receiver ran a crosser and Stevenson ran a better crosser to the point where if the quarterback threw it, he would have just been throwing it to Stevenson as the intended target.

So the quarterback just ate it because the poor quarterback doesn't want to put an interception on film, so he just eats it. That is very very rare in one on ones because does always favor the receiver. Obviously, there's so much space it's it's really difficult to defend a lot of these guys. And he was just excellent all week long, and one on ones the last name I'll give you. We gotta talk a little bit about Tank Dell.

I think Tank Dell had a good week. He is going to be a terrified pick for some teams because of his size. He's one hundred and sixty five pounds and in the NFL that's just too small, Like it just is too small. And I think the one thing that we talk about a lot in the draft is, oh, well he'll get into an NFL strength program, and he'll just gain twenty pounds overnight. Like this is a guy that's five eight one sixty five. Like maybe he can gain some weight in the margins, but he's not. He

doesn't have a frame that's built to carry more. You worry if he puts too much weight on is it could impact his speed. Right, But at the same time, the league keeps making less and less legal to hit these guys, So you know guys like that are going to be more and more able to play in the league. I'll give you two more quick ones as well. On defense, Christopher Smith, the safety from Georgia, a true free safety, which there aren't a lot of. I thought he had

a really good week, potential Devin mccordy replacement. And I gotta go Bryce Barringer from Michigan State, the hunter. He was excellent. I think he had like hang on I had to go at the punch average four point five second hanging time, Like he said, they're gonna take kicker at punter Baronsrew is really good. He's kicked in bad weather up in Lancing like he's going to be on their board. This offensive line group in Mobile was fantastic. I was raving about it all week. They were excellent

on both teams. A National and American had great offensive lineman. Some other guys that really stood out. Jalen Duncan from Maryland is really raw. I think there's some issues with his pass sets, but he's super athletic. He's not gonna have any issues getting out to landmarks or cutting off the corner. He's just got to work on his technique and in his footwork and his pass sets, and he's

going to be an NFL player. He's got really really solid foundational just athleticism in play straight like he's just got those two boxes checked, which I think for offensive lineman that's certainly the number one thing he got a check right, is having those two things. I know that there is some love from for Bergeron from Syracuse. I'm not as in love with him for the Patriots because I think he might be a guard, but he's somebody that can that can play at the next level, Like

he's going to be an NFL offensive lineman somewhere. He's got that type of ability. The one clip that's going around about him that he's throwing a guy into the quarterback and holding at the same time but that's not let's not pump that up anymore. That was not a good rep. But I think he had some good reps. I think he's going to be an NFL player. Um. Lastly, who's the last guy I was thinking about? Um, It'll come to me in a second, but I'll read Michael Wilson. Yeah,

Michael Wilson had a really good week. And I'm still worried about the injuries with him. He could never stay healthy. Yeah, he's somebody the Patriots take on, you know, in like the fourth round, and they bet on the injuries. You talk about Boutet like that's their guy, right, is a Michael Wilson type. I think that that's possible. Um as well, in terms of a wide receiver. There's one more tackle and I'm blanking on it, but I'll look it up really quickly. Is there anybody that that was a dud

to you? Yeah? I mean it's Andre Carter from Army right, Oh? Yeah, all this type about this guy coming in. He had fifteen and a half sacks in twenty twenty one and had a bit of a down year this year and then just really I mean he got owned by Dawan Jones like it was bad. Um, I'm gonna get you. We're talking about maybe the first top fifty pick from a service academy in the modern era. It's gonna be kind of fringe. Now, we'll see what he does with the combine, and I think he will have a very

good combine. But yeah, he didn't help himself. So the one excuse that people were making for him that I don't I don't know how accurate this is by sad floating around a little bit. Army has some like pretty strict height and weight maybe maybe Marine and mackin speed to this, Army's got some pretty strict height and weight like thing like thresholds. Yeah, and you can't. So he's

six foot five. So at six foot five, if he was like six five three hundred pounds, the Army would say, oh, he's overweight, like like that's well, that's why that's why they run the speed option because they can't be bigger than the other teams. They just happen, right, So he had to be at a certain weight. So he was only six five, two sixty five, So he's very high cut and he's not it doesn't have a lot of

sand in the pants, right, So and mobile. I don't want Jones was just throwing him out the club, Rob Gronkowski style. And I think maybe in the NFL he'll be able to pack on the guy that I forgot in the pros, Cody Mock. I mean, talke about him, That's why I forgot about him. Just excellent. I mean, what a tape, what a guy. I love him, This is unbelievable. I hate happen that he's gonna have to I hate that he's gonna have to play guard in the NFL because if he was a true tackle, I

would be one hundred. And we have spent so much time with you just complaining about why are you considering drafting a guard? Why are you considering drafting an FCS player? Oh, you only like him because his teeth they're missing. You only like him because of his hair. We so often we did this, and now you're just like all in on like the most of me prospect of all time, like all of like the offensive line cliches that we used to talk about, right like that that is Cody.

That's him. Who is the center from Wisconsin Whitewater couple years ago, you remember mirrors or something like that. Yeah, yeah, I mean, you hated that guy. They come to the Senior Bowl, they played at this low level of competition at North Dakota State, and he just wants to put on a show, right, Like he just he knows that he's got to take a big leap up in competition. It's kind of like cold Strange last year, and he just put on an absolute show. Cody Mock loved it.

The one tackle that I thought was really disappointing was the BYU kid Blake Freeland. Yeah, he had a really rough week. He's six foot six and like not in a good way. Like his all he carries all of his weight above his waist and he just like bends at the waist to block people, right, and so he's got no flexibility in his lower half. His knees and his hips are there's zero flexibility there. So he was

just getting rag dulled all week. Log it was a really really bad week, like to the point where I think that he's out of the top one hundred completely. Like I think you have to wait to day three to pick this guy because against the NFL competition and mobile, it was really really rough. The last name I will mention here, I'm not going to mention a running back because then I'll just break Tyreek Spears. Uh No was good spirits, one of the best players there. I don't care.

Uh Ivan Pace from Cincinnati, the linebacker. I thought he was really good as well. He's a little bit under size. He's like kind of a Landing Roberts right, Like he's like six one, two hundred and thirty pounds. I think Roberts was like six sixty one two thirty five coming out, So they're very very similar type of players. Really explosive

downhill player, like just he absolutely wrecked. I think it was um the guy that everybody the interior offensive lineman, everybody's been raven about that might be a first round pick. I got it right here. He just took him on in the whole uh Osiris Torn Florida and he hit It was like kind of like a butt fumble situation where he hit Torn so hard that torn tackle the running back for him, Like that was like how much of an impact he made. Was really really good in

blitz drills in practice as well. He's somebody that really stood out to me. But yeah, Blake Freeland would be on my downs list, and from this week in mobile, really watching a lot of the tackles I know we didn't get today. We got to our senior bull stand. We didn't talk about Adrian clemm and the coaching staff. Next week, hopefully it will be officially announced that he's actually coming to the Patriots. Right now, just reported that he's coming to the Patriots, So hopefully by next week

we'll have an official announcement on that. Make sure to listen to Alex on the Sports Up tonight from six to ten, and we'll be back next week on Thursday, same time, same place for another draft edition, probably very draft heavy, maybe some free agency of Catch twenty two. Thanks so much for listening everybody. We'll see you guys next week. Thank you for downloading this podcast. Subscribe on Apple, google Play, and everywhere else you listen. Like the show,

Please rate and review us. Listener comments and ratings help keep us high in the podcast rankings so new listeners can find us. Be sure to check Patriots dot com for more news and more podcasts.